Beastie Boys Book

Beastie Boys Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz and Michael "Mike D" Diamond give readers front-row seats to their careers. While the unique perspective of their third coconspirator, the late Adam "MCA" Yauch, is missed, he is still an integral part of the story. Starting with a joyous view of New York City in the 1980s, when the artists were teens, the narrative moves on to their debut record, Licensed To Ill (1986), the first rap album to hit No. 1. (Horovitz and Diamond acknowledge that their being white had a lot to do with their success.) After several "it seemed funny at the time" moments, the group did some reckoning, while maintaining a love of a wide variety of music and staying true to their sound. Consisting of chronologically arranged anecdotes, this account is packed with pictures and peppered with playlists, recipes from chef Roy Choi, an annotated breakdown of equipment used, and guest essays from author Colson Whitehead, filmmaker Spike Jonze, and others.