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The Beastie Boys are a rap rock trio who helped shape the genre with their raucous yet catchy anthems. One of the most respected white rap groups of all time, the Beastie Boys were responsible for creating some of the most experimental and iconic records of the late 80s and early 90s and helped popularize hip hop among mainstream audiences.
I was first introduced to the Beastie Boys as a teenager, and their sound immediately stuck with me because it was fun, raunchy, and creative all at the same time. My favorite Beastie Boys album has to be Ill Communication because I think that’s when their sound was at its most refined and mature, but they have several albums that rank among the greatest in the history of popular music. Here is a closer look at the life and career of the Beastie Boys, one of music’s most energetic trios.
Who Are the Beastie Boys?
The Beastie Boys were a group that formed in New York City in the 1980s that consisted of Michael “Mike D” Diamond, Adam “MCA” Yauch, and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz. The group began as a hardcore punk band and shuffled through several different members before settling on the core trio. They eventually found success as a rap rock crossover group that blended the emerging sound of hip hop with various genres, including punk, electronic, jazz, funk, and many more.
Although they all came from a middle-class Jewish background that was far removed from the life experience of most rappers at the time, they quickly found a niche within the genre and were universally accepted by the culture. They would go on to release some of the most critically acclaimed albums of the genre and are still respected as the pioneers of rap rock and alternative hip hop.
The Beastie Boys are among the few 80’s rap groups I ever got into as a teenager because they had such timeless energy that almost anyone could enjoy. I loved how they blended hip hop and punk rock, my two favorite genres growing up, and simultaneously made fun and rebellious music.
MCA
Adam “MCA” Yauch was born and raised in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of New York City. An only child, MCA was the son of Noel and Frances Yauch, an architect and a social worker.
He went to Edward R Murrow High School in Brooklyn and taught himself to play the bass. Around that time, he joined the early incarnation of the Beastie Boys, which was still a hardcore punk band. He briefly attended Bard University but dropped out after two years to pursue music full time.
MCA was also a talented photographer and videographer who did most of the group’s promotional photography and directed many of their music videos under the pseudonym Nathaniel Hornblower.
Outside of music, MCA was a practicing Buddhist who later became a leading voice in the Tibetan Independence Movement. He remained a core member of the group throughout his adult life. But tragically, he died from cancer at age 47.
Ad-Rock
Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz was born and raised on Park Avenue in Manhattan. He is the son of the playwright and co-founder of the Gloucester Stage Company, Israel Horovitz. His mother is Doris Keef, and he also has a sister named Rachel Horovitz, a famous film producer that has worked on projects like Moneyball and the television series Patrick Melrose. He went to M560 high school in Manhattan and the prep school McBurney. He also attended Brown University, where he majored in gender studies.
He started out his career in music in a band called the Young and Useless before filling in as the guitarist in the Beastie Boys when he was only 16. In addition to being a guitarist and vocalist, Ad-Rock also did a lot of the beat programming on the group’s hip-hop records.
Ad-Rock has been in high-profile relationships with actresses like Molly Ringwald and Ione Skye. He eventually married Kathleen Hanna from the feminist punk band Bikini Kill in 2006, and the couple split their time between NYC and California.
Mike D
Michael “Mike D” Diamond was born and raised on Central Park West in New York City to Harold and Hester Diamond, an art dealer and interior designer. He attended Saint Ann’s School and Walden School in New York City.
Mike D co-founded the band The Young Aborigines in the late ’70s, later changing their name to the Beastie Boys. Besides being a vocalist, Mike D is also a drummer and music producer who contributed production to many Beastie Boys Records and popular modern acts like Portugal.The Man and Slaves. He married the director Tamra Davis in 1993, although they later separated. He currently lives in California.
The Rise of the Beastie Boys
The Beastie Boys started as a hardcore punk band, the Young Aborigines, founded by Mike D and others. MCA eventually replaced their bass player and helped convince Mike to change the name to the Beastie Boys. The name was coined by their guitarist, John Berry, who claimed it was an acronym that meant “Boys Entering Anarchistic States Toward Inner Excellence.”
The group would open for famous punk acts like Bad Brains and the Dead Kennedys at classic NYC clubs like CBGB’s and Max’s Kansas City, although they never had much commercial success as a rock band.
They recorded an EP called Polly Wag Stew, released on the independent record label, Rat Cage. Over time, the other members of the Beasties slowly started to exit the group, leaving just MCA, Mike D, and Ad-Rock, who replaced John Berry after he left in ’82.
They all bonded over a shared love of hip hop. Finding little success outside the New York hardcore scene, they started experimenting with rap. They recorded their first hip hop song Cookie Puss in 1983, which was a comedy record based on a prank call the group made to a Carvel Ice Cream store.
Signing to Def Jam & Licensed to Ill
Cookie Puss was a hit in underground nightclubs and on college radio. So, the Boys decided to switch up their sound and focus more on hip hop than punk rock. The song attracted the attention of Def Jam founder Rick Rubin, who was still a local DJ and student at NYU at the time. Rick produced their next single, Rock Hard, which samples the AC/DC song Back in Black, and was later withdrawn because they didn’t get permission to use the sample.
They started seeing commercial success and began touring with major acts like Madonna and Run DMC. Their debut album, Licensed to Ill, was released in November 1986 and was both a critical and commercial hit. It was the first rap album to reach the top of the Billboard charts and Def Jam’s fastest-selling debut album.
