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Posted

Adam Yauch Dead @ 47

 

Adam Yauch, a founding member of pioneering hip-hop group the Beastie Boys, died Friday at age 47. He had been receiving treatment for cancer since 2009.

 

Known by his stage name, MCA, and other pseudonyms such as Nathanial Hörnblowér, Yauch co-founded the Beastie Boys with Mike (Mike D) Diamond and Adam (Ad-Rock) Horowitz in 1979.

 

The band started off with a punk sound, but soon began experimenting with hip-hop, becoming big with the 1986 album Licensed to Ill issued by Def Jam Records.

 

As one of the first white hip-hop groups, the Beastie Boys were accused of being cultural pirates. Their second album Paul's Boutique got little attention, but Check Your Head, where they played their own instruments, brought them back to the top of the charts.

 

Directed videos and concert film

 

Yauch used the the pseudonym Nathanial Hörnblowér to direct many Beastie Boys music videos and also directed the 2006 Beastie Boys concert film Awesome; I F***in' Shot That!

The Beastie Boys, from left: Adam Horovitz, Adam Yauch, and Michael Diamond. (Thomas Rabsch/Nasty Little Man/Associated Press)

He missed the Beastie Boys' induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland in April, and his cancer treatments delayed the release of the group's most recent album, Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2.

 

Yauch was born in Brooklyn, taught himself to play bass guitar and gave his first show with the Beastie Boys on his 17th birthday. The group first played in underground New York pubs before opening on tour for Madonna and Run DMC.

 

Then Fight for Your Right (To Party) became a massive hit, catapulting the group to fame. The Beastie Boys split with Def Jam for their second record, then built their own studio and founded their own record label, Grand Royal for Check Your Head.

 

Crossover hits

 

Early ‘90s songs Jimmy James, Pass the Mic and So Whatcha Want also became big hits on college and alternative rock radio signalling a crossover of the rap sound. During the summer of 1994, the group co-headlined the fourth Lollapalooza festival with the Smashing Pumpkins. They came to be considered one of the most influential and ambitious groups of the '90s.

 

The Mix-Up, an instrumental album the band released in 2007, earned the Beastie Boys a Grammy Award.

 

In 2002, Yauch built a recording studio in New York called Oscilloscope Laboratories and produced punk band Bad Brains’ album Build a Nation.

 

Oscilloscope Laboratories also distributed Yauch's directorial film debut, basketball documentary Gunnin' For That #1 Spot in 2008 as well as Kelly Reichardt's feature film Wendy and Lucy and The Messenger in 2009.

 

A practising Buddhist, Yauch was heavily involved in the movement to free Tibet and co-organized the Tibetan freedom concerts of the late 1990s.

 

He is survived by his wife, Dechen Wangdu, and daughter Tenzin Losel Yauch.

Posted

sad.gif

 

I still to this day don't know what they say after intergalactic lol.

 

Intergalactic .....gill the children.....gill the children....intergalactic?? Lol

 

Posted

Another dimension, another dimension, another dimension, another dimension...laugh.gif

 

I Googled it....apparently it's intergalactic planetary planetary intergalactic? Not buyin it lol

Posted

Even OLD guys like me ... Great band ,so sad when one so young goes .. Remember when they first broke out , woke up alot of old guys like me who thu up every time they heard some disco, THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN MISSING .. SAd day , great player , great music.

Posted

Yup, big fan of the Beasties... I still remember listening to them on casette tape at my friends house while playing street hockey 25 years ago. Girls and the rest of license to ill blew many speakers..

Posted

MCA! Own a couple Beastie LPs and love everything they've done. Fantastic musician he was. Gonna have to put some beasties on the turntable tonight in tribute.

 

RIP

Posted

Bummer. Loved these guys growing up. Saw them in Montreal when I was 21 and along with the Chili Peppers they put on the best show. Used to play bass to alot of their grunge stuff. "Gratitude" being the first learned, then "Time For Living."

 

Probably the best hip-hop group and music sampling of all time. RIP Yauch!

Posted (edited)

Sad, one of my favs as a young teen. Paul Revere, first song I knew beginning to end, and still do

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Edited by Harrison

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