Last year's death of Beastie Boys rapper Adam 'MCA' Yauch wasn't a complete surprise -- word of his cancer diagnosis and declining health had been circulating for awhile -- but the news nevertheless came as a shock. The pioneering MC's passing on May 4 at the age of 47 still weighs heavy on fans' minds, and it's been voted the Most Shocking Headline in the 2012 Diffuser.fm Music Awards.
It wasn't exactly surprising -- word of Adam "MCA" Yauch's cancer diagnosis and declining health had been circulating for awhile -- but when the news finally broke on May 4 that the founding member of the Beastie Boys had died at the age of 47, there was little room at first to feel anything other than shock. Yauch had been in treatment for cancer since 2009, after the discovery of a tumor in his salivary gland, and outwardly, at least, he mostly tried to remain upbeat about his prognosis until the end.
The advertising industry is known for using music to its advantage, but Adam 'MCA' Yauch has prohibited the use of his creative material in such a way. The will of the Beastie Boys member – who passed away on May 4 of cancer – was filed earlier this week (on Aug. 7) in the Manhattan Surrogate Court, and it conveys his firm wishes on the matter.
The Beastie Boys are still in mourning over the recent loss of beloved member Adam Yauch. However, according to producer Mario Caldato Jr. (also known as "Mario C"), the band has a rare collection of songs yet to be shared with the world.
If you were a little stunned by the news of Adam Yauch's death on May 4, you weren't alone -- as Yauch's longtime Beastie Boys bandmate Mike Diamond puts it in an interview published in Rolling Stone, "He had us fooled in the most beautiful way ... I believed, up to last week, that Adam was somehow coming back."
The tributes keep coming in for late Beastie Boys emcee Adam Yauch. Just last weekend, 'MCA Day' took place in New York's Union Square, while the state's senators took a moment to recognize Yauch on the floor with a resolution recognizing his musical and philanthropic accomplishments. Billboard reports that the residents of Brooklyn have now started a Facebook petition to have the city's Squibb Park renamed in honor of Yauch, who grew up in Brooklyn Heights.
Cee Lo Green, of all people, hit the stage of the 2012 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday night in Las Vegas to pay tribute to late Beastie Boys rapper Adam Yauch with a lively run-through of the B-Boys classic '(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!).' 'The Voice' coach was joined by his recently reunited band Goodie Mob, the Atlanta-based hip-hop collective, for the performance.
Because they probably shouldn't pour a Brass Monkey out for him, New York state senators have adopted a resolution to pause their proceedings in honor of Brooklyn's own Adam "MCA" Yauch. The Beastie Boy passed away on May 4, and the representatives are repping him and the Beasties by way of legislation. One line observes, "They can't, they don't, they won't stop changing the face of hip-hop, of music, and of our culture."
Most hip-hop fans are probably aware of the way early records made liberal use of samples -- until a wave of copyright lawsuits changed everything in the late '80s, right around the time the Beastie Boys' groundbreaking, sample-heavy second album 'Paul's Boutique' was released. What they may not realize, however, is that those lawsuits are still going on; in fact, a new one was filed just last week -- two days before Beastie Boy Adam "MCA" Yauch passed away.
The tributes to the Beastie Boys' Adam 'MCA' Yauch have been nonstop since his death last Friday (May 4). Musicians, celebrities and fans shared heartfelt words on message boards and social networking sites. The remaining members of the group, Adam 'Ad-Rock' Horovitz and Michael 'Mike D' Diamond, were silent on the matter until earlier this week.
