Mike D – ‘Thank You’ review: Beastie Boys’ icon’s solo debut is a return to be grateful for

“The way I describe the record is that musically it’s still pretty immature, and lyrically it’s a little bit more mature,” Mike D told NME earlier this summer when we met him at his debut UK solo show at a social club and bingo hall in North Shields – somewhat of an unassuming spot to launch the first music released by a Beastie Boy since the death of the universally beloved Adam “MCA” Yauch back in 2012. “I had to learn how to feel all over again.” READ MORE: No Sleep Till… North Shields: Beastie Boys’ Mike D talks going solo and keeping weird venues alive Beastie Boys were a revolution. Carrying the “do what the fuck you want” ethos from their hardcore punk beginnings, they altered rap and 20th Century pop culture with sideways lyrical mastery, groundbreaking sampling, genre-smashing live instrumentation, attention-dominating antics and an inspiring positive attitude. They were funny as fuck and meant the world to so many. Theirs was artful, human hip-hop driven by the head and the heart, made by three individuals who were in love with being in a band. When MCA died, so did Beastie Boys. Michael Diamond retired to behind the scenes, producing records by the likes of Soft Play and...