Beastie Boys

The Beastie Boys made history with their 1986 debut, Licensed to Ill, the first rap album to top the Billboard 200. Formed in New York City in 1981, the group brought together the collision of hardcore punk, hip-hop and rock that would define much of its work. Its core lineup was Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz on vocals and guitar, Adam “MCA” Yauch on vocals and bass, and Michael “Mike D” Diamond on vocals and drums.

Before becoming a rap group, the members' roots were in the hardcore band the Young Aborigines. Diamond played drums alongside bassist Jeremy Shatan and guitarist John Berry, while Kate Schellenbach later joined on drums. After Shatan left in 1981, Yauch took over bass and the group became the Beastie Boys. Berry soon departed, and Horovitz, then guitarist with the Young and the Useless, joined the band. Local success followed with the 1983 comedy hip-hop single “Cooky Puss.” The Beastie Boys then moved fully into hip-hop, while Schellenbach left and the trio of Horovitz, Yauch and Diamond became its enduring lineup.

The group toured with Madonna in 1985 after she encountered them at Danceteria. Licensed to Ill arrived the next year, drawing on the band's rock beginnings while establishing its rap identity. Their 1989 follow-up, Paul’s Boutique, was made with the Dust Brothers and constructed almost entirely from samples. It wasn't a commercial success at the time, but later earned critical and cult acclaim.

On Check Your Head in 1992 and Ill Communication in 1994, the Beastie Boys returned to playing instruments alongside their rapping, bringing punk, funk and rock into their recordings. Both albums found mainstream success. Hello Nasty followed in 1998, then came To the 5 Boroughs in 2004, the entirely instrumental The Mix-Up in 2007, and Hot Sauce Committee Part Two in 2011, their final album. Yauch also directed many of the group’s videos under the alias Nathanial Hörnblowér.

The Beastie Boys gave their final live performance at the 2009 Bonnaroo Music Festival, before stopping following Yauch’s diagnosis with parotid cancer. In 2012, they became the third rap group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Yauch died later that year, and the group disbanded. Their later retrospective work has included compilation albums, the Beastie Boys Book, and a documentary.