Michael “Mike D” Diamond of The Beastie Boys is coming to Canada on an upcoming tour — the first by a member of the iconic New York rap trio since the death of Adam “MCA” Yauch in 2012.
Diamond’s Mike D 5D tour kicks off with a sold-out show in Boston Aug. 30, two days after the release of his debut solo album, called Thank You.
The first Canadian stop will be Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre on Sept. 30, and the North American leg of the tour will conclude in Toronto on Oct. 20. He will then jet overseas for stops in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium.
Diamond’s touring band 5D features his sons, Skyler and Davis Diamond of the dance-pop duo Very Nice Person.
The Beastie Boys’ debut album Licensed to Ill became the first rap album to top the Billboard 200 chart in 1986, spawning hits like Fight For Your Right and No Sleep Till Brooklyn.
Subsequent tracks like Sabotage and Intergalactic, and their now-acclaimed sophomore album Paul’s Boutique, helped cement their reputation as sonic pioneers, especially in the realm of sampling.
The trio were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, less than a month before Yauch passed away following a three-year battle with parotid cancer.
In 2018, Diamond and surviving member Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz released the memoir Beastie Boys Book. A corresponding Spike Jonze directed-documentary, Beastie Boys Story, was released in April 2020.
