Everything you thought you knew about the brass monkey was wrong. Beastie Boys fans were shocked this week when Mike D told WNYC’s Studio 360 that what the band was rapping about in their 1986 hit ...

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BRASS MONKEY") BEASTIE BOYS: (Singing) Brass Monkey, that funky Monkey, Brass Monkey junkie, that funky Monkey. Brass - got this dance that's more than real. Drink Brass Monkey.

Brass Monkey, that funky Monkey. When the Beastie Boys dropped “Licensed to Ill” in 1986, chances are they didn’t realize their hard-partying anthem “Brass Monkey” (which pairs a sample from Wild ...

This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. Let's continue our hip-hop history series with the interview I recorded in 2006 with the Beastie Boys, Mike Diamond, Adam Horovitz and Adam Yauch. In 1987, they ...