Released forty years ago this week on November 15, 1986, Beastie Boys’ landmark debut album, Licensed to Ill, introduced a global audience to Ad-Rock, MCA and Mike D’s brash, rock-and punk-influenced take on hip-hop. Driven by hard-hitting beats, rock guitars, and irreverent humor, the album made an immense and immediate impact, becoming the first rap album to top the Billboard 200.

Produced by Rick Rubin and Beastie Boys, the album, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2015 for sales of more than 10 million units, has since been ranked by critics among the greatest hip-hop albums and debut albums of all time. Licensed to Ill features seven singles, including “Brass Monkey,” “No Sleep Till Brooklyn,” “Paul Revere” and “Fight for Your Right.” In celebration of its 40th anniversary Def Jam Recordings/UMe will mark four decades of Licensed To Ill with a limited Vinylphyle edition featuring mastering from original sources on March 18, 2027.

Pressed on 180-gram black vinyl LPs with lacquers cut from a high resolution digital transfer from the original 1986 1/4” album master by Joe Nino-Hernes at Sterling Sound, this newly remastered Vinylphyle edition is housed in a gatefold tip-on wrapped jacket with a satin-matte finish and printed on clay-coated board and includes a four-panel insert with scans of the original tape boxes, a classic band-logo etching on the vinyl, and all-new liner notes by Public Enemy co-founder Chuck D. Pre-order the limited Vinylphyle edition of Licensed to Ill, HERE.

Licensed To Ill 40th Anniversary Reissue Track List

Side A

1. Rhymin & Stealin
2. The New Style
3. She’s Crafty
4. Posse In Effect

Side B

1. Slow Ride
2. Girls
3. Fight For Your Right
4. No Sleep Till Brooklyn
5. Paul Revere

Side C

1. Hold It Now, Hit It
2. Brass Monkey
3. Slow And Low
4. Time To Get Ill

Side D
Etching (No Audio)