Mike D releases Switch Up, his first solo single

Mike D releases Switch Up on 8 May, a notable new-music moment because it is his first song as a solo artist and the first new music from an individual Beastie Boy since Hot Sauce Committee Part Two in 2011. While not a typical indie-rock release, the story belongs in a broader alternative music digest because it connects legacy, family collaboration and DIY studio experimentation.

Switch Up began in Mike D’s home studio during sessions with his sons Davis and Skyler Diamond, who perform as the indie-dance duo Very Nice Person. That family link gives the track a different emotional tone from a standard comeback single.

It is not framed as a grand return of the Beastie Boys, and it could not be, but as a personal experiment that gradually became public. Mike D will also mark the release with select shows in May, including dates in New York and South Pasadena.