Beastie Boys is an American alternative hip hop music group from New York City: Brooklyn and Manhattan. The main members are Mike D (real name Michael Diamond), MCA (Adam Yauch) and Ad-rock (Adam Horovitz). All three members
... Beastie Boys is an American alternative hip hop music group from New York City: Brooklyn and Manhattan. The main members are Mike D (real name Michael Diamond), MCA (Adam Yauch) and Ad-rock (Adam Horovitz). All three members are Jewish.
Beastie Boys was the first successful white rap group and one of the few acts from the early days of hip hop that still enjoy major success. Their rock and punk-influenced rap has had significant impact on artists both in and outside the hip hop scene.
Beastie Boys was formed in 1979 as a punk rock band called The Young Aborigines. In 1981, Adam Yauch (MCA) joined the group and changed the name to Beastie Boys. The name "Beastie" originally stood for "Boys Entering Anarchistic States Towards Inner Excellence," and the initials B.B. intended to mimic Washington DC punk band Bad Brains. The band's original line-up consisted of Adam Yauch on bass, Kate Schellenbach on drums, John Berry on guitar, and Michael Diamond on vocals. Their first gig was at Berry's house on Yauch's 17th birthday. The band quickly earned support slots for Bad Brains and Reagan Youth at venues such as CBGB and Max's Kansas City, playing at the latter venue on its closing night. That same year, the Beastie Boys recorded the 7" EP Pollywog Stew at 171A studios.
John Berry left the group (later forming Thwig) and was replaced by Horovitz—who had previously played in the punk band The Young and the Useless in 1983. The band also performed its first rap track, Cooky Puss, based on a prank call by the group to Carvel Ice Cream. The song became a hit in New York underground dance clubs upon its release.
It was during this period that Def Jam record producer Rick Rubin entered the picture and the Beastie Boys changed from a punk rock outfit to a three-man hip hop crew. The band released the 12" single, Rock Hard, in 1984—the second record released by Def Jam that credited Rubin as producer. Kate Schellenbach soon developed creative differences concerning the band's new musical direction. She left the band after Rubin purchased matching track suits for each of the boys, but failed to buy one for Schellenbach. She would then go on to join Luscious Jackson in 1991.
In 1985, the band supported Madonna on her North American Virgin tour. Later in the year, the group was on the Raising Hell tour with Run DMC, Whodini, LL Cool J, and the Timex Social Club. With their exposure on this tour, the track "Hold It Now, Hit It" made Billboard's national R&B and Dance charts. The track, "She's on It," from the Krush Groove soundtrack continued in a rap/metal vein while a double A-side 12" "Paul Revere/The New Style" was released at the end of the year and became another R&B/dance hit.
The band recorded Licensed to Ill in 1986 and released the album at the end of the year. It was a smash success, becoming the best selling rap album of the 1980s and the first rap album to go #1 on the Billboard album chart, where it stayed for five weeks. It also reached #2 on the Urban album charts. It was Columbia Records' fastest selling debut record to date and sold over five million copies. The first single from the album, "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)," reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The band took the Licensed to Ill tour around the world the following year—it was controversial—featuring female members of the crowd dancing in cages and a giant motorized inflatable penis similar to one used by The Rolling Stones in the 1970s. The tour was troubled by lawsuits and arrests, with the band accused of provoking the crowd. In the United Kingdom, alleged insults supposedly aimed at leukemia victims almost resulted in the band being kicked out of the country—though the Beastie Boys maintain that the incident was an exaggeration of actual events resulting when the band politely declined to sign an autograph.
British comedian Tony Hawks recorded the song, "Stutter Rap," under the pseudonym of "Morris Minor and the Majors" as a send up of the Beastie Boys' then image. It became a major hit in the UK reaching #4 and #1 in Australia.
The group matured with their second album, Paul's Boutique. Produced mainly by the Dust Brothers and recorded in 1988, this extremely sample-heavy oeuvre is still considered one of the stongest works by the Beasties [1].
