"Shadrach" is a song by American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

group

Beastie Boys The Beastie Boys were an American Hip-hop, hip hop and Rap rock, rap rock group formed in New York City in 1979. They were composed of Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Mike D, ...

from their second studio album ''

Paul's Boutique ''Paul's Boutique'' is the second studio album by the American hip hop group Beastie Boys, released on July 25, 1989, by Capitol Records. Produced by the Beastie Boys and the Dust Brothers, the album's composition makes extensive use of samples ...

'' (1989). It was released as the album's second single on October 30, 1989, as a 7-inch vinyl backed with the non-album track "And What You Give Is What You Get". Both songs appear on the EP '' An Exciting Evening at Home with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego'' (1989).

Composition

The song refers to the

Biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

story of

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Hebrew names Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) are figures from chapter 3 of the biblical Book of Daniel. In the narrative, the three Jewish men are thrown into a fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylo ...

and the fiery furnace in the

Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th-century BC setting. It is ostensibly a narrative detailing the experiences and Prophecy, prophetic visions of Daniel, a Jewish Babylonian captivity, exile in Babylon ...

. However, the lyrics "Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego" in the track are used and sampled from

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band formed in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1966 and active until 1983. Their work, which blended elements of funk, soul music, soul, psychedelic rock, gospel music, gospel, and R&B, becam ...

's "Loose Booty", in which they are repeated and spoken rhythmically throughout the track in an almost rap-like form. The drum beat is a loop from the song "Hot & Nasty" by

Black Oak Arkansas Black Oak Arkansas is an American Southern rock band named after the band's hometown of Black Oak, Arkansas. The band reached the height of its fame in the 1970s, charting ten albums. Their style is notable for multiple guitar players and ...

and played by drummer Wayne "Squeezebox" Evans. In 2012, The Beastie Boys were sued for copyright infringement for sampling "

Say What Say What may refer to: Books *''Say What? - Talk like a local without putting your foot in it'', by Lonely Planet, 2004 *Say What? by Margaret Peterson Haddix and James Bernardin 2005 Film and TV * ''Say What?'', an MTV television series in the ...

" in the song "Shadrach".

Music video

The video released to promote the Beastie Boys' song was directed by

Adam Yauch Adam Nathaniel Yauch ( ; August 5, 1964 – May 4, 2012), also known by the stage name MCA, was an American rapper, bassist, filmmaker and a founding member of the Hip-hop, hip hop group Beastie Boys. Besides his musical work, he also directed m ...

under his pseudonym Nathaniel Hörnblowér. Utilizing an abstract impressionist style, each frame of the video was hand-painted by animators working for

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

–based animation studio

Klasky Csupo Klasky-Csupo, Inc. ( ) is an American animation studio located in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1982 by producer Arlene Klasky and her then-husband, Hungarian animator Gábor Csupó (hence the company's name) in a spare room of th ...

. It was later included in the 22nd

International Tournée of Animation The ''International Tournée of Animation'' was an annual touring program of alternative animated films that started in 1965 as The First Festival of Animated Film with each selected and assembled from films from many countries around the world an ...

. The video can be seen on the ''

Beastie Boys Video Anthology ''Beastie Boys Video Anthology'' is a 2000 DVD compilation of video clips by the Beastie Boys. The compilation was issued by The Criterion Collection as their 100th DVD title. This compilation is Criterion's first, and currently only, music vid ...

'' DVD compilation released by

The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of art film, arth ...

. They performed a live version of the song on

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. After airing locally on WCIU-TV in Chicago, Illinois, for a year, it aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featu ...

in 1990.Beastie Boys - Shadrach (1990). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtEVKO9_ZDY

Track listing

Personnel

* Produced & arranged by the

and the

Dust Brothers The Dust Brothers are a pair of songwriters and producers consisting of E.Z. Mike ( Michael Simpson) and King Gizmo ( John King). They are famous for the sample-based music they produced in the 1980s and 1990s, and specifically for their work ...

. * Engineered by Mario Caldato and Allen Abrahamson.

References

{{Authority control 1989 singles 1989 songs Beastie Boys songs Songs written by Ad-Rock Songs written by Mike D Songs written by Adam Yauch Songs written by John King (record producer) Songs written by Michael Simpson (producer) Capitol Records singles Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Song recordings produced by Mario Caldato Jr. Song recordings produced by Dust Brothers Music videos directed by Adam Yauch