Beastie Boys: history and cultural impact

Beastie Boys are referred to as the "first successful white rap group" but would have made their mark on America's music scene regardless of their ethnic background ("Biography"). With a revolutionary spirit, the Beastie Boys "treated rap as part of a post-punk musical underground, where the Do It Yourself aesthetics of hip-hop and punk weren't that far apart," (Erlewine). Few artists in any genre have enjoyed success as long lasting as the Beastie Boys. The Beastie Boys helped bring hip-hop into the mainstream. They are still producing and touring, making the Beastie Boys "one of the few acts from the early days of hip-hop that still enjoy major success." ("Beastie Boys"). Because of their deft fusion of disparate musical elements and their enduring ability to please both fans and critics, the Beastie Boys are one of the most important bands in American musical history.

The Beastie Boys started as a punk band called the Young Aboriginies in 1979, and in 1981 the group changed their name to Beastie Boys. When Adam Horvitz (aka Adrock) joined the band in 1983, he, Adam Yauch (aka MCA) and Mike Diamond (aka Mike D) explored the musical potential of hip-hop. Horvitz had also been playing in the New York punk scene, with a hardcore band called The Young and the Useless. The first rap-influenced single the Beastie Boys produced was "Cookie Puss," released in 1983. Soon afterwards, producer Rick Rubin helped take the Beastie Boys' sound to a whole new level.

The main musical style of the Beastie Boys remains a highly eclectic fusion of rap, pop, rock, and even jazz. When the first few Beastie Boys albums came out, their sound was groundbreaking. The Beastie Boys used humorous lyrics, and sound samples that appealed to a white audience such as Led Zeppelin riffs ("Beastie Boys: Biography"). The Beastie Boys' sound matured by the late 1980s, "expanding into spaced-out funk and psychedelia, yet retaining its adolescent charm and hit-making sensibility," ("Beastie Boys: Biography"). The Beastie Boys have enjoyed forays into a wide range of musical styles but have always retained a solid footing in both punk and hip-hop. The band is most known for their rap music, but even their hip-hop style is presented with the edginess of punk as well as the occasional guitar riff. In fact, the Beastie Boys continue to play instruments, depending on the particular sounds they are aiming for on the track or the album.

Rick Rubin signed the group with the Def Jam label, earning the Beastie Boys some early credibility points in the hip-hop scene. The band's first album was License to Ill, which became not just the Beastie Boys first time at the top of the charts. Remarkably, License to Ill was the first rap album to ever go number one in sales. Because of their image and lyrics, the Beastie Boys developed a frat boy reputation as "macho clowns," (Erlewine).

In spite of the success of their debut album, it would be a while before other rap artists, critics, or fans would take the Beastie Boys seriously. In fact, the album Paul's Boutique, which is now hailed as "one of the first albums to predict the genre-bending, self-referential pop kaleidoscope of '90s pop" was scorned or ignored when it was released in 1989.

The Beastie Boys split from Rick Rubin and Def Jam and developed an independent, eclectic, and sonically adventurous sound. The album Check Your Head, which included rock instrumentation, solidified the Beastie Boys' reputation as one of America's top musical talents. Since then the band has enjoyed relatively steady critical acclaim, peer recognition, and popular success. Their most recent award earned was a Grammy for the 2007 release The Mix-Up, a creative instrumental journey. The Beastie Boys have released their own concert film called Awesome: I Fuckin' Shot That!, the title of which proves their punk roots.

Numerous musical styles and artists have influenced the Beastie Boys, enabling the band to create their unique and ever-changing sounds. Their punk influences are among the most significant for the three members of the Beastie Boys, because Horwitz, Yauch, and Diamond started their own punk and hardcore bands before they became interested in hip-hop. Their immediate influences included hardcore bands as well as straightforward energetic New York punk such as The Ramones (Forget). The hip-hop influences on the Beastie Boys are difficult to pinpoint because the Beastie Boys were part of the birth of hip-hop in New York. Their Def Jam comrades Run-DMC and other early hip-hop bands were contemporaries of the Beastie Boys. Rubin also helped introduce the Beastie Boys to the power of sampling, a mainstay of hip-hop.