Beastie Boys is an American hip hop group from New York City consisting of Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch, and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz. Since around the time of the Hello Nasty album, the DJ for the group has been Michael "Mix Master Mike" Schwartz, who was first featured in the song "Three MC's and One DJ". The Beastie Boys began as a hardcore punk group in 1979, and appeared in the compilation cassette New York Thrash with Riot Fight and Beastie. They switched to hip-hop with the release of their debut solo album Licensed to Ill (1986), which ... read more

Beastie Boys is an American hip hop group from New York City consisting of Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch, and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz. Since around the time of the Hello Nasty album, the DJ for the group has been Michael "Mix Master Mike" Schwartz, who was first featured in the song "Three MC's and One DJ". The Beastie Boys began as a hardcore punk group in 1979, and appeared in the compilation cassette New York Thrash with Riot Fight and Beastie. They switched to hip-hop with the release of their debut solo album Licensed to Ill (1986), which enjoyed international critical acclaim and commercial success. The group is well-known for its eclecticism, jocular and flippant attitude toward interviews and interviewers, obscure cultural references and kitschy lyrics, and for performing in outlandish matching suits. They are one of the longest-lived hip-hop acts and continue to enjoy commercial and critical success in 2009, more than 20 years after the release of their debut album. On September 27, 2007, they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. read less

Label(s): Def Jam, Capitol Records, Grand Royal

Band Members: Mike D, Ad-Rock, MCA, Mix Master Mike

Latest edited by: andy on Tue 24 February 2009, 10:12 a.m.