If you have ever been curious about who it was that designed the Beastie Boys' Brooklyn Dust Elephant logo (1992) then this Who's Who entry on Todd James in exactly what you have been waiting for.

Todd's name became famous to Beastie Boys fans in & around the time following the release of Check Your Head (1992). Perhaps you own the Check Your Head "Bees Tea Boys" t-shirt. If you pull the shirt out of your closet, you will see that Todd's work graces the back side. Also, as was eluded to in the first paragraph, Todd was the person who designed the Brooklyn Dust logo. So, any t-shirts or stickers which depict that image may also be credited to him.

Todd first met up with Adam Horovitz and his friend Dave Scilken in 1983. They stayed in contact and around 1987 Dave, Todd, and Adam Trese were into writing graffiti. Shortly there after, Dave contracted Todd to make the Brookyln Dust logo (which he had in mind) a reality. Working along with Dave, Todd did some other work for the Beastie Boys as well as for other clients. Their working relationship ended with Dave's untimely death.

After a look through Todd James' website, it will become pretty apparent just how many well know logos ( from Mobb Deep to The Source) and album covers he has worked on over the years. For example, Todd did the cover of DFL's Grand Royal Records release My Crazy Life. As you may already know, that album features Adam Horovitz on bass.

Does the name Todd James sounds familiar to you? It may also be because prior to the Beastie Boys' performance of "High Plains Drifter at the 1992 Roselands New York, NY concert they tell how the previous night Todd had a run in with the law and dedicate the song to him. If you have a recording of that show, pop it in the stereo and listen for yourself.