At a time when hip-hop was first starting to gain mainstream acceptance, the Beastie Boys burst onto the scene with industry heavyweights Russell Simmons, Lyor Cohen and Rick Rubin all behind them. After the release and success of their debut album License to Ill though, the group left Def Jam and, speaking with Vlad TV, Russell says that had they stuck with the label, they may have achieved greater success than even Eminem.

"They left because they couldn't get along," Simmons says in the above video. "They were young. They couldn't get along with Lyor and Rick. Lyor wanted to manage 'em and make them a big movie at a big movie studio. Rick wanted to produce and direct their movie...Rick thought that the Beasties were kinda being placated to. And they weren't being made to work properly...Rick being the genius he was, I'm sure their next album would have been greater. I'm sure that had Rick stayed with the Beastie Boys they would have been Eminem or greater."

Simmons notes that he rarely speaks on such items and that a proper portrayl may come in the form of a film. He also comments on the Beastie Boys record "Fight For Your Right to Party," saying, "[Rick Rubin] didn't make 'Fight For Your Right To Party.' That wasn't his shit. They made that...We didn't plan to make it the first single. Radio snatched it [and] made it huge. It was kind of a bad intro to their careers. It was kind of pop. They had to save themselves. They didn't even do 'Fight For Your Right To Party' live after that...Really wasn't what they were about."

Check the full interview with Russell up above.

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