Ad-Rock

Adam Horovitz, professionally known as Ad-Rock or King Ad-Rock, is an American rapper, guitarist, producer, and actor best known as a founding member of the influential hip hop group Beastie Boys. Born on October 31, 1966, in New York City, he was raised in Manhattan by his mother, artist Doris Keefe, after his father, playwright Israel Horovitz, left the family in 1969. As a teenager in the punk scene of 1970s New York, Horovitz played guitar in the band Young and the Useless before joining the Beastie Boys in 1982 at age 16, replacing original guitarist John Berry and helping shift the group from hardcore punk to hip hop.

Horovitz's contributions to the Beastie Boys spanned over three decades, during which the trio—alongside Michael "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "MCA" Yauch—pioneered a fusion of rap, rock, funk, and punk that broke racial and genre barriers in music. He rapped, played guitar, and co-produced eight studio albums with the group, including their breakthrough debut Licensed to Ill (1986), which became the first rap album to reach number one on the Billboard 200 and was later certified diamond for 10 million U.S. sales. Key releases followed, such as the innovative sample-heavy Paul's Boutique (1989), the multi-platinum Check Your Head (1992), Ill Communication (1994), the Grammy-winning Hello Nasty (1998) for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group ("Intergalactic"), To the 5 Boroughs (2004), the instrumental The Mix-Up (2007), and their final album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (2011). The Beastie Boys sold over 20 million albums in the U.S., earned three Grammy Awards, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, cementing their legacy as hip hop trailblazers.

Adam Keefe Horovitz, known professionally as Ad-Rock, was born on October 31, 1966, in Manhattan, New York City. His father, Israel Horovitz, was a renowned playwright, director, and actor, while his mother, Doris Keefe, was an artist and painter. Horovitz's father was Jewish, and his mother was of Irish Catholic descent, though he was raised in a secular household.