The album was released in 1989 by Capitol Records and failed to match the sales of Licensed to Ill, reaching #14 on the Billboard 200 and #10 on the Billboard R&B charts. The lead single, "Hey Ladies," reached #36 on the Billboard 100 and #10 on the R&B charts. Rolling Stone would describe the album as "the Pet Sounds / Dark Side of the Moon of hip hop." Paul's Boutique would eventually sell a million albums.
The follow-up album, Check Your Head, was recorded in the band's own "G-Son" studio in Atwater Village, California and released on its Grand Royal record label. The band played the instruments on this album, with Mike D on drums, Yauch on bass, Horovitz on guitar and Mark Ramos Nishita ("Keyboard Money Mark") on keyboards. Mario Caldato Jr. ("Mario C") produced and would become a longtime collaborator.
Check Your Head was released in 1992 and went double platinum in the U.S., reaching a peak of #10 on the Billboard 200. The first single, "So What'cha Want," reached #43 on the Billboard 100 and made both the urban and modern rock charts while "Pass the Mic" became a hit in dance clubs. The album also introduced a more experimental direction—with funk and jazz inspired songs—including "Lighten Up" and "Something's Got To Give." Hardcore punk even made its reappearance with "Time For Livin'."
The Beastie Boys signed an eclectic roster of artists to the Grand Royal label including Luscious Jackson and Sean Lennon, promising Australian artist Ben Lee and the Japanese duo Cibo Matto. The Beastie Boys owned Grand Royal Records until 2001 when it was then sold for financial reasons. Grand Royal's first independent release was Luscious Jackson's album In Search Of Manny in 1993.
The Beastie Boys also published Grand Royal Magazine, with the first edition in 1993 featuring a cover story on Bruce Lee, artwork by George Clinton, and interviews with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and A Tribe Called Quest MC Q-Tip. The 1995 issue of the magazine contained the first print reference of the expression, "mullet," to describe the hairstyle.
Ill Communication, released in 1994, saw the Beastie Boys' return to the top of the charts when the album peaked at #2 on the R&B/ hip hop album chart. The single, "Sabotage," became a hit on the modern rock charts and the music video—directed by Spike Jonze—received extensive play on MTV. "Get It Together" reached Top 10 of the Billboard dance charts and also became an urban hit while "Sure Shot" was a dance hit. Some Old Bullshit, featuring the band's early independent material, made #50 on the Billboard independent charts.
The Beastie Boys headlined at Lollapalooza—an American travelling music festival—in 1994, together with the Smashing Pumpkins. In addition, the band performed three concerts in Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington D.C.—to raise money for the Milarepa Fund and dedicated the royalties from "Shambala" and "Bodhisattva Vow"—from the Ill Communication album to the cause. The Milarepa Fund aims to raise awareness of Tibetan human rights issues and the exile of the Dalai Lama. In 1996, Yauch organized the Tibetan Freedom Concert that attracted 100,000 people—it was a two-day festival at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
In 1995, the popularity of the Beastie Boys was underlined when tickets for an arena tour went on sale in the U.S. and sold out within a few minutes. One dollar from each ticket sold went to local charities. The Beastie Boys toured South America and Southeast Asia for the first time. The band also released Aglio e Olio, a collection of eight songs lasting for just eleven minutes harking back to their punk roots, in 1995. The In Sound From Way Out!, a collection of jazz/funk instrumentals, was released on Grand Royal in 1996 with the title and artwork the same as a groundbreaking album by electronic music pioneers Perrey and Kingsley.
The Beastie Boys returned to New York City in 1997 to produce and record the album Hello Nasty. The album displayed a substantial shift in musical feel, with the departure of DJ Hurricane. He was replaced by Mix Master Mike, who added to the Beasties' sound with his kinetic DJ style. Released 14 July, 1998, Hello Nasty clocked first week sales of nearly 700,000 in the U.S. and went straight to #1 in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Australia, Holland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The album achieved #2 rank in the charts in Canada and Japan, and was in the Top Ten in Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Belgium, Finland, France, and Israel.
