Beastie Boys are one of the most important rap groups of all time, and now their legacy will live on forever with a street-naming ceremony in their native New York City.
On Wednesday (September 6), the group’s Instagram page posted a jukebox-like flyer providing details about the “Beastie Boys Square” unveiling, which is being held in honor of Hip Hop’s 50th Anniversary.
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The two-hour “celebration,” which takes place at the intersection of Ludlow Street and Rivington Street on Saturday (September 9) — made famous by their 1989 Paul’s Boutique album cover — will be attended by surviving Beastie Boys Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz and Michael “Mike D” Diamond.
“Good people of New York & beyond!” the post’s caption reads. “Beastie Boys Square Unveiling Celebration! Saturday, September 9th Corner of Ludlow & Rivington Streets, Lower East Side NYC 12P-2P.”
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It continues: “In association with the City of New York, Adam ‘Ad-Rock’ Horovitz and Michael ‘Mike D’ Diamond will join Council Member Christopher Marte and fellow New Yorkers at the site of the Paul’s Boutique Album cover photo to commemorate the unveiling of Beastie Boys Square and 50 years of Hip Hop.
“As part of the unveiling, the 2 hour celebration features a special guest DJ set, A-1 Records & Beastie Boys pop up shops, live screen printing and more.”
Beastie Boys, comprised of Mike D, Ad-Rock and the late MCA, changed the game when they broke onto the scene with their 1986 debut Licensed to Ill, selling over 20 million records worldwide and becoming the biggest-selling rap group at the time.
After eight albums, the rio released what would turn out to be their final project, Hot Sauce Committee Part 2, in 2011. MCA (real name Adam Yauch) tragically passed away from cancer just a year later at the age of 47.
The long-awaited street-naming unveiling comes after a New York community board previously rejected a proposal to rename the Lower East Side corner after the iconic rap group in 2014. However, in July 2022, a renewed application was finally approved.
“The politics and the community board in Manhattan didn’t think that the Beastie Boys were worthy to be honored with a street name because of their politics,” advocate LeRoy McCarthy told HipHopDX in an exclusive interview about his street renaming efforts. “At the time, there was a city council member who was a nice lady but her staff didn’t really entertain the idea of honoring them,” he recalled. “It wasn’t until we got a new city council and a new city council member, Christopher Marte began representing that same district, that we finally got it approved. He worked with us and it was passed by the city council in 2022.”
According to PIX11 at the time, New York City council member Christopher Marte said the board finally voted to make “Beastie Boys Square” a reality.
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“As many of us know, once the Beastie Boys hit the scene, it really changed the Hip Hop game,” New York City council member Christopher Marte said. “I see it as a celebration. A celebration for the Lower East Side, a celebration for Hip Hop and especially a celebration for our community who has been organizing for a really long time to make this happen.”
The group were previously celebrated in August 2022 with a tribute event honoring both Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys dubbed “Together Forever: Jam Master Jay + MCA.” A portion of the proceeds was dedicated to late photographer Ricky Powell, who often toured with the Beastie Boys and captured some of their rowdiest moments on camera.
