I was greatly saddened to discover that legendary Beastie Boy and all round nice guy Adam Yauch, aka MCA, lost his fight to cancer yesterday.
As a youngster I experienced a musical eureka moment when, on the back of that legendary ‘Sabotage‘ video, I spent all my saved pocket money to buy not just on the recently released ‘Ill Communication‘ album but also the three albums that preceded it.
For the first few listens I had to double-check that this was the same band performing these differing songs but soon enough I began to cherish the trio and all their genius idiosyncrasies. Ultimately those albums earned pride of place in my collection.
In 2007 I fulfilled a lifelong dream when I caught the Brooklyn legends perform a lengthy set at Brixton Academy in London. It was everything I expected and then some. MCA struck a fine pose both with his underrated bass playing and his gravely delivery.
The line from ‘Sure Shot‘ “I’ve Got More Rhymes Than I’ve Got Grey Hairs, And That’s A Lot Because I’ve Got My Share” was particularly inspired now that he boasted a full head of greys.
When news of MCA‘s illness first broke out I was charmed by how positively he seemed to be handling the situation and I was convinced he’d pull through. Sadly I was wrong and the music world lost one of its greats.
Looking back through the Beastie Boys‘ considerable discography there are so many stellar moments and not a single dud album. Though I didn’t know at the time that ‘Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2‘ would represent his last recorded output I’m glad we chose it in amongst our best albums of 2011 because it proved yet again that the Beastie Boys were lightyears ahead of the competition.
my sincerest condolences go out to his family and friends and most of al to Ad-Rock and Mike D who lost someone they shared everything with for over 30 years.
RIP MCA!
TRACKS:
Beastie Boys – Root Down [5 Alive Remix]
BEASTIE BOYS – FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO PARTY
Make Some Noise by Beastie Boys
