Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked New Yorkers on Thursday to ignore the Beastie Boys for now and, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, fight for their right to party another time.
Mr. Cuomo referenced the hip hop group’s 1987 hit single, “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!),” during the Democrat’s latest press conference about the pandemic.
“This is not the time to fight for your right to party,” said Mr. Cuomo. “I respect your right to party. I fully respect it. I would enshrine it in the state law, if you want to know. You have the right to party. But let’s be smart about it, right?”
Mr. Cuomo added he was appealing directly to young adults who may falsely believe they are invisible against COVID-19, the contagious respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.
“There’s an attitude that young people are immune. You are not,” said Mr. Cuomo. “The virus can kill you. And if it doesn’t kill you, you can bring it home and give it someone inadvertently and it can kill them.”
COVID-19 is transmitted from person-to-person, effectively making social activities such as partying — and collectively fighting for the right to do so —risky ways of spreading the disease further.
Included on the Beastie Boys’ debut album, 1986’s “Licensed to Ill,” the party anthem is among the best-known songs released by the acclaimed New York City-based hip hop group. It reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart following its release and was later honored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as being one of 500 songs to shape the genre.
The Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, making them one of only three rap groups recognized by the institution since its start in the 1980s. The group disbanded later that year following the death of one of its three members, Adam “MCA” Yauch.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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