Artist Playlists
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Ad-Rock, Mike D, and MCA were streetwise smart-alecks who went on to conquer the world. They were crazy enough to push hip-hop to its limits and crafty enough to break through to the big time. Their 1986 album Licensed to Ill mashed classic Def Jam beats with the Beasties' mic-passing lyrical stew to the tune of over nine million copies sold. Their next album, Paul's Boutique, is a high point in the history of sampling, dropping everyone from P-Funk to Johnny Cash into the mix. Not content to let the past define them, the Beastie Boys picked up instruments and reemerged during the alt-rock heyday as dusty-fingered funk fiends who could throw down in the rhyme cypher or the mosh pit. Explore the Beastie Boys' history-making reign as hip-hop rulers and spiritual journeymen. - The Beastie Boys embraced music videos as a platform for unfettered creativity with a gusto few of their peers could match. Their youthful playfulness is on full display in "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)", but some of their most memorable clips involved high-concept tributes to old-fashioned cop shows ("Sabotage") and pulpy sci-fi movies ("Intergalactic").
- From the mind of Beastie Boy Mike D comes The Echo Chamber. Updated regularly, Mike D's playlist is made up of tracks personally selected for the Apple Music Radio show.
- “Growing up in New York City was pretty fantastic,” Beastie Boys’ Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock) tells Apple Music. “You walk everywhere and there’s so many radios coming out of stores and cars—there’s sounds everywhere.” On their At Home With interview with Zane Lowe, Adam and Mike Diamond (Mike D), the surviving two-thirds of the influential hip-hop group, reminisce about their musical inspirations and tell stories about late bandmate Adam Yauch—giving us a small sampling of the wide-ranging discussions they shared in their Spike Jonze-directed documentary Beastie Boys Story (playing exclusively on Apple TV+). And on this Apple Music playlist they curated, Beastie Boys pay homage to their musical roots—ranging from late-’70s punk and new wave (Ramones, The B-52’s) to old-school hip-hop (Afrika Bambaataa, Spoonie Gee). “The Ramones were the first band that both Adam and I listened to and loved and thought, ‘Oh, we could do something like that,’” says Mike D. “You don't realize how brilliant their songwriting is until you're older.”
- How cool would it be flip through the Beastie Boys' record crates? To hear the songs that inspired the hardcore punks-turned-rap renegades? We've collected a mix that connects the Beastie dots—from punk to rap to cut-and-paste collage with stops in funk, jazz, and dub reggae.
- From hits to deep cuts, breaking down the samples that have inspired one of music’s most vital artists.
- Busting down the doors between rock and hip-hop, the Beasties hit home for headbangers and b-boys. No style was safe from MCA, Ad-Rock, and Mike D—the trio funneled influences from hip-hop, punk, rock, reggae, and even Tibetan Buddhist chants into their albums. They went from mirroring their influences to becoming influential, putting their indelible stamp on music and pop culture. Follow their descendants, spreading from Brooklyn (The Budos Band) to Shibuya (Cibo Matto) to Bristol (Massive Attack) and beyond.