He fulfilled his vow to be of benefit, & have fun doing so: Adam Yauch: MCA of the Beastie Boys.
Only 47 years old. We’d reported on his cancer previously, but this speedy loss comes as an unwelcome shock.
He created the Tibetan Freedom Concerts:
The below wouldn’t be complete without:
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He fulfilled his vow to be of benefit, and have fun doing so, and them some:
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From two years ago, the announcement:
30 minutes, to cheer you up:
Yauch directed many of the Beastie Boys’ favorite videos:
Anthems of our sarcastic youth:
Free Tibet! Yauch and the Boys put on the huge Free Tibet concerts:
MTV, from a ways back:
Update: from beastieboys.com
Adam Yauch | 1964-2012
It is with great sadness that we confirm that musician, rapper, activist and director Adam “MCA” Yauch, founding member of Beastie Boys and also of the Milarepa Foundation that produced the Tibetan Freedom Concert benefits, and film production and distribution company Oscilloscope Laboratories, passed away in his native New York City this morning after a near-three-year battle with cancer. He was 47 years old.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Yauch taught himself to play bass in high school, forming a band for his 17th birthday party that would later become known the world over as Beastie Boys.
With fellow members Michael “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Adrock” Horovitz, Beastie Boys would go on to sell over 40 million records, release four #1 albums–including the first hip hop album ever to top the Billboard 200, the band’s 1986 debut full length, Licensed To Ill–win three Grammys, and the MTV Video Vanguard Lifetime Achievement award. Last month Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with Diamond and Horovitz reading an acceptance speech on behalf of Yauch, who was unable to attend.
In addition to his hand in creating such historic Beastie Boys albums as Paul’s Boutique, Check Your Head, Ill Communication, Hello Nasty and more, Yauch was a founder of the Milarepa Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting awareness and activism regarding the injustices perpetrated on native Tibetans by Chinese occupational government and military forces. In 1996, Milarepa produced the first Tibetan Freedom Concert in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, which was attended by 100,000 people, making it the biggest benefit concert on U.S. soil since 1985′s Live Aid. The Tibetan Freedom Concert series would continue to stage some of the most significant benefit shows in the world for nearly a decade following in New York City, Washington DC, Tokyo, Sydney, Amsterdam, Taipei and other cities.
In the wake of September 11, 2001, Milarepa organized New Yorkers Against Violence, a benefit headlined by Beastie Boys at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom, with net proceeds disbursed to the New York Women’s Foundation Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Association for New Americans (NYANA) September 11th Fund for New Americans–each chosen for their efforts on behalf of 9/11 victims least likely to receive help from other sources.
Under the alias of Nathanial Hörnblowér, Yauch directed iconic Beastie Boys videos including “So Whatcha Want,” “Intergalactic,” “Body Movin” and “Ch-Check It Out.” Under his own name, Yauch directed last year’s Fight For Your Right Revisited, an extended video for “Make Some Noise” from Beastie Boys’ Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, starring Elijah Wood, Danny McBride and Seth Rogen as the 1986 Beastie Boys, making their way through a half hour of cameo-studded misadventures before squaring off against Jack Black, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as Beastie Boys of the future.
Yauch’s passion and talent for filmmaking led to his founding of Oscilloscope Laboratories, which in 2008 released his directorial film debut, the basketball documentary Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot and has since become a major force in independent video distribution, amassing a catalogue of such acclaimed titles as Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy, Oren Moverman’s The Messenger, Banksy’s Exit Through The Gift Shop, Lance Bangs and Spike Jonze’s Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait Of Maurice Sendak, and many more.
Yauch is survived by his wife Dechen and his daughter Tenzin Losel, as well as his parents Frances and Noel Yauch.
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License to Ill—a huge part of many of our childhoods.
A meditator and Buddhist, his work with the Free Tibet! concerts was huge in the 90s.
We’ll report more as we know more.
For now: videos, previous blogs, click here.
Free Tibet!
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Bodhisattva Vow- Beastie Boys
As I develop the awakening mind I praise the buddha as they shine
I bow before you as I travel my path to join your ranks,
I make my full time task
For the sake of all beings I seek
The enlighted mind that I know I’ll reap
Respect to shantideva and all the others
Who brought down the darma for sisters and brothers
I give thanks for this world as a place to learn
And for this human body that I know I’ve earned
And my deepest thanks to all sentient beings
For without them there would be no place to learn what I’m seeing
There’s nothing here that’s not been said before
But I put it down now so I’ll be sure
To solidify my own views and I’ll be glad if it helps
Anyone else out too
If others disrespect me or give me flack
I’ll stop and think before I react
Knowing that they’re going through insecure stages
I’ll take the opportunity to exercise patience
I’ll see it as a chance to help the other person
Nip it in the bud before it can worsen
A change for me to be strong and sure
As I think on the buddhas who have come before
As I praise and respect the good they’ve done
Knowing only love can conquer in every situation
We need other people in order to create
The circumstances for the learning that we’re here to generate
Situations that bring up our deepest fears
So we can work to release them until they’re cleared
Therefore, it only makes sense
To thank our enemies despite their intent
The bodhisattva path is one of power and strength
A strength from within to go the length
Seeing others are as important as myself
I strive for a happiness of mental wealth
With the interconnectedness that we share as one
Every action that we take affects everyone
So in deciding for what a situation calls
There is a path for the good for all
I try to make my every action for that highest good
With the altruistic wish to achive buddhahood
So I pledge here before everyone who’s listening
To try to make my every action for the good of all beings
For the rest of my lifetimes and even beyond
I vow to do my best to do no harm
And in times of doubt I can think on the dharma
And the enlightened ones who’ve graduated samsara
[...] [...]
[...] Yauch, whom I was fortunate enough to work with for some years, it would be backstage at the first Tibetan Freedom Concert in Golden Gate Park in [...]
So sad… Beastie Boys were the soundtrack of many a good memory for me.
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Valerie Carruthers
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[...] RIP MCA: Bodhisattva Vow! You gotta fight for your right not to fit in a square box. To be of benefit to all others in need. A… [...]
[...] “You gotta fight for your right not to fit in a square box. To be of benefit to all others in need. [...]
Just posted to "Popular Lately" on the Elephant Spirituality Homepage.
Valerie Carruthers
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