An Open Letter to NYC

"An Open Letter to NYC"
"An Open Letter to NYC"
Single by Beastie Boys
from the album To the 5 Boroughs
B-side	Instrumental / A cappella (12")
Released	November 2004
Recorded	2004
Studio	Oscilloscope Laboratories (Tribeca, New York)
Genre	East Coast hip hop; rap rock; alternative hip hop; political hip hop; alternative rock;
Length	4:18
Label	Capitol
Songwriter(s)	Michael Diamond; Adam Horovitz; Adam Yauch; Eugene O'Connor; David Lynn Thomas;
Producer(s)	Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys singles chronology
Music video
	"An Open Letter to NYC" on YouTube

"An Open Letter to NYC" is a song by American hip hop group Beastie Boys. It was released in November 2004 by Capitol Records as the fourth and final single from their sixth studio album, To the 5 Boroughs (2004). The single entered and peaked at number 38 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was used during the opening credits of an episode of HBO's Taxicab Confessions, and is also included in the video game NBA Street V3. The group performed the song live during the 2004 MTV Europe Music Awards, on November 18, 2004 at the Tor di Valle Hippodrome, in Rome.^[1]

Composition

The song's lyrics talk about the group's affection for their hometown, New York City. It alludes to the 9/11 terrorist attacks but also implies there are deeper flaws in the system people need to acknowledge and come together as a community, or suffer as a whole.

Track listing

12" vinyl

Capitol — 7243 8 16523 1 2^[2]

Side A
No.	Title	Length
1.	"An Open Letter to NYC"	4:18
2.	"MTL Reppin' for the 514"	3:01

Side B
No.	Title	Length
1.	"An Open Letter to NYC" (Instrumental)	4:13
2.	"An Open Letter to NYC" (A cappella)	3:19

CD

Capitol — 6189572, EMI/Parlophone — 70876 19857 2 8^[3]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"An Open Letter to NYC" (Andy Wallace Mix)	4:02
2.	"An Open Letter to NYC"	4:22
3.	"An Open Letter to NYC" (A cappella)	3:19
4.	"An Open Letter to NYC" (Instrumental)	4:13

Charts

Chart (2004)	Peak position
Dutch Singles Chart^[4]	17
UK Singles Chart^[5]	38

In popular culture

In the pilot of Succession one of the main characters, Kendall Roy, is introduced singing along to the song on headphones.^[6]

References

^ "Beastie Boys: "Open Letter to NYC"". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-05-05.^{[dead YouTube link]}
^ "Beastie Boys - An Open Letter To NYC (Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
^ "Beastie Boys - An Open Letter To NYC (CD)". Discogs. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
^ "dutchcharts.nl - Beastie Boys - An Open Letter to NYC". Retrieved 2011-05-11.
^ "The Official Charts Company - Beastie Boys". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-05-11.
^ Lipka, Carolyn. "'Succession' Premiere Promises More Jokes Than It Delivers". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-08-15.

This 2000s American single-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] "Beastie Boys: "Open Letter to NYC"". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-05-05.^{[dead YouTube link]}

[2] "Beastie Boys - An Open Letter To NYC (Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved December 14, 2015.

[3] "Beastie Boys - An Open Letter To NYC (CD)". Discogs. Retrieved December 14, 2015.

[4] "dutchcharts.nl - Beastie Boys - An Open Letter to NYC". Retrieved 2011-05-11.

[5] "The Official Charts Company - Beastie Boys". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-05-11.

[6] Lipka, Carolyn. "'Succession' Premiere Promises More Jokes Than It Delivers". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-08-15.

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v t e Beastie Boys
Ad-Rock John Berry Mike D MCA Kate Schellenbach
Studio albums	Licensed to Ill Paul's Boutique Check Your Head Ill Communication Hello Nasty To the 5 Boroughs The Mix-Up Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
Compilations	Some Old Bullshit The In Sound from Way Out! Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds of Science Solid Gold Hits Beastie Boys Music
EPs	Polly Wog Stew An Exciting Evening at Home with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego Pretzel Nugget Root Down Aglio e Olio Nasty Bits Scientists of Sound (The Blow Up Factor Vol. 1) The Mix-Up Bonus Tracks
Live musicians	Rick Rubin Doctor Dré DJ Hurricane Money Mark Eric Bobo Alfredo Ortiz Mix Master Mike
Associated acts	The Young and the Useless Dust Brothers Mario Caldato Jr. BS 2000 The Latch Brothers
Filmography	Beastie Boys Video Anthology Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That! Fight for Your Right Revisited Beastie Boys Story
Related articles	Discography Songs Grand Royal G-Son Studios The Beastles Oscilloscope Laboratories Simply Mortified
Category

v t e Beastie Boys singles
Licensed to Ill	"Hold It Now, Hit It" "The New Style" "Paul Revere" "Brass Monkey" "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" "No Sleep till Brooklyn" "Girls"
Paul's Boutique	"Hey Ladies" "Shadrach"
Check Your Head	"Pass the Mic" "So What'cha Want" "Jimmy James" "Gratitude"
Ill Communication	"Sabotage" "Get It Together" "Sure Shot" "Root Down"
Hello Nasty	"Intergalactic" "Body Movin'" "The Negotiation Limerick File" "Remote Control / Three MC's and One DJ"
To the 5 Boroughs	"Ch-Check It Out" "Triple Trouble" "Right Right Now Now" "An Open Letter to NYC"
Hot Sauce Committee Part Two	"Lee Majors Come Again" "Too Many Rappers" "Make Some Noise" "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win"
Other singles	"Cooky Puss" "Rock Hard" "She's on It" "Alive"
Other songs	"In a World Gone Mad"

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