Michael “Mike D” Diamond, a member of The Beastie Boys, is set to tour Canada, marking the first tour by a member of the iconic New York rap group since the passing of Adam “MCA” Yauch in 2012. The tour, known as the Mike D 5D tour, will kick off with a sold-out performance in Boston on August 30, just two days after the release of his debut solo album titled “Thank You.”
The Canadian leg of the tour will commence in Vancouver at the Vogue Theatre on September 30, with the North American segment concluding in Toronto on October 20. Following this, Diamond will take the tour overseas to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium.
Diamond’s touring band, 5D, includes his sons Skyler and Davis Diamond, who are part of the dance-pop duo Very Nice Person. The Beastie Boys’ first album, “Licensed to Ill,” made history in 1986 by becoming the first rap album to top the Billboard 200 chart, featuring hits like “Fight For Your Right” and “No Sleep Till Brooklyn.”
Their subsequent tracks such as “Sabotage” and “Intergalactic,” along with their acclaimed second album “Paul’s Boutique,” solidified their legacy as pioneers in the realm of sampling. The trio was honored with induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, shortly before Yauch’s passing due to parotid cancer.
In 2018, Diamond and surviving member Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz released the memoir “Beastie Boys Book,” followed by a documentary directed by Spike Jonze titled “Beastie Boys Story” in April 2020.
