Beastie Boys were an American hip hop/rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1981. The group was composed of Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz, Adam "MCA" Yauch, and Michael "Mike D" Diamond. Beastie Boys were formed out of members of experimental hardcore punk band The Young Aborigines, which was formed in 1979, with Diamond on drums, Jeremy Shatan on bass guitar, John Berry on guitar, and Kate Schellenbach later joining on percussion. When Shatan left New York City in the summer of 1981, Yauch replaced him on bass and the resulting band was named Beastie Boys. Berry left shortly thereafter and was replaced by Horovitz.
Beastie Boys in 2009; from left to right: Ad-Rock, MCA, and Mike D
Beastie Boys at Club Citta Kawasaki, Japan, on the Check Your Head tour, 1992
Beastie Boys at Trans Musicales 2004 in Rennes
Left to right: Ad-Rock, Mike D, and MCA performing in Barcelona, Spain in September 2007
Rap rock is a music genre that developed from the early to mid-1980s, when hip hop DJs incorporated rock records into their routines and rappers began incorporating original and sampled rock instrumentation into hip hop music. Rap rock is considered to be rock music in which lyrics are rapped, rather than sung. The genre achieved its greatest success in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Urban Dance Squad performing in 2006
CNN said that Beastie Boys' album Licensed to Ill "essentially invented rap-rock".
The music of Kid Rock was cited as a bridge between hip hop and rap rock.
Death Grips received acclaim for their 2011 rap rock mixtape Exmilitary.