Had he lived Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch would have celebrated his 60th birthday today (August 5). Yauch, who was known by the stage name “MCA,” sadly passed away from salivary gland cancer at the age of 48 on May 4, 2012.
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The gruff-voiced rapper also sometimes played bass in the Beastie Boys. In addition, he was a filmmaker and photographer who directed many of the group’s music videos under the pseudonym Nathanial Hörnblowér.
During the 1990s, Yauch embraced Buddhism worked to support the independence of the Tibetan people. To that end, he co-founded the Milarepa Fund in 1994, and organized various concerts to benefit the charity. Among these events was the star-studded Tibetan Freedom Concerts, which were held annually in various locations from 1996 to 1999.
Yauch was the oldest member of the Beastie Boys, and perhaps the most philosophical. He often included positive, humanistic comments and messages in his interviews and lyrics.
Yauch was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Beastie Boys in April 2012, less than a month before his death. He wasn’t able to attend the ceremony because of his illness, but he sent a message that was shared by bandmates Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz and Michael “Mike D” Diamond.
In honor of what would’ve been Yauch’s milestone birthday, here are four noteworthy quotes from the lauded artist:
Quote #1
“I want to say a little something that’s long overdue, the disrespect to women has got to be through. To all the mothers and the sisters and the wives and friends, I wanna offer my love and respect till the end.” “Sure Shot” – The Beastie Boys (1994)
Early in their career, the Beastie Boys were known for some blatantly sexist lyrics. One of many examples of this was “Girls,” a song from the group’s hit 1986 debut album Licensed to Ill.
The band eventually changed their tune, and in their 1994 song “Sure Shot,” MCA included a rap verse where he called for men to end their disrespect of woman, while sending out love and respect to all mothers, sisters, wives and female friends.
Quote #2
“Everybody has a responsibility for what they put out into the world. Rather than trying to figure out what other people should be doing, work on your own interactions in the world and whatever influence they have. All of it has an effect.”
In 2012, the Huffington Post published an interview with Yauch conducted by Randy Taran, an author, filmmaker, and the founder of Project Happiness, an organization that seeks to share wisdom about the nature of happiness by interviewing various world luminaries.
In the interview, Yaunch was asked if he felt he had a responsibility, as a well-known musician, to put out positive messages in his creative work that “lessen the destructive media” to which young people were being exposed. The above quote was part of his response.
Quote #3
“I didn’t realize how much harm I was doing back then and I think a lot of rap artists probably don’t realize it now. I said a lot of stuff fooling around back then, and I saw it do a lot of harm. I had kids coming up to me and saying, ‘Yo, I listen to your records while I’m smoking dust, man.’ And I’d say, ‘Hey, man, we’re just kidding. I don’t smoke dust.’ People need to be more aware of how they’re affecting people.”
In a 1998 interview with The Boston Globe (reposted by CNN.com), Yaunch explained that he’d come to the realization that some of the lyrics he’d written and rapped for the Beastie Boys may be having a harmful effect on young fans. His comments to the newspaper reflected his change in attitude and philosophy about the messages he wanted to deliver with the band’s music.
Quote #4
“I’d like to thank and dedicate this honor to my smart, beautiful, loving wife, Dechen, and our sweet, talented, loving daughter, Losel. Never has a man felt more blessed than I to be able to spend my time with my two soulmates. I love you guys more than you know. I wish I could name everyone who deserves naming, but, of course, there’s too many names to name. You know who you are, and I send my love out to all of you.”
An emotional moment during the Beastie Boys’ induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was when Ad-Rock read a speech that the ailing Yaunch wrote especially for the occasion. Above is part of MCA’s message, in which he shared his deep love for his wife and daughter.
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