MCA
Artist
Here at Genius, we’d like to give respect to Beastie Boys rapper, Adam Nathaniel Yauch, aka MCA. Adam was born on August 5, 1964, the only child of Frances & Noel Yauch—a social worker, and a painter/architect, respectively. A lifelong New Yorker, Yauch was a skillful bassist, snowboarder, and director. His talents as an emcee and producer made him a pioneer in the rap and independent film industries. From the family trees of NY hardcore and old-school hip-hop–to the bright lights at Cannes–Adam was a mellow fanatic who cast a glow wherever he traveled…
Born and bred in Brooklyn, Yauch attended Edward R. Murrow High School. In 1979, he formed the Beastie Boys with John Berry, Kate Schellenbach, and Michael Diamond. They played their first show, as a hardcore punk band on Yauch’s 17th birthday. Later, the group reconfigured—fusing rap and rock—as MCA (Yauch), Mike D (Diamond), and Ad-Rock (Adam Horovitz). In 1986, the band released its debut full-length, Licensed to Ill – the first hip-hop album to top the Billboard 200. Meanwhile, Yauch became the band’s go-to videographer, often behind the alias of Nathanial Hörnblowér, he guided their aesthetic lens as they evolved.
As License ushered in unprecedented commercial success, Beastie Boys grew progressively uncomfortable with the band’s trajectory. They were exhausted by the endless world touring, at odds with their producer and label, and disillusioned by a fanbase that overlooked the satirical nature of their often shocking lyrics. When the trio returned to the studio, with new production in LA, Yauch dubbed the reinvigorated trio, “The Unstoppable Three” on their sophomore album Paul’s Boutique track, “A Year and a Day.” The underwhelming sales of their sophomore full-length segued into a new period of creativity, as they custom built a studio and picked up the instruments from their hardcore days. Yauch had supplanted “frat-rock” themes with a quest for meaning, and by the early 1990s, Adam began trekking to Kathmandu and Nepal.
I met a group of Tibetan refugees, that had just come over the Himalayas that were heading to Dharamsala to hopefully meet the Dalai Lama and fleeing from the oppression they were facing and from that firsthand exposure, I started getting interested in it.
Deeply affected by the Chinese occupation of Tibet, Yauch formed the Milarepa Fund with Erin Potts, which in turn, lead to the Tibetan Freedom Concerts. These events raised millions for the movement and spurred the growth of Students for a Free Tibet. Yauch met his wife–fellow Tibetan activist, Dechen Wangdu–at a 1995 speech by the Dalai Lama. Months later, they reconnected at a Students for a Free Tibet conference in Chicago.
In June 1996, San Francisco hosted the inaugural Tibetan Freedom Concert, featuring a diverse bill of artists. Drawing 100,000 people, and raising over $800,000 for Tibetan & social justice causes, the first Tibetan Freedom Concert was the largest benefit concert on US soil since 1985’s Live Aid. Subsequent concerts brought the cause to NYC, Washington DC, Tokyo, Sydney, Amsterdam, and Taipei. Through Adam’s leadership, the Milarepa Fund and Tibetan Freedom Concerts carried the plight of the nonviolent Tibetan people to unprecedented worldwide awareness.
In the 2000s, Yauch helped establish Oscilloscope Laboratories developing a series of successful independent films. In his brief film career, Mr. Yauch had the respect of many veteran industry players, earning a reputation for nurturing films and filmmakers that others wouldn’t touch.
In 2009, Mr. Yauch announced that he had been diagnosed with cancer of the parotid salivary gland. As a practicing Buddhist, he pursued both Eastern and Western (e.g., surgery, radiation) approaches to treatment, and continued working. In 2011, Beastie Boys released their eighth studio album, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two.
Beastie Boys went on to sell more than 40 million records, while racking up plenty of accolades, i.e., the MTV Video Vanguard Lifetime Achievement (recognizing several videos directed by Yauch) and three Grammys–including one for the 2007 instrumental joint, The Mix-Up.
On April 14, 2012, the group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. With Yauch unable to make the trip to Cleveland, Adrock and Mike D read a statement on his behalf: “To anyone who has been touched by our band, who our music has meant something to, this induction is as much ours as it is yours.” That same night, Yauch entered New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center for the last time…
“He was a very courageous person. He was hopeful to the very end,” Frances Yauch told The New York Times. “He was a terrific guy and had a brief but really wonderful life. We are really proud of him.” When the time came, MCA was conscious and surrounded by family. At 9am, on Friday May 4, 2012, at age 47, Adam left this world. He will never be forgotten.
