No Sleep till Brooklyn

"No Sleep till Brooklyn"
Single by Beastie Boys
from the album Licensed to Ill
B-side	"Posse in Effect"
Released	1987
Recorded	Spring 1986
Genre	Rap rock, hard rock
Length	4:09
Label	Def Jam/Columbia Records
Producer	Rick Rubin
Beastie Boys singles chronology
"(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" (1987) "No Sleep till Brooklyn" (1987) "Girls" (1987)

"No Sleep till Brooklyn" is a song by Beastie Boys as well as the sixth single on their debut studio album Licensed to Ill. The name of the song itself is a play on Motörhead's No Sleep 'til Hammersmith album.

Production and play

The guitar riffs and solo are played by Slayer guitarist Kerry King, who had also released an album produced by Rick Rubin in 1986 (Reign in Blood). The song interpolates "T.N.T." by AC/DC (though tuned in a different way). The video, directed by Ric Menello, is a parody of glam metal.

The song is still performed live, although with altered lyrics to reflect their more mature attitude towards women. "M.C.A.'s in the back because he's skeezin' with a whore," is changed to "M.C.A.'s in the back at the Mahjong hall",and also from "Autographed pictures and classy hoes" to "Autographed pictures to nobody knows."

In popular culture

• The song is featured on the soundtrack of the Steven Seagal film Out for Justice.
• The Canadian teen drama Instant Star named its second season premiere two-part episode after this song. The show is known for naming each of its episodes after a hit song.
• The song is a playable track in the 2008 music video game Guitar Hero World Tour.
• Rapper Tone Lōc sampled the riff for his song "Ace Is on the House", which was featured in the end credits of the 1994 film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
• The song was used as part of the opening sequence for the 2010 movie Cop Out.
• The song was released as downloadable content into the Rock Band series on August 2, 2011.

Covers and parodies

• British comedian Tony Hawks recorded the song, "Stutter Rap (No Sleep Til Bedtime)" under the pseudonym of "Morris Minor and the Majors" as a "send-up" of the Beastie Boys' then image.
• The song is also played as "No Sleep 'til Belfast" by Stiff Little Fingers on their 1988 album No Sleep 'til Belfast
• In 2009, "No Sleep 'till Brooklyn" was covered by Jay-Z at the All Points West Festival. Jay-Z had inherited the Friday headlining slot from the Beastie Boys, who pulled out due to Adam Yauch's early stage battle with cancer.

Charts

Chart (1987)	Peak position
Dutch Singles Chart	23
German Singles Chart	46
UK Singles Chart	14

External links

• "No Sleep till Brooklyn" Official music video on YouTube