Claim: Beastie Boys was originally a punk band when they formed in 1978.

The Beastie Boys were an American hip hop group from New York City , formed in 1981 . For the majority of their career , the group consisted of Michael `` Mike D '' Diamond -LRB- vocals , drums -RRB- , Adam `` MCA '' Yauch -LRB- vocals , bass -RRB- and Adam `` Ad-Rock '' Horovitz -LRB- vocals , guitar -RRB- .   Originally formed as a four-piece hardcore punk band , the Young Aborigines , in 1978 by Diamond -LRB- vocals -RRB- , John Berry -LRB- guitar -RRB- , Yauch -LRB- bass -RRB- and Kate Schellenbach -LRB- drums -RRB- , the band appeared on the compilation cassette New York Thrash , before recording their first EP , Polly Wog Stew , in 1982 . Berry left shortly thereafter , and was replaced by Horovitz . After achieving moderate local success with the 1983 experimental hip hop 12-inch `` Cooky Puss '' , Schellenbach dropped out and the Beastie Boys made a full transition to hip hop , releasing a string of successful singles . They toured with Madonna in 1985 and a year later released their debut album Licensed to Ill. . The group sold 26 million albums in the United States and 50 million albums worldwide , making them , according to Billboard , the biggest-selling rap group since the magazine began recording sales data in 1991 .   With seven platinum or better albums from 1986 to 2004 , the Beastie Boys were one of the longest-lived hip hop acts worldwide . In 2009 , they released digitally remastered deluxe editions of their albums Paul 's Boutique , Check Your Head , Ill Communication and Hello Nasty . Their eighth studio album , Hot Sauce Committee Part Two , was released in 2011 , and received positive reviews . They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2012 , `` just the third rap group to enter the Hall , after Run -- D.M.C. -LRB- 2009 -RRB- and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five -LRB- 2007 -RRB- . '' The following month , MCA died of cancer of the parotid salivary gland . In June 2014 , Mike D confirmed that he and Ad-Rock would not continue the Beastie Boys , out of respect to MCA .