R.I.P. MCA

Yesterday the world lost a special man. Adam Yauch, or as many of us know him, MCA of The Beastie Boys sadly passed away. At the time of writing this piece it's not known what the cause of death was however it is widely known that MCA had suffered from cancer in the past.

By the time he was 22, MCA and his band mates Mike D and Ad-Rock had released their first album Licensed to Ill. The album was the first hip hop LP to reach the top of the Billboard 200 and is still Columbia Records fast selling album, it has currently sold over 9million copies.

Under the pseudonym Nathaniel Hornblower, Yauch directed many of The Beastie Boys videos as well as their 2006 concert film. He is also known to have organised the Tibetan Freedom Concert and was an important voice in the Tibetan Independence Movement. Although not raised in a religious household MCA was a practising Buddhist.

From teaching himself bass guitar in high school Yauch went on to sell over 40 million records with The Beastie Boys by 2010 and watch on as the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.

Below is a cool video celebrating the 25th anniversary of the single (You gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!) which MCA directed.

R.I.P. MCA