Beastie Boys are among the nominees for the 2008 Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. They, along with Madonna, John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen, Afrika Bambaataa, Chic, the Ventures, Donna Summer and the Dave Clark Five on the ballot. Five of those will be inducted on March 10, 2008, at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

Formed in 1979 as a hardcore/punk act which shared the stage with the likes of the Bad Brains, thee Dead Kennedys and Reagan Youth, the Beastie Boys went on to reinvent themselves as a rock–tinged hip hop act with Licensed to Ill in 1986 and released a number of classic, genre–bending records including Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head, Ill Communication, Hello Nasty, To the 5 Boroughs and most recently, The Mix–Up.