Why hasn’t Ad-Rock released new music since the Beastie Boys split? Good question.
Mike D’s debut solo album, Thank You, will be the first full-length release from a Beastie Boys member since the group ended in 2012 after Adam “MCA” Yauch’s death. Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz says he’s been making music too. He has years of songs and ideas stored on a laptop and works on them almost every day. When asked why he hasn’t released any of it, he answered, “Good question.”
Mike D says he started making music after Yauch died but often stopped because of grief. “The easiest way to not feel that was to shut the computer down and walk away from it,” he says. He later began producing for other artists, but decided to save some ideas for himself. His two sons, Davis and Skyler Diamond, helped him finish the record. Ad-Rock says he doubts Mike would have completed it alone. After decades as a three-person band, working solo feels strange. He calls Mike’s record “helpful and healing.”
Thank You is due out Aug. 28.
