Read the rest of the Hip Hop Family Tree comics!

With less than a handful of songs the Beastie Boys got to tour cross-country in 1985 during Madonna's "Virgin" tour.

Read the rest of the Hip Hop Family Tree comics!

This week's Hip Hop Family Tree strip is about one of the biggest Hip Hop movies of the 1980s.

This week's Hip Hop Family Tree strip is the prelude to one of the greatest rap-inspired movies of the 1980s.

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The rap group's second album on the road to their massive success is covered in this week's Hip Hop Family Tree strip.

This week's Hip Hop Family Tree strip is about the man who created gangster rap.

A severe car crash prompts Ice T to rethink his life situation leading to choosing either the criminal life, or to roll the dice and take the music business seriously.

Building DJ Marley Marl's rap stable with one more emcee on the road to creating the legendary "Juice Crew" in this week's Hip Hop Family Tree strip.

A little bit of information about one of the most recognizably sampled records in the history of rap music in this week's Hip Hop Family Tree strip.

Introducing the baddest ladies of rap to the Hip Hop Family Tree in this week's strip. Spinderella comes later. More than one Spinderella, actually. Stay tuned.

A famous phrase in rap and pop culture gets that way thanks to the help of a terrible tragedy explained in this week's Hip Hop Family Tree (Yes, we know the record existed before the events).

This conflict exacerbated into a major tragedy that also popularized a famous, existing Hip Hop chant. The prelude in this week's Hip Hop Family Tree strip.

… and keeps all the money

Celebrating the first Beastie Boys Rap Record from Def Jam, rarely heard because of the prominent AC/DC sample.

In the early 80s the LAPD would drive tanks through homes suspected of being crack dens. Batterram was Toddy Tee's rap response to this moment in history.

A story about the biggest cocaine trafficker in Los Angeles, who also left a big impact on the developing Hip Hop culture of the region in the 1980s.

The guys from 2 Live Crew were a California group made up of Air Force recruits. Who'd have guessed?

"Just don't get too big for your britches, Andre"