Namaste | Beastie Boy MCA

I was no older than eleven or twelve years old when I borrowed my step brother’s copy of Licensed to Ill. I recorded the entire album onto a cassette tape and alternated between the play and pause buttons for days as I transcribed the lyrics onto a yellow legal pad. I was obsessed in learning the rhymes. Maybe I thought it would put me in the good graces of my often cruel step sibling or attract the attention of his cute friends. Neither of those things happened. That same cassette, turned compact disc, later become the soundtrack to many weekend nights out with friends during my high school years. We had nothing better to do than to drive around our town bumping some “old-school” jams. It was 1993, Snoop Dog and Dr. Dre were exploding all over the hip-hop scene but my friends and I thought we were so much cooler because we listened to three white guys from the boroughs of New York City. We were pro East coast even before there was a feud.

On Friday, Adam “MCA” Yauch – one of the founding members of the Beastie Boys – lost his 3 1/2 year battle with salivary gland cancer. His passing is a huge loss because Adam Yauch was one of the original rap & hip hop pioneers to bring this special sound beyond the burrows of Brooklyn. In addition to his musical gift, he was a social activist, a husband and father, indie-movie producer, a director and documentarian, and lest we forget, “cool as a cucumber in a bowl of hot sauce.”

“Under the alias of Nathanial Hörnblowér, Yauch directed iconic Beastie Boys videos including  ”So Whatcha Want,” ”Intergalactic,” “Body Movin” and “Ch-Check It Out.” Under his own name, Yauch directed last year’s Fight For Your Right Revisited, an extended video for “Make Some Noise” from Beastie Boys’ Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, starring Elijah Wood, Danny McBride and Seth Rogen as the 1986 Beastie Boys, making their way through a half hour of cameo-studded misadventures before squaring off against Jack Black, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as Beastie Boys of the future.” – publicist

The Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month. While Yauch was too ill to attend the ceremonies, his band mates Michael Diamond “Mike D” and Adam Horovitz “Ad-Rock” read a letter the rapper wrote to his family and fans and expressed that the induction “is as much ours as it is yours.”  The premiere of the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony airs Saturday, May 5th 9 p.m. ET on HBO and has been reported that the broadcast will be dedicated to MCA.

Kid Rock, Gym Class Heroes Travis McCoy and the Roots deliver a well-received medley of the Beastie Boys’ favorites at the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

“With immense talent and creative visionary, your lyrics crossed genres and color lines, bringing rap to a wider audience. An instrumental force in the group’s career for more than three decades and he was a philanthropist who devoted much of his energy to his passionate support for freedom of expression. The music world has lost a true trailblazer, and our deepest sympathies are with his family, friends and fans throughout the world.” - Neil Portnow President/CEO The Recording Academy

Rest in peace, Adam Yauch. Namaste. You will be miss by us all.

“Make some noise if you hear me” – How did the Beastie Boys influence your youth?

- Wendy

Director of Health + Beauty, Wendy Nielsen, thinks reality TV and her iPhone are just as important as air, wants to kick cancer in it’s shins and a huge fangirl crush on Gwen Stefani. Twitter: @Wendy_Nielsen

Disclosure: On occasion, contributors of The Trend Tribe receive products, compensation and/or services gratis or at discounted rates. This practice does not influence the contributor’s point of view or the outcome of the review. All descriptions are factual and accurately reflect the reviewers experience. The opinions are their own. Photos credits: 1 & 2 | Film footage: Andy Bramley and the XL crew 

Wendy (30 Posts)

With a deep love for fonts and Foo Fighters, Wendy thinks coffee and her iPhone are just as important as air, that cancer sucks and mornings are overrated. @Wendy_Nielsen