Beastie Boys’ Mike D was interviewed by Vulture and mentioned hip hop’s growth and what he thinks of the status of the genre.

“I always felt like rap would become popular, but I didn’t foresee it becoming as mainstream as it is,” Mike D said. “With current rap, there’s nothing that makes it not pop. Obviously, certain rappers are going to make poppier records and certain rappers are going to be more esoteric, but I never would’ve thought that rappers could be the Lionel Richies of their day.”

The Beasty Boys’ memoir is set to arrive later this year.