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Triple Trouble
First Appearance: To the 5 Boroughs LP, 4 June 2004
Written by: Beastie Boys/Bernard Edwards/Nile Rodgers
Performed by: Beastie Boys
Production Notes: Produced by Beastie Boys. Mixed by Supa Engineer "DURO" for No Question Ent./Loreal Inc. Recording engineered by Beastie Boys and Jon Weiner. Turntable Extraordinaire: Mix Master Mike. Recorded and mixed at Oscilloscope Laboratories. Mastered by Chris Athens at Sterling Sound.
Behind the Beats and Lyrics...

Samples

  • Contains elements that were inspired by the lyrics from "Double Trouble at the Amphitheatre" by Kevin Smith and Rodney Stone from the Wild Style soundtrack
  • "Rapper's Delight" by Sugarhill Gang from their album Sugarhill Gang (1980)

References

  • Bacardi - a brandname of rum
  • All Temp-A-Cheer - Cheer brand laundry detergent
  • Mr. Belvedere - a character and television sitcom (1985-1990), starring actor Christopher Hewitt as a snooty, proper English butler who worked for a middle-class American family
  • Cerrone - Jean-Marc Cerrone (1952- ), one of the most influential disco producers in Europe during the 1970's and early 1980's
  • Helen of Troy - in Greek mythology, the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda; her elopement to Troy with Paris caused the Trojan War
  • Jabba the Hutt - a giant, sluglike gangster who was the preeminent kingpin of crime in the Star Wars underworld
  • Bon vivant - a French term for someone who enjoys luxurious living; a fastidious devotee of good food and drink
  • Latte - hot espresso served mixed with hot milk
  • Wile E. Coyote - a Warner Bros. cartoon character whose nemesis is the Road Runner

Sample & Reference Breakdown

  • "If you wanna know the deal about the three/Well, let me tell ya we're triple trouble, y'all/We're gonna bring you up to speed!" - lyrics are inspired by those in "Double Trouble at the Amphitheatre" by Rodney C., K.K. Rockwell, and DJ Stevie Steve ("If you wanna know the real deal about the two/Let us tell ya, we're double trouble, girls/And we're doing it just for you!")
  • "Ain't selling out to advertisers" - refers to an interview in which Adam Yauch said Beastie Boys would never sell any of their songs to advertisers, nor promote any of their products
  • "Versatile All Temp-A-Cheer" - Cheer laundry detergent advertises that its product washes clothes in all temperatures, hence the slogan "All Temp-A-Cheer"
  • "Bam! Supernature, goddamn" - "Supernature" is a song by Jean-Marc Cerrone
  • "What the Helen of Troy is that?" - a "clean" play on the expression "What the hell is that?"
Commentary

Beastie Boys

"That's a British MC on there, MC Crayonz. In fact we think of that as our British song. We might be wrong." - Beastie Boys, referencing Adrock's British accent throughout the song, 2004

Press

"...the Beasties flow into the harmonized rhymes of vintage hip-hop group Double Trouble. While DJ Mix Master Mike cuts up the song's extended rhythms, Ad-Rock rhymes, 'Versatile like All Temp-A-Cheer/If you wanna drink, call Mr. Belvedere/Run this rap game like a brigadier.'" - MTV News, 2004

"...a groove that sounds like the Rolling Stones' Sympathy for the Devil" - Michael D. Clark, Houston Chronicle, 2004

"Snappy rhymes and sonic thump combine in a winning display of Beastie economy, a formula the Boys fail to apply uniformly." - Edna Gundersen, USA Today, June 15, 2004

"...[a] toe-tapping singalong complete with Run DMC-like riff" - Nigel Gould, Belfast Telegraph, June 18, 2004

"...a throwback party jam with a fever for a cowbell, but as a redux of Double Trouble's 'At the Amphitheatre' over Chic's played out 'Good Times' beat, it's not really happening" - Peter Relic, Cleveland Free Times, June 30, 2004

"...[Boroughs] still finds the group making clever use of beats and samples, like the Sugar Hill Gang's 1979 classic 'Rapper's Delight' on the old-school throwdown 'Triple Trouble'" - Chuck Arnold, People, July 12, 2004