When you made a promise with Yauch not to make any more music without him, was that something that needed to be articulated?

Adam: Did we make a promise?

Mike: I don’t think we did. That sounds like something that would be good in a movie script. But in real life, I don’t think we’d ever talk about stuff that way. It wasn’t really until the very, very end where we were, I guess, forced to give up on Yauch fighting to continue living.

Since he passed, have you ever encountered anyone that reminds you of him in some way?

Mike: He was such an individual that I couldn’t even expect that, given just how varied and unique he was.

Adam: His kid is like him a lot…

What have been the biggest misconceptions of you guys over the years?

Mike: That we’re gonna be nice.

Adam: I don’t think anyone expects that.

Well, you’ve had such a broad cultural impact and touched so many people that when someone meets you for the first time, their expectations could be hard to live up to. What does that feel like on your end?

Mike: We definitely do not live up to expectations.

Adam: I do!

Mike: I take that back. Adam does. I don’t… except for my nude photos in Huck. But what do people usually expect with Adam? I guess kinda like a Woody Allen, schleppy New York type: short, pale...

Adam: 5’ 3”, unhealthy. That’s a pretty good write-up.

Mike: I can see you standing in front of Zabar’s [a NYC deli] eating a big ol’ cream cheese and salmon bagel, the salmon kind of on the side, smoking a cigarette at the same time, maybe even ashing it on the bagel.

Adam: And then you’re like, ‘I bet that guy’s an asshole.’

Mike: So let’s complete this. What were your expectations?

Well, you have a rich history of giving journalists a hard time.

Adam: What?

I mean, c’mon! Just preparing for this felt intimidating... and maybe I expected Adam to be a bit surly.

Adam: [deadpan] I should point out that I’m really high right now. It’s been a long day.

Mike: People get so mad at us for going off on tangents, talking about whatever we want – which is actually the best stuff in interviews. But instead journalists have usually read some straight answer in another magazine and they want us to say the exact same thing for them.

Adam: What I’ve learned is that you can just say stuff and a lot of people will believe it.

Mike: There is a lot of stuff we made up through the years. As soon as it goes into print, it sort of becomes fact.

Adam: That’s kinda where that whole [reputation] started, actually. It was because someone would just show up with a piece of paper or something that the record company gave them and they’d ask you questions based on that. It would always be the same. What else were we supposed to do?

Mike: It’s not our fault, is what we’re saying.

Beastie Boys Book is published by Faber.

This article appears in Huck: The Flying Lotus Issue. Buy it in the Huck shop or subscribe to make sure you never miss another issue.