BEASTIE BOYS, THE

American hip-hop and rock group, the first white rap performers to gain a substantial following; as such, they were largely responsible for the growth of rap's mainstream audience. The principal members were MCA (byname of Adam Yauch; b. Aug. 5, 1964, New York, N.Y., U.S.), Mike D (byname of Mike Diamond; b. Nov. 20, 1966, New York), and King AdRock (byname of Adam Horovitz; b. Oct. 31, 1966, New York). Founded in New York City in 1981 by a group of arty middle-class Jewish kids responding to Manhattan's eclectic downtown music scene, the Beastie Boys evolved by 1983 from a hardcore punk quartet (including original guitarist John Berry and drummer Kate Schellenbach) into a trio-MCA, Mike D, and King AdRock. The product of a cornucopia of musical influences, they made their first foray into rap with the amateurish, tongue-in-cheek "Cookie Puss." After signing with Def Jam, however, the group explored rap with increasing seriousness. Early 12-inch singles and a brief tour with Madonna in 1985 brought them press attention, but not until they toured with popular black rappers Run-D.M.C. did the Beastie Boys win credibility with the rap audience. Good timing and a clever blend of hard rock samples and parodic fraternity-boy posturing turned Licensed to Ill (1986) into a smash debut album, confirming the emotional and stylistic affinities some critics found between rap and hard rock. After moving from Def Jam to Capitol Records for their 1989 release, Paul's Boutique, the Beastie Boys strategically appropriated retro-funk influences for their 1990s albums, adding an acoustic dimension to digital sound-collage techniques learned from Rick Rubin and Grandmaster Flash. Carol L. Cooper