For a few months in 1987, the Beastie Boys symbolized Middle America's worst fears that hip-hop would turn white children into drunken hoodlums. But they were really just three Brooklyn punks who joined forces with producer Rick Rubin for a rock-rap cataclysm that turned Led Zeppelin ("She's Crafty") and Aerosmith ("The New Style") samples into boombox hits and frat-party perennials. King Ad-Rock's nasal croak, MCA's hoarse rasp and Mike D's whiny shouting, combined with sharp mic-trading routines learned from mentors Run-DMC, made for a combination mimicked by lesser artists ever since.