Rock Hard was one of the first songs released by the Beastie Boys, released by record label Def Jam on 12" in 1984. It has long been removed from print and is now considered a rare collector's item. The song samples from the AC/DC song "Back in Black"; the Beastie Boys used this sample without legal permission. Later, when the Boys planned to include the out-of-print song on their 1999 anthology The Sounds of Science, AC/DC refused to allow the sample to be used. Mike D spoke to AC/DC's Malcolm Young personally on the phone when their lawyers refused to clear the sample, and later said that "AC/DC could not get with the sample concept. They were just like, 'Nothing against you guys, but we just don't endorse sampling.'" Adrock then added "So we told them that we don't endorse people playing guitars." The cover design is also famous for now being the official Def Jam records logo for vinyl releases. To this day songs released by Def Jam in vinyl have this design.
