There are a slew of great 90s bands who don’t quite get the recognition they deserve – 311 are arguably one of those acts. In a recent interview with Vulture, the Beastie Boys’ Mike D has revealed he may be one of the naysayers who are yet to jump on the 311-love nostalgia train.
In the interview, the legendary Beastie Boys founding member noted that his “greatest fear” would be for someone to compare the group to 311, “cringing” while mentioning that they’re “not his cup of tea.”
“When somebody says, ‘You gotta hear this. They’re like you guys.’ That usually doesn’t end well.” He added that being shown Cypress Hill by Dee Barnes was “the best-case scenario,” but he hopes never to have Beastie Boys and 311 mentioned in the same breath: “Not that it’s ever happened, but my fear would be that someone would be like, ‘311. You love those guys, right?’ I’m sure they’re nice people — [their music] isn’t my cup of tea.”
He also went on to describe his reactions to the music he finds his children listening to, likening the popular SoundCloud rap group Suicideboys to 80s metal acts like Slayer.
“I find myself interested in the different phases of music my kids have been into, from commercial rap like Kanye and Drake to the hard core that I grew up on like Black Flag and Bad Brains. And then there’s getting into Slayer, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin — the emergent testosterone classics”
