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. August 5, 1964, New York, New York, U.S.), Mike D (byname of Mike Diamond; b. November 20, 1966, New York), and King AdRock (byname of Adam Horovitz; b. October 31, 1966, New