The Beastie Boys find a political cause

Beastie Boys With Monks

The Beastie Boys were the last band anyone expected to get political. The hip-hop trio's first full-length album, ''Licensed to Ill'' in 1986, was a boy's night out, crammed with tales of drinking and partying. Their most recent album, ''Ill Communication'' (Grand Royal/Capitol), released yesterday, sounds more like the morning after. It's sleepy and sprawling, heavy and reflective. ''The earth needs to be respected,'' Adam Yauch (a k a MCA) raps on ''The Update.'' ''It's been far too long that she's been neglected.''

On Friday night at the Academy, the Beastie Boys - Michael Diamond (Mike D), Adam Horovitz (King Adrock) and Mr. Yauch - put their money where their mouths are. The surprise performance, announced the day of the show, was a benefit for Artists for Tibet, a national campaign to preserve Tibetan culture. Also on the bill were Luscious Jackson, a female punk, funk and hip-hop quartet that includes former Beastie Boys drummer, Kate Schellenback, and the Tibetan Ganden Jangtse Monks.

''I don't think most of our audience has ever seen something like the monks,'' Mr. Yauch, 29, said from his parents' home in Brooklyn hours before the show, ''and I definitely don't think the monks have ever seen the kind of insanity that goes on at our concerts before. Hopefully it will run smoothly. The main thing we're hoping to do with the concert is bring about some more awareness about what's happening in Tibet, especially among younger people.''

Mr. Yauch talks little about music these days. In a sober voice, he discusses seminars he has taken with the Dalai Lama and reasons for imposing economic sanctions on China, which invaded Tibet in 1949, then annexed it. Along with the rest of the band, he is helping Artists for Tibet sponsor the Ganden Jangtse Monks on this summer's Lollapalooza tour on which the Beastie Boys are also to perform.

Last month, the Beastie Boys started a foundation called the Milarepa Fund. Proceeds from two of the songs on ''Ill Communication,'' ''Shambala'' and ''Bodhisattva Vow,'' will be donated to the fund. The latter song includes recordings Mr. Yauch made of Tibetan monks while visiting Nepal several years ago. ''That's how I got interested in checking this stuff out, Mr. Yauch explained. ''I traveled to Nepal, where a lot of Tibetans live in exile.''

Does the rest of the band share Mr. Yauch's interest in spiritual pursuits? ''I think they feel that it's something I feel is important, so it's O.K. with them,'' Mr. Yauch said, ''But they're keeping their distance from it a little bit because they all grew up leery of religions in general.''