Songfacts®:

• Like so many Beastie Boys songs, the lyrics are an in-joke among the band and their crew. When they were making the Ill Communication album, they weren't very productive (they had a basketball hoop and skate ramp in their studio, which may have kept them from doing actual work). Their producer, Mario Caldato, was nearing the end of his rope, frustrated with their lack of progress. He implored them to finish a song, even if it was just an instrumental, so Adam "King Ad-Rock" Horovitz, in full smart-ass mode, quickly spat out a verse about how Caldato was "sabotaging" them by making them work and impeding their creative brilliance. That became the song's theme, which they put to an instrumental track they had already made. The song ended up being the lead single and biggest hit from the album.
• Unlike much of their earlier work, Beastie Boys didn't use any samples in "Sabotage." By this time, they were creating tracks mostly from live instruments, as sampling was getting expensive and played out.
  
  This song came about during one of their many jam sessions when MCA came up with an arresting bassline. Mike D added that double-beat drum break, Ad-Rock put in some guitar, and they had that punchy open. It didn't take them long to put the rest of the track together, which they called "Chris Rock" because an engineer in the studio named Chris liked it. The track sat around for a long time because they didn't have lyrics. They considered releasing it as an instrumental but came up with the words and added vocals two weeks before the album was finished. It was the last song they added.
• The video, directed by Spike Jonze, is a parody of '70s cop shows such as CHiPs and Hawaii Five-0. It's supposed to look like the open to a show they made up called Sabotage, complete with credits. The three Beasties appear with shaggy hair and huge sunglasses, running around the city chasing a man with a briefcase and doing other cop stuff.
  
  The Boys each play a few different characters in the video, using wigs and mustaches to play the parts. The clothing came from thrift stores. They had such a good time playing dress-up that they started wearing the costumes to parties and other functions.
• Adam "MCA" Yauch recalled to Q magazine April 2008 how the video came about: "Adam (Ad-Rock Horovitz) wanted us to do a photo shoot as undercover cops on a stakeout, sitting in a car, surrounded by coffee cups and doughnut wrappers. We mentioned it to Spike and he said, 'Let's do it.'"
• The Beastie Boys rarely allow their music to be used in advertisements but the band gave their blessing for this song to be used in the 2017 live action Destiny 2 trailer. The commercial's director, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, has an existing relationship with the Beastie Boys which helped him in securing the soundtrack.
  
  "Sabotage" was later used in a spot for the movie Minions: The Rise of Gru that aired during the Super Bowl in 2020, and in a Joe Biden campaign ad later that year that was pulled days later. That spot centers on Joe Malcoun, co-owner of The Blind Pig, a music club in Ann Arbor, Michigan, who talks about how President Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic has hurt his business. It was later revealed that Malcoun had other business interests and was in no need of a bailout.
• The video was nominated for six MTV Video Music Awards, but didn't win any (Video of the Year went to "Cryin'" by Aerosmith). When the award for Best Direction went to R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts," Adam Yauch (MCA) rushed the stage and got to the podium while Michael Stipe was getting his trophy. Yauch was in character as his alter ego, Nathanial Hornblower, wearing a huge fake moustache and lederhosen.
  
  This was the first such intrusion in the history of the show, pre-dating Kanye West's takeover of Taylor Swift's speech by 15 years. Yauch's stunt was baffling, as only the biggest Beastie Boys fans were familiar with Nathanial Hornblower. He and the group suffered no fallout from it, as the network figured boys would be (Beastie) boys. They were given the Video Vanguard award in 1998.
• Reflecting on the video, Matt Pinfield of MTV's 120 Minutes told Songfacts: "It showed a band's sense of humor and playfulness, and not being afraid to have a good time. It was a change of direction as far as the song goes: It was full-on rock inspired, that '70s rock feel on that song. I felt there was a lot of Zeppelin in it. That's why I think it's such a great take-off on all those great '70s cop shows and those blaxploitation movies."
• This song is played by a young James T. Kirk early on in the 2009 Star Trek movie as he takes his stepfather's antique convertible out for a joyride in the Iowa countryside. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Joshua - La Crosse, WI