# Check Your Head
**Check Your Head** is the third studio album by the American hip-hop group the [Beastie Boys](https://www.edgepedia.org/beastie-boys), released on April 21, 1992 by [Capitol Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/capitol-records). It marked the group's return to playing live instruments, with Adam "MCA" Yauch on bass, [Mike D](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-d) on drums, and Ad-Rock on guitar, blending rap, punk, funk, and Latin influences, and it peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200.[1](https://beastieboys.com/discography/) • [2](https://www.xxlmag.com/today-hip-hop-beastie-boys-drop-check-head/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | April 21, 1992, Capitol Records; third Beastie Boys studio album[1](https://beastieboys.com/discography/) • [2](https://www.xxlmag.com/today-hip-hop-beastie-boys-drop-check-head/) |
| Chart peak | No. 10 on the Billboard 200[2](https://www.xxlmag.com/today-hip-hop-beastie-boys-drop-check-head/) |
| Recording | Recorded and mixed at G-Son Studios, Atwater Village, Los Angeles; engineered at PCP Labs[3](https://musicbrainz.org/release/5fd0be40-716d-490b-827f-8e945db2d4f1) |
| Production | Beastie Boys and Mario Caldato Jr.[3](https://musicbrainz.org/release/5fd0be40-716d-490b-827f-8e945db2d4f1) |
| Instrumentation | MCA on bass, Mike D on drums, Ad-Rock on guitar; Mark Ramos-Nishita on clavichord, keyboard, organ, and Wurlitzer electric piano[3](https://musicbrainz.org/release/5fd0be40-716d-490b-827f-8e945db2d4f1) |
| Length and genre | 53:44; rap, with alternative pop/rock, alternative rap, and alternative/indie rock styles[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/check-your-head-mw0000279571) |
| Initial reception | Rolling Stone gave 3 of 5 stars in 1992; Entertainment Weekly graded it D, later A for the 2009 remaster[2](https://www.xxlmag.com/today-hip-hop-beastie-boys-drop-check-head/) |
## Background
The Beastie Boys had released *Licensed to Ill* in 1986 on Def Jam and *[Paul's Boutique](https://www.edgepedia.org/pauls-boutique)* in 1989 on Capitol. *Paul's Boutique* sold modestly by industry standards compared with the multi-platinum debut, though critics who had dismissed the group came to see it as a serious album built on layered samples and crafted rhymes.[5](https://rapreviews.com/archive/BTTL_checkyour.html) After the contract dispute that followed the debut, the group moved to Los Angeles and, over the course of 1991, developed the new record while in their late twenties.[6](https://albumism.com/features/tribute-celebrating-30-years-of-beastie-boys-check-your-head)
**A return to instruments.** The trio had begun as a punk rock group before breaking through as a hip-hop act under Def Jam, and on *Check Your Head* they reverted to their punk roots, playing their own instruments on the 20-track LP. The samples that characterized their earlier instrumentals are largely absent.[2](https://www.xxlmag.com/today-hip-hop-beastie-boys-drop-check-head/) Recording took place at the group's [G-Son Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/g-son-studios) in [Atwater Village, Los Angeles](https://www.edgepedia.org/atwater-village-los-angeles), with engineering at PCP Labs, and the album was produced by the band with Mario Caldato Jr., who had engineered *Paul's Boutique*.[3](https://musicbrainz.org/release/5fd0be40-716d-490b-827f-8e945db2d4f1) • [7](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/i-decided-it-would-be-funny-to-write-a-song-about-how-he-was-holding-us-all-down-how-he-was-trying-to-mess-it-all-up-sabotaging-our-great-works-of-art-the-story-of-the-beastie-boys-incendiary-sabotage)
The process was deliberately open-ended. In a recollection published on the band's own discography page, [Adam Yauch](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-yauch) is described standing in the live room at G-Son directing traffic several months into the recording; the band knew how to play, sample, program, scratch, and MC, but combining all of these was uncharted territory, and the sessions involved extensive experimentation.[1](https://beastieboys.com/discography/)
## Music and songs
The album mixes sample-based hip-hop with live funk and rock. It opens with "Jimmy James," a sample-heavy track in the vein of *Paul's Boutique*, and includes the anthemic "So What'cha Want," whose distorted vocal effects and heavy beat made it one of the year's most anthemic songs; the hard rock sound on the record was played by the Beasties themselves.[5](https://rapreviews.com/archive/BTTL_checkyour.html) • [6](https://albumism.com/features/tribute-celebrating-30-years-of-beastie-boys-check-your-head) "Time for Livin'" revisits the group's hardcore punk roots, rewarding fans from their pre-rap days.[6](https://albumism.com/features/tribute-celebrating-30-years-of-beastie-boys-check-your-head)
