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.
The new school of hip hop was a movement in hip hop music, beginning in 1983–84 with the early records of Run–D.M.C., Whodini, and LL Cool J. Predominantly from Queens and Brooklyn, it was characterized by drum machine-led minimalism, often tinged with elements of rock; rapped taunts, boasts, and socio-political commentary; and aggressive, self-assertive delivery. In song and image, its artists projected a tough, cool, street b-boy attitude. These elements contrasted sharply with funk and disco, novelty hits, live bands, synthesizers, and party rhymes of artists prevalent in the early 1980s. Compared to their older hip hop counterparts, new school artists crafted more cohesive LPs and shorter songs more amenable to airplay. By 1986, their releases began to establish hip hop in the mainstream.
Licensed to Ill is the debut studio album by the American hip hop group Beastie Boys. It was released on November 15, 1986, by Def Jam and Columbia Records. The album became the first rap LP to top the Billboard album chart, and was the second rap album to become a platinum album. It is one of Columbia Records' fastest-selling debut records to date and was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2015 for shipping over ten million copies in the United States. The album received critical acclaim for its unique musical style, chemistry between the group members, and their stylized rapping. Since its release, Licensed to Ill has been ranked by critics as one of the greatest hip hop and debut albums of all time.
Paul's Boutique is the second studio album by the American hip hop group Beastie Boys, released on July 25, 1989, by Capitol Records. Produced by the Beastie Boys and the Dust Brothers, the album's composition makes extensive use of samples, drawn from a wide range of genres including funk, soul, rock, and jazz. It was recorded over two years at Matt Dike's apartment and the Record Plant in Los Angeles.
Check Your Head is the third studio album by the American hip hop group Beastie Boys, released by Grand Royal and Capitol Records on April 21, 1992. Three years elapsed between the releases of the band's second studio album Paul's Boutique and Check Your Head, which was recorded at the G-Son Studios in Atwater Village in 1991 under the guidance of producer Mario Caldato Jr., the group's third producer in as many albums. Less sample-heavy than their previous records, the album features instrumental contributions from all three members: Adam Horovitz on guitar, Adam Yauch on bass guitar, and Mike Diamond on drums.
Frederick Jay Rubin is an American record executive and record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records.
Hello Nasty is the fifth studio album by the American hip hop group Beastie Boys, released through Grand Royal and Capitol Records on July 14, 1998. It sold 681,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number 1 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart, and won Best Alternative Music Album and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards. In Beastie Boys Book (2018), Ad-Rock said he felt Hello Nasty was the group's "best record".
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.
Criminal Minded is the debut studio album by hip-hop group Boogie Down Productions, released on March 3, 1987 by B-Boy Records. It is considered a highly influential hip hop album and one of the first in the gangsta rap genre.
Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds of Science is the first anthology album by American rap rock group Beastie Boys composed of greatest hits, B-sides, and previously unreleased tracks. The retail release comes with a tri-fold sleeve that displays the majority of the band's album covers, as well as a booklet of liner notes. The title of the anthology is from the song of the same name, featured on their second album, Paul's Boutique.
Krush Groove is a 1985 American musical comedy-drama film distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures that was written by Ralph Farquhar and directed by Michael Schultz. This film is loosely based on the early days of Def Jam Recordings and up-and-coming record producer Russell Simmons, portrayed by Blair Underwood in his feature film debut. Simmons was the film's co-producer and story consultant; he also had a cameo in the film as a club owner named Crocket.
You Can't Stop the Bum Rush is the third studio album by Canadian alternative rock band Len, released on May 25, 1999, through Work Records. The album featured the top ten hit "Steal My Sunshine", which was previously featured on the soundtrack to the 1999 comedy thriller Go. It also managed to peak at No. 46 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and go Gold in the U.S. The album had a mostly positive response from critics. "The Hard Disk Approach" features lyrics entirely in German and uses a motorik beat to emulate the style of krautrock bands. The album also featured Buck 65 on the cover of the album, although he reportedly declined an offer to join the band. Despite this, he provides record scratches on the track "Cold Chillin'".
"No Sleep till Brooklyn" is a song by the New York hip hop group the Beastie Boys, and the sixth single from their debut studio album, Licensed to Ill. One of their signature songs, it describes an exhaustive tour and all the events that make it tiresome, but also emphasizes their determination not to rest until they reach their home base of Brooklyn. "No Sleep till Brooklyn" was a popular concert favorite for the Beastie Boys and traditionally used as their closing song. Among other references to heavy metal, the title is a play on the Motörhead album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith. The song has been subject to several covers and parodies including "Stutter Rap " by Morris Minor and the Majors.
"I Wonder If I Take You Home" is a song recorded by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam with Full Force in 1984. Record Producer Kenny Beck discovered the song in a "discard bin" at Personal Records while looking for songs to include on his debut album with the label. He was so impressed that he created a compilation break-dancing album, CBS/SuzyQ, just to include the song. He released the album in Europe on CBS Records, and it immediately gained popularity as a dance hit with club DJs there. Soon American DJs began playing the song in the United States on Columbia Records. After the song received heavy play from these DJs, "I Wonder If I Take You Home" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart for one week in June 1985. On other US charts, it peaked at No. 6 on the R&B chart and reached No. 34 on the Hot 100. In 1991, the single was certified gold in the US by the RIAA. Overseas, it charted at No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart and number 41 in the Netherlands.
"Sun City" is a 1985 protest song written by Steven Van Zandt, produced by Van Zandt and Arthur Baker and recorded by Artists United Against Apartheid to convey opposition to the South African policy of apartheid. The song declared that all the artists involved would refuse to perform at Sun City, a resort which was located in the bantustan of Bophuthatswana, one of a number of internationally unrecognized states created by the South African government to forcibly relocate its black population.
"Bring the Noise" is a song by the American hip hop group Public Enemy. It was included on the soundtrack of the 1987 film Less than Zero; the song was also released as a single that year. It later became the first song on the group's 1988 album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. The single reached No. 56 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
"Rock Box" is a song by the American hip hop group Run-DMC. The song was produced by Larry Smith and Russell Simmons and released by Profile Records in March 1984. Following the popularity of their previous two singles "Hard Times" (1983) and "It's Like That" (1983), Profile Records head suggested to the producers and group that they should attempt to record an album as they already had four songs ready, and releasing a few more would not hurt them. Despite speculating low sales from the label and the group not feeling that hip hop was a genre appropriate for a full-length album, they were given an advance to start recording. This led to Run-DMC members Joseph "Run" Simmons and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels going through their rhyme book to develop new songs, one of which would become "Rock Box".
"Back in Black" is a song by Australian rock band AC/DC. It was released as the second US single from their seventh album of the same name in 1980 through Atlantic Records. Notable for its opening guitar riff, the song was written as a tribute to the band's former singer Bon Scott, who died suddenly in February 1980. In 1981, it reached number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2012, it reached number 65 in Australia and number 27 in the United Kingdom.
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) (shortened to For Those About to Rock on its cover) is the eighth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It was released on 20 November 1981 in the United States and on 27 November 1981 in the United Kingdom.
Hot Sauce Committee Part Two is the eighth and final studio album by the American hip hop group Beastie Boys, released on May 3, 2011, through Capitol Records. The project was originally planned to be released in two parts, with Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 1 originally planned for release in 2009. The release was delayed after band member Adam "MCA" Yauch's cancer diagnosis. After a two-year delay, only one collection of tracks, Part Two, was released and the plan for a two-part album was eventually abandoned after Yauch's death on May 4, 2012.
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