|
|
|
|
| Birth Name(s) : Beastie Boys |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
|
Partner:
|
| Profession:
Actor |
| << Add Beastie Boys To Your Favorites |
|
Full Beastie Boys Biography
Beastie Boys is a hip hop musical group from New York City consisting of Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz and the official DJ for the group Michael "Mix Master Mike" Schwartz.
It was during this period that Def Jam record producer Rick Rubin entered the picture and the Beastie Boys changed from a punk rock outfit to a three-man rap crew. The band released the 12" single, Rock Hard, in 1984—the second record released by Def Jam that credited Rubin as producer. Soon after Rubin's arrival, Schellenbach developed creative differences with the band, citing her friction with Rubin. It was believed that Rubin objected to Schellenbach's place in the band as she did not fit the hip hop image to which the band aspired. Schellenbach went on to join Luscious Jackson in 1991.
The group matured with their second album, Paul's Boutique, produced by the Dust Brothers and Matt Dike. Recorded in 1988, this extremely sample-heavy opus is still considered one of the strongest works by the Beasties. It is also considered a landmark in hip hop recordings due to its intricate use of multi-layering and large array of samples.
The album was released in 1989 by Capitol Records, after the falling out between the Boys and Def Jam. It failed to match the sales of Licensed to Ill, reaching #14 on the Billboard 200 and #10 on the Billboard R&B charts. The lead single, "Hey Ladies", reached #36 on the Billboard 100 and #10 on the R&B charts. Rolling Stone would describe the album as "the Pet Sounds/Dark Side of the Moon of hip hop." Paul's Boutique would eventually sell a million albums, despite the initially weak commercial reception.
Ill Communication, released in 1994, saw the Beastie Boys' return to the top of the charts when the album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 & peaked at #2 on the R&B/ hip hop album chart. The single "Sabotage" (sample (help·info)) became a hit on the modern rock charts and the music video, directed by Spike Jonze, received extensive play on MTV. "Get It Together" reached Top 10 of the Billboard dance charts and also became an urban hit while "Sure Shot" was a dance hit. Some Old Bullshit, featuring the band's early independent material, made #50 on the Billboard independent charts.
The Beastie Boys started an arena tour in 1998. Through Ian C. Rogers, the band made live downloads of their performances available for their fans but were temporarily thwarted when Capitol Records removed them from its website. The Beastie Boys was one of the first bands who made mp3 downloads available on their website; they got a high level of response and public awareness as a result including a published article in The Wall Street Journal on the band's efforts.
The Beastie Boys released The Sounds of Science, a two-CD anthology of their works in 1999. This album reached #19 on the Billboard 200, #18 in Canada, #6 on the Internet sales charts, and #14 on the R&B/Hip Hop charts. The one new song, the single "Alive", reached #11 on the Billboard's Modern Rock chart.
In the years following the release of Hello Nasty the group launched their official website which underwent several transformations eventually culminating in one of the most popular recording artist related websites on the internet.
Ever since their early days as a hardcore band, the Beastie Boys have continued creating instrumental music in addition to the rap music for which they are best known. Songs have been interspersed among the rap tracks on some of their major albums and have also been released in such collections as Aglio e Olio and The In Sound From Way Out!. The most common band setup features Mike D playing drums, Ad-Rock on guitar, and MCA on bass. According to the band, listening to funk music from the 70's that served as samples for Paul's Boutique (particularly The Meters) inspired them to start playing instruments again for Check Your Head.
Regular members (as of 2005):
- Michael Diamond, aka Mike D, born November 20, 1965;
- Adam Yauch, aka MCA, born August 5, 1964;
- Adam Horovitz, aka King Ad-Rock, born October 31, 1966; and
- Michael Schwartz, aka Mix Master Mike, born April 4, 1970.
Other contributing members:
- Wendell Fite, aka DJ Hurricane (DJ)
- Mario Caldato Junior, aka Mario C (producer/engineer)
- Mark Ramos-Nishita, aka Money Mark (keyboards, vocals, carpentry)
- Eric Bobo (percussion)
- John King and Mike Simpson (DJ EZ-Mike) aka The Dust Brothers (producers)
- Rick Rubin (producer and original DJ)
- Amery Smith, aka AWOL (drums)
- Alfredo Ortiz (percussion)
- Doctor Dre (DJ in early years) (Not to be confused with the Los Angeles rapper and producer Dr. Dre)
- Marcell Hall, aka Biz Markie, (vocals, 1992-1999) |
|
|
| Add Beastie Boys Biography (SuperUSERS) + |
| Add Beastie Boys Review/Comment
|
HQ Beastie Boys Pictures (4) | Random Beastie Boys Picture
|
| << Back to the Beastie Boys Homepage |
|