The Beastie Boys won two Grammy Awards in 1999—receiving the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album for Hello Nasty, as well as the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Intergalactic". This was the first, and as of 2005, the only time that a band has won awards in both rap and alternative categories.
The Beastie Boys started an arena tour in 1998. Through Ian C. Rogers, the band made live downloads of their performances available for their fans but were temporarily thwarted when Capitol Records removed them from its website. The Beastie Boys was one of the first bands who made mp3 downloads available on their website—they got a high level of response and public awareness including a published article in The Wall Street Journal on the band's efforts.
The 1999 Tibetan Freedom Concerts featured concerts in East Troy, Wisconsin, Sydney, Tokyo, and Amsterdam. On 28 September 1999, the Beastie Boys joined Elvis Costello to play "Radio, Radio" on the 25th anniversary of Saturday Night Live.
The Beastie Boys released The Sounds of Science, a two-CD Anthology of their works in 1999. This album reached #19 on the Billboard 200, #18 in Canada, #6 on the Internet sales charts, and #14 on the R&B/Hip Hop charts. The one new song, the single "Alive," reached #11 on the Billboard's Modern Rock chart.
In 2000, the Beastie Boys had planned to headline the "Rhyme and Reason" tour with Rage Against the Machine, but the tour was cancelled when drummer Mike D suffered a serious injury due to a bicycle accident. The official diagnosis was fifth degree acromioclavicular joint dislocation—he needed surgery and extensive rehabilitation. By the time he recovered, Rage Against the Machine had disbanded.
Adam "Ad-rock" Horovitz's side project BS 2000 released Simply Mortified in 2001.
The band increased its level of political activism after the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001—organizing and headlining the New Yorkers Against Violence Concert in October 2001. Funds from the concert went towards the New York Women's Foundation Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Association for New Americans (NYANA).
In 2002, the Beastie Boys started building a new studio facility, Oscilloscope, in downtown Manhattan, New York and started work on a new album. The band released a protest song, "In A World Gone Mad," against the 2003 Iraq war as a free download on several websites—including the Milarepa website, the MTV website, MoveOn.org, and Win Without War—it became the most downloaded track during April 2003. The 19th and 20th Tibetan Freedom Concerts were held in Tokyo and Taipei—the Beastie Boys' first Taiwan appearance. Beastie Boys also headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Their single, "Ch-Check It Out," debuted on The O.C. in "The Vegas" episode from Season 1 which aired April 28 2004. Yahoo Launch News Story
To The 5 Boroughs was released worldwide on June 15, 2004—it was the first album the Beastie Boys produced themselves and reached #1 on the Billboard album charts, #2 in the UK and Australia, and #3 in Germany. The first single from the album, "Ch-Check It Out," has reached #1 in Canada, #2 on the US modern rock chart and world Internet download charts, and #3 on a composite world modern rock chart.
The album was the cause of some controversy with allegations that it installed spyware when inserted into the CD drive of a computer. The band has denied this allegation, defending that there is no copy protection software on the albums sold in the US and UK. While there is Macrovision CDS-200 copy protection software installed on European copies of the album, this is standard practice for all European releases on EMI/Capitol Records released in Europe and it does not install spyware or any form of permanent software.
The Beastie Boys is equally influential in rock and rap music history—their blending of hip-hop and punk rock genres could be seen as a precursor to the rapcore and nu metal genres of the late 1990s, such as Limp Bizkit and KoЯn. The band was also leaders in the use of sampling techniques—with Paul's Boutique being notable for its effective use of samples. The influence of this album can be seen on Beck's 1996 Odelay album (also produced by the Dust Brothers). The Beastie Boys' success as a trio of white emcees may have paved the way for artists like Eminem.
The chart consistency of the Beastie Boys must also be acknowledged—they have had four albums reach the top of the Billboard album charts: Licensed to Ill, Ill Communication, Hello Nasty and To The 5 Boroughs since 1986. Few, if any, of the Beastie Boys' contemporaries have matched this feat.
