Beastie Boys is a hip hop musical group from New York City. The group consists of Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz and the official DJ for the group Michael "Mix Master Mike" Schwartz.

Beastie Boys came together in 1979 as a punk band called The Young Aborigines. In 1981 Adam Yauch (MCA) joined the group and from the suggestion of their guitarist John Berry, they changed the name to Beastie Boys.

In 1984 – 1986 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.

The band recorded “Licensed to Ill” in 1986 and released the album at the end of the year. It was a smash success, becoming the best selling rap album of the 1980s and the first rap album to go no 1 on the Billboard album chart, where it stayed for five weeks. It also reached no 2 on the Urban album charts. 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 follow-up album, “Check Your Head”, was recorded in the band's own "G-Son" studio in Atwater Village, California and released on its Grand Royal record label.

“Ill Communication”, released in 1994, saw the Beastie Boys' return to the top of the charts when the album debuted at no 1 on the Billboard Top 200 & peaked at no 2 on the R&B/ hip hop album chart. The single "Sabotage" 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 no 50 on the Billboard independent charts. In 1997 they produced and recorded the album “Hello Nasty”.  The album displayed a substantial shift in musical feel. In 2002, the Beastie Boys started building a new studio facility, Oscilloscope, in downtown Manhattan, New York and started work on a new album.

They are one of the longest-lived hip hop acts and continue to enjoy commercial and critical success in 2007, more than 20 years after the release of their debut album. On September 27, 2007 they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
 
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