Absolute Radio: Discover real music

Beastie Boys biography

Beastie Boys are 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".

Beastie Boys began as a hardcore punk group in 1979, and appeared on the compilation cassette New York Thrash with Riot Fight and Beastie. They switched to hip-hop with the release of their 12" single "Cooky Puss", which was followed by a string of successful 12" singles and their debut 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. On February 3, 2009, the group released a digitally remastered version of their seminal album Paul's Boutique for its 20th anniversary.

History

Early days: 1979-1983

Beastie Boys came together in 1979 as a punk band called The Young Aborigines. In 1981 Adam Yauch (MCA) joined the group, and from the suggestion of their guitarist John Berry, they changed the band's name to Beastie Boys. The name "Beastie" is sometimes thought originally to have stood for "Boys Entering Anarchistic States Towards Internal Excellence," and that the initials B.B. intended to mimic Washington DC hardcore punk band Bad Brains, but these were actually afterthoughts once the band's name was already Beastie Boys, according to Mike D and MCA. The band's original line-up consisted of Adam Yauch (MCA) on bass, Kate Schellenbach on drums, John Berry on guitar, and Michael Diamond (Mike D) on vocals. Their first gig was at Berry's house on Yauch's 17th birthday.

Biography from , the free encyclopedia.
It may not have been reviewed by a professional editor, and recent changes may not show up straight away. See the latest version of this article. Used under licence. Subject to disclaimers.