>> Beastie Boys

Since their unlikely rise to stardom in 1986 on the strength of Lisenced to Ill's "Fight for Your Right," the Beastie Boys became the first white rap group to make headway into the genre. The trio, Mike D, Ad-Rock and MCA soon moved past the mookish overtones of their party-time debut, to embrace everything from more developed hip-hop, funk, punk and alternative mashups. While the band's output varies with nearly every album, the trio held hip-hop ideals close to its heart, keeping its flows and beats, inspired heavily by Run DMC, close to the surface on every album.

Growing up in public, the Beasties ditched the machismo attitides of their youth for a more mature mantle. The act founded then served as head of Grand Royal Records until it folded in 2004, and political commentary and nods toward Buddist thought replaced the party anthems and booty calls of its early years.