Founded in Brooklyn, New York in the early 1980s, the Beastie Boys became one of the first huge-selling rap groups when their 1986 debut album, License to Ill zoomed to the top of the charts, the first rap album to hit No. 1. The strength of the hit singles "No Sleep 'til Brooklyn" and "Fight For Your Right to Party" (and plenty of exposure on MTV) made them superstars of pop and hip-hop. Their second album, Paul's Boutique suffered from underexposure, but was hailed as a critical success and eventually went platinum. The Beastie Boys proved they were more than a flash in the pan with the continued success of their albums Check Your Head (1992), Ill Communication (1994, featuring the hit song "Sabotage" and Hello Nasty (1998, winner of two Grammys). The Beastie Boys are: Mike D. (Michael Diamond, b. 20 November 1965, Brooklyn, New York), MCA (Adam Yauch, b. 5 August 1964, Brooklyn, New York) and Kid AdRock (Adam Horovitz, b. 31 October 1966, South Orange, New Jersey).

Before they hit it big, in 1985 the Beastie Boys' went on tour as the opening act for Madonna and for rappers Run-DMC... The Beastie Boys have been active in raising awareness and money for the political situation in Tibet... Kid Adrock was briefly married to actress Ione Skye (1991-93).