Adam Yauch of Brooklyn's Beastie Boys, who went by the stage name MCA, has
been reported dead by Russell Simmon's site
globalgrind.com.
He was 47.
Yauch had been battling cancer of the salivary gland since 2009. He is
survived by his wife Dechen, daughter Tenzin Losel, and parents Frances and
Noel Yauch.
Yauch, the only child of a Catholic father and Jewish mother, and the rest
of the Beasties played their first show in Midwood at Edward R. Murrow High
School.
Reaction
from the community was immediate and passionate.
"That’s so sad. I never got to see them. This is terrible," said
Jeremy Hunt, a bartender at The Pacific Standard.
"Devastating. This is not just the death of a very high-quality human
being, but the death of a very high-quality rap group. As of today, there is no
more Beastie Boys. There will be no more shows. No reunions. No reality shows
to fill the slot. No more videos," said Carroll Gardens resident Matt
Rodbard.
"That's really sad. I'm so sorry to hear that," said Raven
Perlotte, cashier at American Apparel on Court Street near the Atlantic Street
intersection.
Yauch and friends Michael "Mike D" Diamond and Adam
"Adrock" Horovitz originally formed the Beastie Boys as a hardcore
punk band on Yauch's 17th birthday. They went on to sell over 40 million
records including four #1 albums, one of which was their 1986 debut "Licensed
to Ill" which was also the first hip hop album to top the Billboard 200.
The group was
inducted
into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last month.
Under the name Nathanial Hörnblowér, Yauch also directed a number of the
band's most memorable music videos including "So Whatcha Want,"
"Intergalactic," "Body Movin" and "Ch-Check It
Out."
"They had some really great music. It's a shame that it's the
end," said Devon Rogers, a construction worker at a job site on State
Street near Clinton.
Yaya Dialo, a teen waiting in line outside the United Artists Court Street
Stadium movie theater was touched by the news.
"Oh yeah, i heard Adam Yauch died. You know, I'm pretty young but even
still the Beastie Boys are legendary in the hip hop world. I mean, so what if
they were white? It doesnt matter. They had a huge influence. And you know,
they just got inducted into the Hall of Fame and then this happens and it's
really terrible. So rest in peace, MCA. Rest in Peace, man," he said.
Downtown Brookyn resident Daniella Rossalas-Friedman was walking along
Atlantic near State street, "I grew up in Brooklyn and I grew up with the
Beastie Boys and they are delightful. It's very sad to hear he's gone. He will
be missed," she said.
"The Beastie Boys were one of the true pioneers of hip hop music,"
said Ian Young, 43. Ian grew up in the Bronx, is a DJ and now lives in
Bed-Stuy. "Much respect to those dudes. Not only were they skilled, but
they helped people outside of New York City to access hip hop culture and
music. And it was because they were white… I don't know how else to say it. And
it might not get said, but it's true."
The owners of Black Gold Records on Court Street took the loss personally.
"I don't think I'd be the 'troublemaker who never grew up' that I am
today if it wasn't for the profound cultural influence Beastie Boys and MCA has
had on my friends and me. It's sad to see your heroes go; the best we can do is
respectfully 'Pass The Mic,'" said co-owner Jeff Ogiba
"'She's Crafty' was the name of my craft group in college. I'd like to
always think he and the boys were rapping about me," said his partner
Sommer X. Santoro.
Nikka Hodgeman, who was walking on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope, said she
has been a fan of the Beastie Boys since their first album, "Licensed to
Ill," and is very sad to hear that MCA has passed.
"This is a big loss—I don't think you can walk into a bar and 'Girls'
comes on and not everyone is singing to it," Hodgeman said, who used to
live in Carroll Gardens. "There's something to be said about that."
Hodgeman also said that when the song "An Open Letter to NYC" came
out in 2004, she listened to that while she commuted to Staten Island everyday.
"They brought New Yorkers together with their lyrics, it came out a
couple years after 9/11 and that song celebrates all the different
neighborhoods and ethnicities in NYC coming together," Hodgeman said.
"New York went through hell after the towers fell, and that song, that
love letter to the city, spoke to me."
