Beastie Boys, American group, the first white performers to gain a substantial following. As such, they were largely responsible for the growth of rap’s mainstream audience. The principal members were MCA (byname of Adam Yauch; b. August 5, 1964, Brooklyn, , U.S.—d. May 4, 2012, New York City), Mike D (byname of Michael Diamond; b. November 20, 1965, New York City), and Adrock (byname of Adam Horovitz; b. October 31, 1966, , New Jersey).Founded in in 1981 by a group of arty middle-class Jewish kids responding to eclectic downtown scene, the Beastie Boys evolved by 1983 from a hard-core quartet (including original guitarist John Berry and drummer Kate Schellenbach) into a trio—MCA, Mike D, and Adrock. They signed with , and early 12-inch singles and a brief tour with in 1985 finally brought them press attention. It was not until they toured with popular black rappers , however, that the Beastie Boys won credibility with the rap audience. Good timing and a clever blend of hard samples and parodic fraternity-boy posturing turned Licensed to Ill (1986), with its hit single “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party),” into a smash debut album, confirming the emotional and stylistic affinities some critics found between rap and hard rock. After moving from Def Jam to Capitol Records for their 1989 release, Paul’s Boutique, the Beastie Boys strategically appropriated retro- influences, adding an acoustic dimension to digital sound-collage techniques learned from and .The launched the Grand Royal record label in 1992. In addition to the Beastie Boys, its roster included the alternative Luscious Jackson, Australian Ben Lee, and German act Atari Teenage Riot. Check Your Head (1992), the Beastie Boys’ first release on Grand Royal, featured a collection of radio-friendly rhymes that layered pop culture references over distorted funk instrumentation. The group’s next album, Ill Communication (1994), had a similar sound, and the for the hit single “Sabotage”—a tongue-in-cheek homage to 1970s television police dramas—was in near-constant rotation on . The band took an electronic turn on the -winning Hello Nasty (1998) and scored another hit with the single “Intergalactic.” In 2001 Grand Royal folded as a result of slow sales and mounting debts, and the Beastie Boys returned to Capitol for the 2004 release To the 5 Boroughs., The Beastie Boys were an American hip hop and rap rock group formed in New York City in 1979. [1] They were composed of Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums)., Watch Beastie Boys’ classic videos remastered in glorious HD. The New York Times bestselling inspiration behind the Spike Jonze live documentary. The official site for Beatie Boys. Visit now for the latest news..