Musicians Who Defined Nineties Style

Given the very sad loss of MCA this year, the time feels right to re-examine the ways in which the Beastie Boys redefined the rules of rock and rap stardom. That very much includes the evolution of their dress code, which started out in the 1980s as a scrappy collision between hip-hop and proto-grunge (appropriate, given the wild potion of genres they were brewing). Then nuances emerged: MCA's predilection for the almighty beer-branded trucker cap became its own style trope, Ad-Rock became the sporty one and Mike D's outfits often brandished strong elements of Run-DMC's DNA – immortal shades, fedora, gold chain and all. The group's everyman rawness was balanced out by their willingness to throw it all aside for the truly outre, such as in 1998's outstanding "Intergalactic" video, in which they star as wonky space invaders.