Respect The Shooter: Janette Beckman

Beastie Boys

“I shot that actually for Rolling Stone, and I think it was the first time the Beastie Boys had been in Rolling Stone. It was 1985, and they were really blowing up. The Beastie Boys were like the greatest thing, these white boy rappers. I’d known about them because I had a friend who used to dance in one of the cages for the Beastie Boys, so I was always bumping into her and she was always telling me about them. They came down to my studio, and in some ways, Rick Rubin seemed like the fourth Beastie Boy to me, so he jumped in the picture. They’re all doing their signs and it was winter obviously by the coats and the hats and stuff, and I kind of love this picture. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a very lots-of-fun Beastie Boy picture. That’s about it. Mike D, those gloves almost look like fluffy little puppets or something. I don’t really remember what they were, but you know, it shows their sense of fun too. They look menacing but fun at the same time. I guess that’s them.”