In an era when being an outsider meant at best you’d get your chain snatched and at worst catch a serious beatdown, the members of 3rd Bass commanded respect. While the Beastie Boys were a product of Manhattan’s punk club scene, Serch and Pete Nice were battle tested in legendary clubs like the Latin Quarter, the Palladium, and Union Square. Meanwhile, both members of 3rd Bass came from a background where you respected the architects of hip-hop culture or that meant your ass. While I greatly enjoyed Licensed To Ill (1986), it’s not like I identified with the drunken frat boy image that the trio adopted at the behest of Rick Rubin and had channeled through songs like “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!).” The Beastie Boys took hip-hop seriously, but at the time I didn’t believe that they made serious hip-hop music. Liking the Beastie Boys became somewhat problematic during the late ’80s for these “true” hip-hop heads. That struck a personal chord, knowing that I was someone who didn’t view hip-hop music as a passing trend. The group’s emcees, who were, of course, white, were able to express themselves without coming across as exaggerated caricatures. The group was made up of Peter “Pete Nice” Nash, Michael “MC Serch” Berrin, and Richard “DJ Richie Rich” Lawson. Up until that point, “white rapper” essentially meant the Beastie Boys, unless you were a big fan of The White Boys. Happy 30th Anniversary to 3rd Bass’ debut album The Cactus Album, originally released November 14, 1989.Īs a white teenager obsessed with hip-hop in the late ’80s, 3rd Bass really meant something to me.
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