Adam Yauch, aka MCA, 1964-2012

Adam Yauch, aka MCA, 1964-2012. Photo BeastieBoys.com

 Dedication

Last Friday I was deeply saddened to discover that Adam Yauch had died, aged 47, after a three-year battle with cancer. Readers in their 20s and 30s might know him better as MCA, founding member of groundbreaking hip-hop group the Beastie Boys. The Beastie Boys’ music and their approach to life in general had a profound effect on me.

I’d like to pay my respects to MCA and to express my gratitude to him and his band for making the world a better place. As I began to write this post I quickly realised I had more things I wanted to say than would fit in a regular post. To make things more digestible I have broken this post into three parts (which is kinda fitting), with parts two and three to follow later this week.

The New Style

King of Indie and gatekeeper and my one-time musical guide, Steve Lamacq. Photo: Guardian

I first became aware of the Beasties Boys in early 1999. These were the days before broadband and Radio 1’s Steve Lamacq was the (not all that) Cool Ruler of the post-Britpop Indie music scene.

The song which hooked me was Remote Control, off of the Beasties’ chart-topping 1998 album, Hello Nasty. Listening to the song again following the news of MCA’s death I can see now that it is a quintessential Beastie Boys song. Shouty delivery? Check. Obscure pop culture references? Check. Funky instrumentation, including fuzzed out basslines courtesy of MCA? Yes indeed, this song has it all. While I would go on to discover other Beastie Boys songs that I am fonder of today, Remote Control showed me that you could be true to yourself musically and still have fun. In short, the Beastie Boys led me to realise there was more to life than Indie music and its all-too-often musical conservatism.

Hello Nasty

3 MCs and 1Sardine Can. Photo: Nah Right

After hearing Remote Control on the radio I made my way to my local Our Price to pick up Hello Nasty. After stumping up paying nearly £20 for an import copy of the album, I set about getting my money’s worth by familiarising myself in all 22 of the album’s tracks.

At the risk of sounding cheesy, Hello Nasty was a revelation. Even before listening to the album I was drawn into the Beastie Boys world by the album’s sleeve. On the front cover there’s a picture of the three Beastie Boys in a sardine can, seemingly hurtling towards the sun. But it was the reverse and inner artwork which really drew me in, with the retro design representing each of the album’s 22 songs as studio sound channels and school textbook-style illustrations of the Beastie Boys’ studio/space station helping create a self-contained universe for the band.

The future of retro-inspired design, circa 1998. Photo: hhv

Out of this world music. The Beastie Boys at work/play recording Hello Nasty. Photo: Snurfer

The music didn’t disappoint either. Opening track Super Disco Breakin’ sets the template, with lyrics chiefly focused on the importance of rocking the party and dense, multi layered sounds in support. You’ve probably heard of and danced to the hit singles off the album such as Body Movin’ and Intergalactic but over the space of 67 minutes the Beasties also do a nice job of instrumental jazz, Brazilian grooves and reggae (Dr Lee, PhD featuring the legendary Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry). Re-visiting the album over the weekend, I was especially struck by the Bossa Nova homage of I don’t know, which tenderly sung by Yauch.

There’s so much more I could say about Hello Nasty and the world it opened up to me but I think I’ll take Ice Cube’s evergreen advice and check myself before I wreck myself. I would like to end by once again thanking Yauch and the Beastie Boys for opening my ears to a whole new world of music and helping me keep my teenage angst in check. MCA, you will be sorely missed.

For more information about Adam Yauch and the Beastie Boys, visit the official Beastie Boys website. 

There is also a thoughtful obituary and archive materials on The Guardian.