The Beastie Boys are the bastard sons of the kind of b-boy/hardcore mongrel that could’ve only been born in 1981. After a short tenure as young punks inspired by Black Flag, the boys teamed up with Rick Rubin to create a metal/punk/hip-hop sound that sounded like the inside of the head of a 13 year old boy.

Three Jewish kids doing rap seemed more than a little odd in 1986 when the Boys released License to Ill and became household names on the strength of party anthems like “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)” and “No Sleep Till Brooklyn.” The whole thing was catchy enough and the Beasties were really funny, but anyone can be forgiven for dismissing the trio as a novelty act.

Of course, groundbreaking music followed and the Beastie Boys proved to be one of the most important bands of the 1990′s and beyond. Following the cancer death of Adam Yauch/MCA in 2012, the Beasties officially called it quits although there is an autobiography project in the works, slated for a 2015 release.

Today would’ve been Adam Yauch’s 49 birthday. While you’re waiting for that new book to come out, here’s MTV’s exhaustive documentary of the band, Beastiology…

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