![]() In fact, Licensed to Ill became the biggest-selling rap album of the '80s, which generated much criticism from certain hip-hop fans who believed that the Beasties were merely cultural pirates. Much of the album's success was due to "Fight for Your Right (To Party)," which became a massive crossover single. That didn't stop the album from becoming the fastest-selling debut in Columbia Records' history, however, as it sold over 750,000 copies in its first six weeks. An amalgam of street beats, metal riffs, b-boy jokes, and satire, Licensed to Ill was interpreted as a mindless, obnoxious party record by many critics and conservative action groups. One other major tour, as the openers for Run-D.M.C.'s ill-fated Raisin' Hell trek, followed before Licensed to Ill was released late in 1986. The Beasties taunted the audience with profanity and were generally poorly received. The Beasties received their first significant national exposure later in 1985, when they opened for Madonna on her Virgin tour. Def Jam officially signed the Beastie Boys in 1985, and that year they had a hit single from the soundtrack to Krush Groove with "She's on It," a rap track that sampled AC/DC's "Back in Black" and suggested the approach of the group's forthcoming debut album. ![]() In 1984, the Beasties joined forces with producer Rick Rubin, a heavy metal and hip-hop fan who had then-recently founded Def Jam Records with fellow New York University student Russell Simmons. By early 1984, however, they had abandoned punk and turned their attention to rap. Based on a prank phone call the group made to Carvel Ice Cream, the single became an underground hit in New York. The revamped group released the rap record "Cookie Puss" as a 12" single later in 1983. By early 1983, Schellenbach and Berry had left the group - they would later join Luscious Jackson and Thwig, respectively - and Horovitz had joined the Beasties. That same year, the band met Horovitz, who had formed the hardcore group the Young and the Useless. The following year, the Beasties released the 7" EP Pollywog Stew on the indie label Rat Cage to little attention. Diamond and Yauch formed the Beastie Boys with drummer Kate Schellenbach and guitarist John Berry in 1981, and the group began playing underground clubs around New York. May 4, 2012), and Ad-Rock (born Adam Horovitz, October 31, 1967) - came from middle-class Jewish families in New York and had become involved in the city's punk underground when they were teenagers in the early '80s. Mike Diamond, November 20, 1966), MCA (b. Horowitz and Diamond stopped working as Beastie Boys, although they reconvened to tell their story through Beastie Boys Book in 2018, which was followed by the Jonze-directed documentary Beastie Boys Story in 2020.Īll three members of the Beastie Boys - Mike D (b. The group finished and released Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. As the trio worked on their eighth studio album, Yauch was diagnosed with cancer. After the 1998 chart-topper Hello Nasty, Beastie Boys' productivity slowed in the 2000s as the trio settled into an eccentric middle age, balancing the old-school salute To the 5 Boroughs with the soul-jazz instrumental 2007 LP The Mix-Up. Music videos, many directed by Yauch under his Nathanial Hornblower pseudonym, were a crucial component of Beastie Boys' popularity, as was their Grand Royal empire - it spanned a record label and a much-revered but short-lived magazine - and their activism, a social engagement spearheaded by Yauch co-organizing the Tibetan Freedom Concerts in the late '90s. Ill Communication consolidated the group's comeback in 1994, thanks in no small part to the hit "Sabotage," accompanied by a campily retro video directed by Spike Jonze. Beastie Boys played a vital role in that decade, starting with 1992's punk-rap-jazz fusion Check Your Head, which gave them another Top Ten album and established the group as alternative rock icons. Paul's Boutique stalled the trio's commercial momentum but it became an album revered by hip-hop aficionados, pointing the way to the genre-bending, self-referential pop culture of '90s pop. ![]() They soon abandoned pounding, aggressive rap-rock for the dense sampladelic vistas of Paul's Boutique, their 1989 collaboration with the Dust Brothers. This loud, obnoxious blend of hard rock and rap, showcased on their debut Licensed to Ill, wound up having a lasting impact, but the trio of Adam Yauch, Adam Horovitz, and Mike Diamond were young punks and restless artists. Beastie Boys crashed into the mainstream in the mid-'80s rapping about "The New Style" and yelling "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)," their brash hedonism striking a chord with hip-hop fans and suburban metalheads alike. ![]()
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