cover image Pass the Mic: Beastie Boys 1991-1996

Pass the Mic: Beastie Boys 1991-1996

Ari Marcopoulos, Carlo McCormick, Paul D. Miller. powerHouse Books, $49.95 (144pp) ISBN 978-1-57687-108-9

Hip-hop stars Adam Yauch, Adam Horovitz and Michael Diamond the Beastie Boys sing, clown around, play video games, shoot baskets, mug for the camera and seemingly never stop moving in Pass the Mic: Beastie Boys 1991-1996, a collection of intimate photographs by Ari Marcopoulos (Transitions and Exits). A product of the five years Marcopoulos followed the artists, the grainy, mostly black-and-white candids show the musicians on their Check Your Head tour, at Lollapalooza, in the recording studio and just hanging out. The collection now seems a poignant testament to youth culture just before dot-com mania swallowed up the young'uns.