The album featured classic party hits like Brass Monkey, Girls, No Sleep Til Brooklyn, and Fight for Your Right. In my opinion, License to Ill is a classic album because it’s so simple yet effective in its approach. While not the Beastie Boy’s most artistic or experimental album, every song is perfectly executed and has some of the best party anthems of all time. The Beastie Boys were perfectly in their element on this album and knew precisely what their audience wanted to hear from them.
Following the album’s success, the group embarked on the License to Ill Tour, which was a bit of a mess. The group faced frequent lawsuits and trouble with the police for inciting riots and attacking the crowd. MCA was even arrested in Liverpool, England, and charged with assault after two men and two women were treated for minor facial and head injuries after leaving a Beastie Boys show.
Leaving Def Jam and Paul’s Boutique
The Beastie Boys returned with their second studio album, Paul’s Boutique, in 1989. They had left Def Jam over unpaid royalties and signed a deal with Capitol Records for their next album.
They enlisted the help of the Dust Brothers to produce the album, a production duo famous for their sample-based music. Compared to License to Ill, Paul’s Boutique had a much more experimental sound. The production featured a collage of samples from over 105 songs with a much more disjointed and hypnotic sound than their first album.
Paul’s Boutique was hailed as an artistic triumph but did poorly commercially compared to License to Ill due to the experimental approach and cost of licensing each sample. However, it proved the Beastie Boys could come through with an innovative record that broke boundaries and helped dispel the rumors that they were simple one-hit wonders.
I love Paul’s Boutique and think it’s one of the crowning achievements of the Golden Era of hip hop. The sound and song progressions are so cutting edge and ahead of their time that it’s hard to believe it was recorded over 30 years ago. It’s not as much of an easy listen as their debut album but proved that the Beastie Boys were capable of making much more than just party music.
Grand Royal and Check Yo Head
The group formed their own label, Grand Royal, in 1992 and began promoting alternative and techno acts like Luscious Jackson, Ben Lee, and Atari Teenage Riot. They also released their third album Check Yo Head in ’92 on Grand Royal and Capital Records.
Check Yo Head was far less sample-heavy than Paul’s Boutique and featured more instrumental contributions from each group member, returning a bit to their rap-rock roots. They also experimented with funk and jazz on tracks like Lighten Up, and Somethings Gotta Give, proving their versatility. Check Yo Head also featured a more radio-friendly sound and did better commercially, peaking at number 10 on Billboard.
While not my favorite Beastie Boys album, Check Yo Head has some exciting moments. It felt like the Beastie Boys were attempting to reinvent themselves a bit in the ’90s and find their place in a music industry that was becoming dominated by the sounds of grunge and hardcore rap.
Ill Communication
The group returned in 1994 with the album Ill Communication, which debuted at number 1 on Billboard. The lead single, Sabotage, was a major hit on the modern rock chart. It featured a popular music video directed by respected filmmaker Spike Jonze, which got tons of airplay from MTV. The project saw the group continuing to experiment with punk rock, jazz, and funk and took heavy inspiration from Miles Davis’s jazz fusion albums of the early 70s.
Ill Communication is my favorite Beastie Boys album. I love how they blend rap with rock and other genres, and I think they did that perfectly on this album. It has a raw and aggressive sound that doesn’t feel contrived and proves the Beastie Boys could continue to innovate over a decade into their career.
Later Career
One thing about the Beastie Boys is that they never got too comfortable with a particular sound. Their next album was more of a return to rap with a sound borrowed heavily from electronica.
Hello Nasty came out in July 1998 and immediately shot to number 1 on the Billboard chart. They scored a major hit with the song Intergalactic and won two Grammys the following year for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. They also won a few VMAs and used their acceptance speech as a moment to address social issues such as the stereotyping of Muslim Americans as terrorists and the instances of sexual assault that occurred at Woodstock ’99.
Their Grand Royal label eventually folded in 2001, and the Beastie Boys returned to Capital for their subsequent releases. To the 5 Boroughs was released in 2004, and it debuted at number one on Billboard, becoming their 3rd album in a row to top the charts the first week. The album’s themes centered around the September 11th attacks and their impact on New York City.
They followed that up with the instrumental album The Mix-Up in 2007, which won a Grammy for the Best Pop Instrumental album.
Their eighth and final album, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, was released in 2011 to major critical acclaim. It was originally meant to be released in two installments, but the first was delayed due to MCA’s cancer diagnosis. The album featured a more experimental sound but stayed true to the group’s roots and featured appearances from Nas and Santigold.
The Hot Sauce Committee Part Two is an underrated Beastie Boys album in my opinion, and my personal favorite of their later work. It revealed their genuine love for the culture and a willingness to experiment several decades into their career, exemplifying what made the Beastie Boys such an iconic group.
On May 4th, 2012, MCA died from cancer at age 47. After his death, the group officially disbanded. However, they’ve left an astonishing legacy as one of the most impactful and commercially successful rap groups of all time.
FAQ
Answer: The group broke up after the passing of MCA from cancer. While they recorded music as late as 2011 and still had plenty of unreleased material, Ad-Rock and Mike D felt it wasn’t right to continue releasing music as the Beastie Boys without him. Although the trio remained close until the end, they thought it best to discontinue the group.
Answer: They all grew up in New York City and were part of the same underground rock and art scene in the late 70s and early 80s. Mike D founded a punk band called the Young Aborigines, which later became the Beastie Boys, and Ad-Rock and MCA were recruited to play guitar and bass.
Answer: Since Nielsen Sound Scan began collecting record sales data in 1991, the Beastie Boys have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, making them the best-selling rap group of all time.
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