Beastie Boys

Artist Image: Beastie Boys
Attribution

Biography

Beastie Boys is an American hip hop band from New York City, formed in 1979. For the majority of its career, the group has consisted of three MCs and musicians Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass) and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar). Originally formed as a four-piece hardcore punk band in 1979 by Michael Diamond (vocals), John Berry (guitar), Adam Yauch (bass) and Kate Schellenbach (drums), the band appeared on the compilation cassette New York Thrash, before recording their first EP Polly Wog Stew, in 1982. After achieving moderate local success with the 1983 experimental hip hop 12-inch "Cooky Puss", the group transitioned to hip hop in 1984 and released a string of successful 12-inch singles. The Beastie Boys toured with Madonna in 1985 and a year later released their debut album Licensed to Ill. The group sold 22 million albums in the United States and 40 million albums worldwide, making them, according to Billboard, "the biggest-selling rap group" since 1991. With seven platinum or better albums from 1986-2004, the Beastie Boys were one of the longest-lived hip hop acts worldwide, and they continued to enjoy commercial and critical success more than 25 years after Licensed to Ill. In 2009, the group released digitally remastered deluxe editions of their albums Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head, Ill Communication and Hello Nasty. Their eighth studio album, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, was released in 2011, and received positive reviews. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2012, "just the third rap group to enter the Hall, after Run-D.M.C. (2009) and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (2007)." The following month, MCA died of cancer of the parotid salivary gland, which led to the speculation that the other members may decide to disband the group.

Details

Item Name Item Details
Year Formed 1979
Number of Albums 36
Record Label
Website beastieboys.com
Wikipedia Beastie Boys on Wikipedia
Social Networks

Trivia

How long have the Beastie Boys been producing their own rappunk blend?

15 years

...astie Boys have grown into sociallyconscious rappers in over more than 15 years of producing their own rappunk blend. Even as their lyrics became more...
What was Michael Diamond's father's occupation?

art dealer

...mother who was a social worker. Michael Diamond's father worked as an art dealer , but died when Michael was just 16 years old. The Beastie Boys starte...
What was Adam Yauch's mother's profession?

social worker

...h a father who was a painter and an architect and a mother who was a social worker . Michael Diamond's father worked as an art dealer, but died when Mi...
Who started out playing in a hardcore band called the Young and the Useless?

The Beastie Boys

...ked as an art dealer, but died when Michael was just 16 years old. The Beastie Boys started out playing in a hardcore band called the Young and the Us...
Where did the Beastie Boys move from?

Def Jam

...white rap performers to gain a substantial following. After moving from Def Jam to Capitol Records for their 1989 release, Pauls Boutique, the Beastie...
What was the name of their 1989 release?

Pauls Boutique

...fter moving from Def Jam to Capitol Records for their 1989 release, Pauls Boutique , the Beastie Boys strategically appropriated retro funk influences,...
What label did Beastie Boys launch in 1992?

Grand Royal

... learned from Rick Rubin and Grandmaster Flash. The band launched the Grand Royal record label in 1992. In addition to the Beastie Boys, its roster in...
Where was Ben Lee from?

Australian

...oys, its roster included the alternative girl group Luscious Jackson, Australian singersongwriter Ben Lee, and German techno act Atari Teenage Riot. C...
What is the name of the Beastie Boys' first album?

Check Your Head

...singersongwriter Ben Lee, and German techno act Atari Teenage Riot. Check Your Head (1992), the Beastie Boys first release on Grand Royal, featured a ...
Where did Beastee Boys release Ill Communication?

1994

...istorted funk instrumentation. The groups next album, Ill Communication ( 1994 ), had a similar sound, and the music video for the hit single Sabotagea ...
Which album represented a return to basics?

The Mixup

...amaswas in nearconstant rotation on MTV. The instrumental hiphop album The Mixup (2007) represented a return to basics, and its fusion of funk, Latin,...
What was the name of the band's eighth album?

Hot Sauce Committee Part One

... won the band another Grammy. The trios eighth studio album, Hot Sauce Committee Part One , was scheduled for release in 2009, but Yauch was diagnosed ...
What was the name of the first single released by the band?

Make Some Noise

...o Ill Communication, and the starstudded video for the debut single Make Some Noise demonstrated that the group had not lost its sense of the absurd. ...
What did the band suspend?

all recording and touring activity

...with cancer in July of that year, and the group suspended all recording and touring activity . Stylistically, it was similar to Ill Communication, and ...
What year did Yauchs pass away?

2012

... its sense of the absurd. Despite the progress that was made with his early cancer treatments, Yauchs health deteriorated, and he passed away in 2012 ....
What band were the Beastie Boys formed out of?

the Young Aborigines

...ys were formed out of members of experimental hardcore punk band the Young Aborigines in 1978, with Diamond as vocalist, Jeremy Shatan on bass guitar,...
What was the first rap record to reach the top of the Billboard 200 chart?

Licensed to Ill

...d with Madonna in 1985 and a year later released their debut album, Licensed to Ill (1986), the first rap record to top the Billboard 200 chart. Their...
What was the name of the band's second album?

Paul's Boutique

...irst rap record to top the Billboard 200 chart. Their second album, Paul's Boutique (1989), composed almost entirely of samples, was a commercial fail...
How many records have Beastie Boys sold in the United States?

20 million

...007), and Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (2011). Beastie Boys have sold 20 million records in the United States and had seven platinum selling albums fr...
How many platinum selling albums did Beastee Boys have from 1986 to 2004?

seven

...uce Committee Part Two (2011). Beastie Boys have sold 20 million records in the United States and had seven platinum selling albums from 1986 to 2004....
What were the names of the trio that released their debut album?

