Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1981. For the majority of their career, the group consisted of Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass) and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar). Originally formed as a four-piece hardcore punk band, the Young Aborigines, in 1978 by Diamond (vocals), John Berry (guitar), Yauch (bass) and Kate Schellenbach (drums), the band appeared on the compilation cassette New York Thrash, contributing two songs from their first EP, Polly Wog Stew, in 1982. Berry left shortly thereafter, and was replaced by Horovitz.

On May 4, 2012, Yauch died from cancer at the age of 47. On May 24, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Mike D said that the Beastie Boys recorded new music in late 2011 after the release of Hot Sauce Committee (Part 2), but he did not say if these recordings would be released. He also said that the Beastie Boys would likely disband due to the death of MCA, though he was open to making new music with Ad-Rock and that "Yauch would genuinely want us to try whatever crazy thing we wanted but never got around to."  In April 2013 it was announced that the group has signed a deal to write an autobiography. The book was scheduled to be released in the fall of 2015. However, Horovitz stated that the autobiography is being delayed. According to Horovitz, "We've got pages!....How it's going to fit together, I don't know. But we've got some ideas. It's interesting. It's fun."  On May 3, 2013 a children's playground in Brooklyn was renamed for Adam Yauch. In June 2014, Mike D stated that neither he nor Horovitz would perform under the Beastie Boys name again out of respect for Yauch.  Founding Beastie Boys guitarist John Berry died on May 19, 2016, aged 52, as a result of frontotemporal dementia, after a decline of health for several years. He was credited with coming up with the Beastie Boys name, and played guitar on the first EP the Beastie Boys recorded. Before the Beastie Boys, he was also a part of Even Worse, Big Fat Love, Highway Stars, Bourbon Deluxe, and Idaho. The first Beastie Boys show took place at Berry's loft.

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