Ad-Rock Has Unreleased Music as Mike D Readies Thank You

*Adam Horovitz and Michael Diamond of Beastie Boys speak onstage during the 27th Annual Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Public Hall on April 14, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)*

Michael “Mike D” Diamond’s upcoming debut solo album, Thank You, will be the first full-length project released by a Beastie Boys member since the group disbanded in 2012 after the death of Adam “MCA” Yauch.

Diamond’s surviving Beastie Boys bandmate, Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz, has also been making music on his own.

In an interview with The New York Times, Horovitz says he has years’ worth of music saved on a laptop and has been working on it on a near-daily basis. Asked why none of it has been released, Horovitz answers, “Good question.”

Diamond tells the Times that he began working on music after Yauch’s death, but would stop because of “grieving and sadness.”

“The easiest way to not feel that was to shut the computer down and walk away from it,” Diamond says. “It was too much for me to process to stay focused and creative.”

Diamond later moved into producing for other artists before choosing to return to his own material.

“I shouldn’t be projecting my ideas onto any other artist,” Diamond recalls thinking. “I should be saving that for myself.”

Diamond’s two sons, Davis Diamond and Skyler Diamond, also helped him assemble his own music.

“I don’t know that Mike would have done this on his own,” Horovitz says. “We spent the bulk of our lifetime being in a band, a threesome that did everything together. And doing something on your own feels weird.”

He adds, “I think it’s great that Mike has recorded a record, especially with his kids. I think it is probably really helpful and healing to him.”

Thank You is due out Aug. 28.

This article was adapted from original reporting by ABC Audio, as featured on 105.7 The Point.