Listen: Beastie Boy Mike D Releases New Song, ‘Humberto vs the New Reactionaries’

Mike D of Beastie Boys. Photo: Fabio Venni/Fabbio on flickr/Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

The surviving Beastie Boys have been fairly quiet since Adam “MCA” Yauch’s untimely death last year, but in a surprising turn, member Mike D (aka Mike Diamond) has released a new track commissioned by fashion house Kenzo. The 10-minute song, “Humberto vs the New Reactionaries: Christine and the Queens Remixx,” serves as the soundtrack to Kenzo’s Spring/Summer 2014 show and came about after Spike Jonze introduced Mike to the brand’s creative director, Humberto Leon.

The track’s marriage of classic punk and trap stems from the pair’s shared influences. “Talking to Humberto, I wanted to honor what he was inspired by: American hardcore like Black Flag, Bad Brains, Circle Jerks but then I wanted to update it, or maybe couldn’t help but to update it,” Mike said in an interview with Kenzo. Though he didn’t explain the track’s cumbersome title, “New Reactionaries” was previously used in the title of the Beasties’ collaboration with Nas, “Too Many Rappers (New Reactionaries Version),” from their last album, 2011’s Hot Sauce Committee Part Two.

While Mike D and Ad Rock are currently collaborating on a memoir, it seems that Mike D might have more music in store for fans. When asked what he’s currently working on, he replied, “This Kenzo shit!”