**Sample clearances.** "Jimmy James" was originally built on samples from [Jimi Hendrix](https://www.edgepedia.org/jimi-hendrix) recordings, including snippets of "Foxy Lady," "Still Raining, Still Dreaming," and "EXP." When Hendrix's estate denied permission, the band improvised sound-a-like riffs in the studio; once the samples were cleared, they were restored in the version released as a single in 1992. The album version of the song is prefaced by [Cheap Trick](https://www.edgepedia.org/cheap-trick)'s live intro to "Surrender" from *At Budokan*.[8](https://www.loudersound.com/music/ten-beastie-boys-songs-featuring-classic-rock-samples) "What Comes Around" opens with [John Bonham](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-bonham)'s drum break from "Moby Dick" and includes a snatch of guitar from Alice Cooper's "It's Hot Tonight" (1977).[8](https://www.loudersound.com/music/ten-beastie-boys-songs-featuring-classic-rock-samples)
The full track listing, with durations as published by the band, runs: "Jimmy James" (3:14), "Funky Boss" (1:36), "Pass the Mic" (4:16), "Gratitude" (2:45), "Lighten Up" (2:41), "Finger Lickin' Good" (3:40), "So What'cha Want" (3:37), "The Biz vs. The Nuge" (0:33), "Time for Livin'" (1:49), "Something's Got to Give" (3:28), "The Blue Nun" (0:32), "Stand Together" (2:47), "POW" (2:14), "The Maestro" (2:52), "Groove Holmes" (2:33), "Live at P.J.'s" (3:18), "Mark on the Bus" (1:05), "Professor Booty" (4:13), "In 3's" (2:23), and "Namasté" (4:02).[1](https://beastieboys.com/discography/) Songs were credited to Adam Horovitz, Michael Diamond, Mark Ramos-Nishita, and Adam Yauch, published by Brooklyn Dust Music.[3](https://musicbrainz.org/release/5fd0be40-716d-490b-827f-8e945db2d4f1)
## Commercial performance and reception
*Check Your Head* debuted in the Top Ten of the [Billboard](https://www.edgepedia.org/billboard-magazine) album chart on its April 1992 release and peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/check-your-head-mw0000279571) • [2](https://www.xxlmag.com/today-hip-hop-beastie-boys-drop-check-head/) The AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine attributes part of this initial success to the cult audience *Paul's Boutique* had cultivated in the years since its commercial disappointment.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/check-your-head-mw0000279571)
Initial reviews were mixed: Rolling Stone gave the album 3 out of 5 stars in 1992, and [Entertainment Weekly](https://www.edgepedia.org/entertainment-weekly) graded it a D. When a remastered version appeared in 2009, Entertainment Weekly revised its judgment to an A.[2](https://www.xxlmag.com/today-hip-hop-beastie-boys-drop-check-head/) In a 2009 review of the deluxe reissue for Pitchfork, Nate Patrin wrote that while critical hindsight had assigned *Licensed to Ill* and *Paul's Boutique* their respective labels, it was *Check Your Head* that made sure the Beastie Boys were sticking around: it returned them to the Top 10, reinvented them as a West Coast punk rocker via NYC mutation, and paved the way for their 1990s Grand Royal empire.[9](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12923-check-your-head-deluxe-edition/)
## Legacy
The album drew up the blueprint the group mined for the rest of its prime, and its success on a lengthy tour, mainly at smaller venues, led the band to continue the instrument-driven path on its fourth album, *[Ill Communication](https://www.edgepedia.org/ill-communication)* (1994), again produced by Mario Caldato Jr.[6](https://albumism.com/features/tribute-celebrating-30-years-of-beastie-boys-check-your-head) • [7](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/i-decided-it-would-be-funny-to-write-a-song-about-how-he-was-holding-us-all-down-how-he-was-trying-to-mess-it-all-up-sabotaging-our-great-works-of-art-the-story-of-the-beastie-boys-incendiary-sabotage) Money Mark, the keyboard player on every Beastie Boys album from *Check Your Head* onward, launched a solo career from the album's circle, releasing *Mark's Keyboard Repair* on Mo' Wax.[10](https://djmag.com/features/how-beastie-boys-ill-communication-set-benchmark-90s-eclecticism) The album was reissued in 2009 on two 180-gram vinyl records in a gatefold cover, and as a deluxe edition reviewed that year by Pitchfork.[11](https://www.twosidesrecords.com/music/check-your-head) • [9](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12923-check-your-head-deluxe-edition/)
## References
1. [Discography, Beastie Boys official site](https://beastieboys.com/discography/)
2. [Today in Hip-Hop: The Beastie Boys Drop 'Check Your Head' Album, XXL](https://www.xxlmag.com/today-hip-hop-beastie-boys-drop-check-head/)
3. [Release "Check Your Head" by Beastie Boys, MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/release/5fd0be40-716d-490b-827f-8e945db2d4f1)
4. [Beastie Boys: Check Your Head Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/check-your-head-mw0000279571)
5. [Beastie Boys :: Check Your Head :: Capitol Records, RapReviews](https://rapreviews.com/archive/BTTL_checkyour.html)
6. [Beastie Boys' 'Check Your Head' Turns 30 | Anniversary Retrospective, Albumism](https://albumism.com/features/tribute-celebrating-30-years-of-beastie-boys-check-your-head)
7. [The story of the Beastie Boys' incendiary Sabotage, MusicRadar](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/i-decided-it-would-be-funny-to-write-a-song-about-how-he-was-holding-us-all-down-how-he-was-trying-to-mess-it-all-up-sabotaging-our-great-works-of-art-the-story-of-the-beastie-boys-incendiary-sabotage)
8. [Ten Beastie Boys songs featuring samples of classic rock anthems, LouderSound](https://www.loudersound.com/music/ten-beastie-boys-songs-featuring-classic-rock-samples)
9. [Beastie Boys: Check Your Head: Deluxe Edition Album Review, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12923-check-your-head-deluxe-edition/)
10. [How Beastie Boys' 'Ill Communication' set a benchmark for '90s eclecticism, DJ Mag](https://djmag.com/features/how-beastie-boys-ill-communication-set-benchmark-90s-eclecticism)
11. [Check Your Head, Two Sides Records](https://www.twosidesrecords.com/music/check-your-head)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Hip hop albums › East Coast hip hop albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license