Founding Beastie Boys member Michael “Mike D” Diamond hosts a regular show on Beats 1 Radio called “The Echo Chamber,” and for the latest episode of the series, Diamond sat down with 80s baby and noted skate enthusiast Jonah Hill to discuss their mutual passions for hip-hop and skateboarding, as well as a new stage version of the 2018 memoir Beastie Boys Book directed by Diamond, Hill, and longtime Beasties collaborator Spike Jonze.
“We produced a show about Beastie Boys’ book, live documentary, whatever you want to call it,” Hill said about the collaboration. “That’ll come out when, probably like later this year or something? Then we’re also writing a film together, you, me, Adam, and Spike.”
The duo also dedicated quite a bit of the episode to discussion of their favorite Kanye West albums, which incidentally ended up being My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy for the both of them. “As an album, it’s probably Kanye’s best album,” Diamond said. Continuing their discussion of West’s catalog, Mike D mentioned his proximity to the studio sessions for Yeezus, which was recorded at Rick Rubin‘s Shangri-La Studios in Malibu.
“Rick had me come by a couple of times, and they were working on stuff, and then I had the record before it was done,” he said. “I said to Rick, ‘I loved it, but it was hard for me. I couldn’t even listen to the record all in one sitting, because it was so angry…and I was in this phase in my life where I was really trying to be happy.”
Earlier this month, Beastie Boys announced new vinyl reissues of Paul’s Boutique, Ill Communication, and To the 5 Boroughs, each of which celebrates a landmark anniversary this year. The group also released a new documentary for the 25th anniversary of Ill Communication, as well as a collection of new EPs marking the 30th anniversary of Paul’s Boutique this past July. Jonah Hill’s directorial debut Mid90s hit theaters last year with a standout score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. More recently, he’s directed music videos for artists like Travis Scott and Vampire Weekend.
Check out the full interview here via Beats 1 Radio.
