RIP Adam 'MCA' Yauch

RIP Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch

I’m sure everyone has heard the news by now, but that doesn’t make it any less sad. Adam Yauch, of the Beastie Boys, died this past Friday after an almost three year battle with cancer. Known as MCA in the trio which started out hardcore before going hip hop, Yauch can also be credited for founding both the Milarepa Foundation which produced the Tibetan Freedom concerts and film production/distribution company Oscilloscope Laboratories.

You can keep reading past the jump to hear my top Beastie Boys song picks, and tell me some of your own.

Yauch will be most remembered for his contributions in the Beastie Boys, at least from this fan who saw the Boys live on their ‘Hello Nasty’ tour as one of my first ‘real’ concerts. They projected positive energy, good vibes and a kind of fun that I can’t say I’ve been able to relive at a straight up rock show. I was first drawn to their style of hip hop; they weren’t bragging about how many women they could get or how much money they had. It was a style of rap music that I could relate to, and the fact that the group had come from a hardcore punk background meant that they could play their own instruments and that gave them instant cred to this otherwise punk rock teenager. I liked MCA, because despite his rough and almost angry sounding voice, he was known as the “benevolent Beastie” and it was his compassionate, peaceful spirit that I admired. I appreciated his activism with the Tibetan independence movement and I remember watching an interview where he discussed going from the angry young punk to a Buddhist who wouldn’t hurt a fly and thinking about how inspiring he was.

It’s with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to another musical legend and celebrate the life of Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch through his important contributions to music, commitment to social change and as a filmmaker. Here are some of my fav Beastie Boys tracks, from their first EP and onward.

‘Beastie Boys’ – Polly Wog Stew EP