Group

Beastie Boys

From: New York, United States
Active: 1979–2014
Rating: ★ 4.2 (18 votes)
Releases: 171

hip hop
rap rock
east coast hip hop
hardcore punk
rock
experimental hip hop
alternative hip hop
alternative rock

About

The Beastie Boys were an American hip-hop and rock group formed in New York City in 1981. Their main line-up consisted of Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums).

The Beastie Boys were previously members of the hardcore punk band the Young Aborigines, with Diamond on drums, Jeremy Shatan on bass guitar, and John Berry on guitar. Kate Schellenbach later joined on drums. When Shatan left in mid-1981, Yauch replaced him on bass and the band was renamed the Beastie Boys. Berry left shortly thereafter and was replaced by Horovitz, the guitarist of The Young and the Useless. After achieving local success with the 1983 comedy hip-hop single "Cooky Puss", the Beastie Boys made a full transition to hip-hop and Schellenbach subsequently left, with the group's final lineup consisting of Diamond, Horovitz and Yauch. Yauch, a filmmaker, directed many of the Beastie Boys' music videos under the alias Nathanial Hörnblowér.
The Beastie Boys toured with Madonna in 1985, after she discovered them while frequenting Danceteria. In 1986, they released their debut album, Licensed to Ill. It was the first rap album to top the Billboard 200 chart and was influenced by their beginnings in rock. Their second album, Paul's Boutique (1989), was made with the Dust Brothers and consisted almost entirely of samples. It was a commercial failure but received critical and cult acclaim. Check Your Head (1992) and Ill Communication (1994) found mainstream success, followed by Hello Nasty (1998), To the 5 Boroughs (2004), the entirely instrumental album The Mix-Up (2007), and Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (2011), their final album.
Their last live performance was at the 2009 Bonnaroo Music Festival, before they stopped due to Yauch's diagnosis of parotid cancer. In 2012, the Beastie Boys became the third rap group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Later that year, Yauch died and the Beastie Boys disbanded. Retrospective works include the Beastie Boys Book, a documentary and several compilation albums.

From Beastie Boys on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Heard on the radio

Brass Monkey Licensed to Ill
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Paul Revere Licensed to Ill
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(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!) Beastie Boys Music
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