Adam “MCA” Yauch 1964 – 2012

Friday May 4th was supposed to be a normal day. I was getting dressed, getting ready to head to work and annoy my co-workers with incessant Star Wars references. Before I left, I checked twitter to see what people were talking about, just part of the routine of being a modern day man. Instantly I was floored with all the messages about the death of Adam “MCA” Yauch. What??? This can’t be true. Unfortunately it was. MCA had passed away.

This immediately changed my game plan. No longer in the mood to geek out about the force, I decided to hold my own private listening party at work. Luckily in my “office” I have internet access and a computer with decent speakers and a door that closes. I loaded up every Beastie Boys album on Grooveshark and let’er rip. Track after track I was reminded of the genius of not only MCA but Ad-Rock and Mike D as well. These three guys put out so many great albums, at the same time expanding their range and ideas. Licensed to Ill is far removed from Paul’s Boutique which was completely different the Check Your Head and Ill Communication. It always got better. Always.

I was making my way through Check Your Head when “Pass the mic” came on. MCA leads off that song with such a great verse that I had to stop listening for a second so I could take it in. Also to collect myself so that I wouldn’t completely lose it. It may not be the best verse that he has ever done, but at THAT moment it was. His raspy delivery and clever word play were all there, and then at the end, he passed it on, and the song kept going. It is a shame that it had to end like this, out of his hands and control. Never to take the stage again and perform with his life long friends and collaborators. He will never again pass the mic to Mike D for a fist full of truth. But we are lucky, not that he is gone, but lucky that he did what he did. And that we all got to appreciate it when he was here. The Beastie Boys defined the lives of many, many people over the last few decades. And for that, I just want to say, Thank you.

Rest in Peace.

If You Can Feel What I’m Feeling Then It’s A Musical Masterpiece
If You Can Hear What I’m Dealing With Then That’s Cool At Least
What’s Running Through My Mind Comes Through In My Walk
True Feelings Are Shown From The Way That I Talk
And This Is Me Y’All, I M.C. Y’All
My Name Is M.C.A. And I Still Do What I Please
And Now I’d Like To Introduce what’s up?
I’ll Pass The Mic To D. For A Fist Full Of Truth