Biography
Though they began as somewhat of a joke, the Beastie Boys have
evolved into one of the most popular and influential musical
groups of the '90s. From their roots as an amateur hardcore band,
through their early years as a juvenile frat-boy rap group,
to their current period of groundbreaking musical innovation
combined with entrepreneurship and social activism, the Beastie
Boys have managed to consistently improve their style and image,
making them the most respected white hip-hop group of
all-time and one of the most successful alternative bands of the
1990s.
The Beastie Boys began in New York 1981 as a Black
Flag-influenced hardcore band comprising four wealthy Manhattan
teenagers who met via the local club scene: vocalist Michael
Diamond ("Mike D"), bassist Adam Yauch
("MCA," also known
as Nathanial Hornblower), guitarist John Berry and drummer Kate
Schellenbach. After recording the Polywog Stew EP for
local indie Ratcage Records and opening for bands like the
Misfits, the group was torn apart when Berry and Schellenbach
abruptly quit. (Schellenbach resurfaced, much later, in the
Beastie Boys protege band, Luscious Jackson.)
With the addition of ex-Young and the Useless bassist Adam
Horovitz ("Ad-Rock") -- the son of playwright Israel
Horovitz
-- the re-formulated Beastie Boys recorded the 1983 single
"Cookie Puss," a goofy, simple hip-hop tune based on a
prank
phone call made to Carvel Ice Cream, makers of the "Cookie
Puss" novelty confection. It began a surprise underground
hit in
New York clubs -- even more surprising because the Beastie Boys
were a punk band -- and drew the attention of NYU
student/aspiring record producer Rick Rubin, who recorded the
trio's next single, "Rock Hard," for his nascent
hip-hop label
Def Jam Records.
Thanks to the success of their 1985 soundtrack cut "She's on
It" -- a simple, yet rockin', rap based around a sample from
AC/DC's "Back in Black" -- the Beastie Boys earned a
slot opening for Madonna on her landmark "Like a
Virgin" tour.
Though her fans were turned off by the Beasties' immature antics,
it did raise their profile, leading to a high-profile tour with
'80s rap legends Run D.M.C. All this momentum caused the Beastie
Boys' much-anticipated 1986 full-length debut, License
to Ill, to become the fastest-selling debut album in Columbia
Records' history, going platinum within two months, and
becoming the first rap album to reach No. 1. Throwaway
jock-themed tracks like "Fight for Your Right (to
Party)" -- as well
as the Beasties' conspicuous whiteness -- caused hip-hop purists
of the time to brand them imposters, and jokingly sexists
songs like "Girls" prompted an outcry from feminist
groups. Despite their commercial success, the Beastie Boys were
the
pariahs of the hip-hop establishment.
After leaving Def Jam for Capitol Records, the Beastie Boys moved
to Los Angeles and began refining their sound. Joining
forces with an up-and-coming production duo called the Dust
Brothers, the Beasties recorded their startlingly mature
follow-up album, Paul's Boutique, in 1989. Abandoning heavy metal
samples and childish rhymes for a layered, almost
psychedelic barrage of obscure retro samples and lyrics riddled
with hip-hop and pop culture in-jokes, Paul's Boutique
confused fans and critics alike and sold under a million copies,
spawning only one Top 40 hit, "Hey Ladies." Over the
next few
years, however, word of Paul's Boutique's brilliance spread via
word of mouth, and it became enormously influential (cf.
Beck) and won the Beasties tremendous underground respect. (It
also launched the career of the Dust Brothers.)
During the early 1990s the Beasties built their own record studio
and formed their own independent label, Grand Royal;
Adam Horovitz also appeared in several movies (A Kiss Before
Dying, Roadside Prophets), and Mike Diamond co-founded
the hip-hop clothing line X-Large. They returned to music in 1992
with Check Your Head -- recorded with new keyboardist
Money Mark Nishita -- which revisited their punk days while
adding elements of funk and old-school hip-hop. Debuting in the
Top 10, Check Your Head became a college hit and won alternative
radio airplay for singles like "So Whatcha Want" and
"Pass the Mic," aligning the Beasties more with the
emerging alternative rock scene than with the increasingly
gangsta-ridden
rap world. 1994's Ill Communication, which debuted at No. 1, went
double platinum, and spawned the MTV hits "Sabotage"
and "Sure Shot." The album completed their shift into
the "alternative world," and earned them a headlining
spot on the annual
Lollapalooza tour. Their banner year also included the release of
Some Old Bullshit, a compilation of their earliest punk
recordings; the release of Luscious Jackson's acclaimed Natural
Ingredients on Grand Royal, establishing it as one of the most
respected indie labels of the '90s; the launch of the Grand Royal
hip-hop magazine; and the founding of the Milarepa Fund, a
charity that supports "universal compassion through
music" and has been active in the fight for Tibetan
independence.
In 1996 the Beastie Boys released two EPs, the punkish Aglio E
Olio, and the instrumental funk album The In Sound From
the Way Out. Adam Yauch, a Buddhist convert and friend of the
Dalai Lama's, organized the two-day Tibetan Freedom
Festival to benefit the Milarepa Fund. (The festival was repeated
in 1997 and 1998.)
The Beasties' marriages (Horovitz to actress Ione Skye, Diamond
to director Tamra Davis and Yauch to Tibetan Dechen
Wangdu), notable political activism, and commitment to Grand
Royal (which launched the careers of Cibo Matto, Sean
Lennon, Cornelius, and Buffalo Daughter, among others), did not
stop them from recording yet another ground-breaking
album. Hello Nasty, a clever mix of old-school hip-hop and
up-to-date sounds, was released in 1998.