Adam Yauch, Adam Horovitz, and Mike Diamond

...ll, wound up having a lasting impact, but the trio of Adam Yauch, Adam Horovitz, and Mike Diamond were young punks and restless artists. They soon aba...
Who directed the retro video for Sabotage?

Spike Jonze

...to the hit Sabotage, accompanied by a campily retro video directed by Spike Jonze . After the 1998 charttopper Hello Nasty, Beastie Boys' productivity ...
What was the 1998 charttopper?

Hello Nasty

...mpily retro video directed by Spike Jonze. After the 1998 charttopper Hello Nasty , Beastie Boys' productivity slowed in the 2000s as the trio settled ...
What was Yauch diagnosed with?

cancer

... the trio worked on their eighth studio album, Yauch was diagnosed with cancer . The group finished and released Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. Horowitz and ...
What year did Diamond and Yauch form the Beastee Boys?

1981

... Beastie Boys with drummer Kate Schellenbach and guitarist John Berry in 1981 , and the group began playing underground clubs around New York. The foll...
What label did the Beasties release their 7 EP on?

Rat Cage

...g underground clubs around New York. The following year, the Beasties released the 7 EP Pollywog Stew on the indie label Rat Cage to little attention....
Who was the conscience, shaman and intellectual backbone of Beastie Boys?

Adam Yauch MCA

...reaking groups aesthetic and legacy on the page. The third Beastie, Adam Yauch MCA , the conscience, shaman and intellectual backbone of the group died...
Who worked to capture the groundbreaking groups aesthetic and legacy on the page?

Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz

... content Skip to site index After the death of Adam Yauch, Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz worked to capture the groundbreaking groups aesthetic and...
What kind of business is squashed?

ugly

...cians. Some scores are settled, some beef is squashed, and no doubt some ugly business gets airbrushed or skipped over. Bad behavior is acknowledged; ...
Bad behavior is acknowledged; what kind of bona fides are upheld?

feministally

...iness gets airbrushed or skipped over. Bad behavior is acknowledged; feministally bona fides are upheld. Monument building isnt something you necessar...
What did the Beasties build their career out of?

irreverence, slyness and lowkey cool

... expect from the Beasties, who built their career out of irreverence, slyness and lowkey cool . In the beginning, in the early 1980s, the name was an a...
When did Beasties begin?

early 1980s

...out of irreverence, slyness and lowkey cool. In the beginning, in the early 1980s , the name was an acronym for Boys Entering Anarchistic States Toward...
Who was a part of the lineup of Boys entering anarchistic states Toward internal excellence?

Kate Schellenbach

...ternal Excellence, Diamond writes, and the lineup included a girl, Kate Schellenbach . The group migrated from hardcore to hiphop when rap looked more ...
When did the group move from hardcore to hiphop?

when rap looked more like a fad than like a dominant force in pop culture

...group migrated from hardcore to hiphop when rap looked more like a fad than like a dominant force in pop culture . They were puerile and profane and th...
How long have the Beastie Boys grown into socially conscious rappers?

more than 15 years

...but the Beastie Boys have grown into sociallyconscious rappers in more than 15 years of producing their own rappunk blend. But even as their lyrics be...
When did his parents divorce?

when he was just three years old

...that were no strangers to creativity. His parents divorced when he was just three years old and his mother Doris, who was a painter and managed a thri...
What was the name of the band's first release?

Polly Wog Stew

...ool they released their first punk album on Ratcage Records, called Polly Wog Stew , and the following year released a single called Cooky Puss. Withou...
Which airline used a portion of the Cooky Puss single in a commercial?

British Airways

...d the following year released a single called Cooky Puss. Without the band's permission, British Airways used a portion of the single in a commercial....
The Beastie Boys achieved what status?

superstar

...One can say that they achieved superstar status, and then pivoted to another genre to gain even more success. Its evident that the history and biograp...
Who replaced Shatan in 1981?

Adam Yauch

...me a bit confusing. In 1981, Shatan left the band and was replaced by Adam Yauch on bass. It was then that the bands name became the Beastie Boys. Sho...
Who replaced Berry?

Horovitz

...e the Beastie Boys. Shortly after that, Berry also left the groups and Horovitz replaced him. There was some local success for the band when they rele...
When was the single Cooky Puss released?

1983

... success for the band when they released the hiphop single Cooky Puss in 1983 . Incidentally, the success of this track is credited to a prank call by ...
Who left the band a while after Cooky puss?

Schellenbach

...rank call by the group to Carvel Ice Cream. This marked the bands transition from punk to hip hop. Schellenbach also left the band a while after this....
What was Mike D's real name?

Michael Diamond

... hardcore quartet, the original lineup comprised Mike D (real name: Michael Diamond ), drummer Kate Schellenbach and guitarist John Berry whod all belo...
When was Polly Wog Stew released?

1982

... This lineup recorded an eightsong debut EP, Polly Wog Stew, released in 1982 on the Rat Cage label. Over the next year, the Beastie Boys evolved from...
What group did Schellenbach join?

Luscious Jackson

...core group to a fullon rap act. Schellenbach moved on to the group Luscious Jackson , and the surviving Beasties Mike D, MCA and King AdRock (later sho...
Who was a friend of the Beastie Boys?

Rick Rubin

...ejayed accompaniment. A friend of theirs, New York University student Rick Rubin (aka DJ Double R) was an early turntablist for the Beastie Boys befor...
Licensed to Ill was the partyrock anthem of what decade?

Eighties

...d with the fulllength Licensed to Ill (1986). Later described by MCA as a joke that went too far, it turned into the partyrock anthem of the Eighties ....