"Licensed to Ill" is the debut studio album by the American hip hop group Beastie Boys, released on November 15, 1986, by Def Jam and Columbia Records. The album became the first rap LP to top the Billboard 200 chart and was the second rap album to be certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It is one of Columbia Records' fastest-selling debut records and was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2015 for shipping over ten million copies in the United States. The album received critical acclaim for its unique musical style, the chemistry between the group members, and their distinctive rapping. Since its release, Licensed to Ill has been ranked by critics as one of the greatest hip hop and debut albums of all time.
Despite its popularity and success, Licensed to Ill would be the group’s only album released through Def Jam, due to creative differences with producer Rick Rubin. This led the group to leave the label and sign with Capitol Records for their next album, Paul's Boutique (1989).
The group originally wanted to title the album Don't Be a Faggot, but Columbia Records refused to release the album under this title, arguing that it was homophobic. They pressured Russell Simmons, the group’s manager and head of Def Jam Recordings, into getting them to choose another name. Adam Horovitz later apologized for the original title.
Kerry King of Slayer made an appearance on the album, playing lead guitar on "Fight for Your Right" and "No Sleep Till Brooklyn," and also appeared in the music videos. The latter video is a parody of glam metal. The title "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" is itself a spoof of Motörhead's No Sleep 'til Hammersmith. King’s appearance came about because Rick Rubin was producing both bands at the same time (Slayer’s Reign in Blood was also released by Def Jam, a month prior).
In 1987, CBS/Fox Video released a video album of the five Licensed to Ill videos, plus "She's on It," to capitalize on the album's success. A laserdisc version was also released in Japan. All versions of the CBS/Fox release are now out of print due to the rights to the album passing from Columbia and Sony Music to Universal Music Group. Additionally, because of the contentious nature of the band’s departure from Def Jam, none of these videos were included on subsequent Beastie Boys video compilations until the 2005 release of the Solid Gold Hits CD/DVD, which features "Fight for Your Right" and "No Sleep Till Brooklyn," along with a live version of "Brass Monkey" from a 2004 concert.
The Beastie Boys recorded a loose rendition of The Beatles’ "I’m Down" for the album, which sampled the original song, but it was pulled at the last minute due to legal disputes with Michael Jackson, who owned the publishing rights. Both "I’m Down" and another track, "Scenario," were cut from the final tracklist. Bootleg versions of these songs can still be found on the internet.
The album cover features an American Airlines Boeing 727 with a Beastie Boys logo on its tail, crashing head-on into the side of a mountain. The image is designed to resemble an extinguished marijuana joint. The tail of the plane also features the Def Jam logo and the registration number '3MTA3,' which spells 'EATME' when viewed in a mirror. The idea for the album cover came from producer Rick Rubin, who was inspired after reading the Led Zeppelin biography Hammer of the Gods. The artwork was created by Stephen Byram and World B. Omes.
The cover design was later featured in 100 Best Album Covers by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell. The design also strongly influenced the cover for Eminem's 2018 album Kamikaze, which directly referenced the Licensed to Ill imagery.
