Adam Yauch
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| Adam Yauch | |
|---|---|
 Yauch performing in 2007 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Adam Nathaniel Yauch |
| Also known as | MCA Nathanial Hörnblowér |
| Born | August 5, 1964 Brooklyn, New York |
| Died | May 4, 2012 |
| Genres | Hip hop, rap rock, hardcore punk, alternative hip hop |
| Occupations | Rapper, Musician, Songwriter, Director, Film Distributor |
| Instruments | MC, vocals, bass guitar, keyboards, turntables |
| Years active | 1979—2012 |
| Labels | Def Jam Grand Royal Capitol |
| Associated acts | Beastie Boys |
| Website | www.beastieboys.com |
| Notable instruments | |
| ARP-2600, Ampeg AEB-1, Fender Jazz, Ampeg Electric Upright, Roland TR-808 | |
Yauch died on May 4, 2012. He announced in 2009 that he was being treated for cancer, but it is not yet known if his death was a direct result of the cancer.[1][2]
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Early life
Yauch was born an only child in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Frances and Noel Yauch, who is a painter and architect. His father was Catholic and his mother was Jewish.[3] In high school, he taught himself to play the bass guitar, and formed Beastie Boys. They played their first show — then still a hardcore punk band in the vein of Reagan Youth — on his 17th birthday, while still attending Edward R. Murrow High School in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn. He attended Bard College for 2 years before dropping out. Two years later, when Yauch was 22, the Beastie Boys, now performing as a hip hop trio, released their first album Licensed to Ill on Def Jam Records.Career
Under the pseudonym "Nathanial Hörnblowér",[4] Yauch directed many of the Beastie Boys' music videos. Yauch made his televised debut as Hörnblowér at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards as he stormed the stage in costume to protest after R.E.M. won the award for Best Direction over the Spike Jonze-directed Beastie Boys video "Sabotage". He also directed the 2006 Beastie Boys concert film Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That!, though in the DVD extras for the film, the title character in "A Day in the Life of Nathanial Hörnblowér" is played by David Cross. He also directed the 2008 film Gunnin' For That #1 Spot about eight high school basketball prospects at the Boost Mobile Elite 24 Hoops Classic at Rucker Park in Harlem, New York City.In 2002, Yauch built a recording studio in NYC called Oscilloscope Laboratories and produced Build a Nation, the comeback album from hardcore/punk band Bad Brains. Oscilloscope Laboratories also distributed Adam Yauch's directorial film debut, basketball documentary Gunnin' For That #1 Spot (2008) as well as Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy (2008) and Oren Moverman’s The Messenger (2009).
MCA, along with fellow Beastie Boys members Adrock and Mike D appeared in the 2005 streetball game NBA Street V3 as an unlockable team wearing New York Knicks #00 jerseys and caps. MCA later appeared in the 2007 skating game Tony Hawk's Proving Ground as an unlockable skater wearing the black suit MCA occasionally wears. Most recently; MCA appears alongside his musical compatriots as a playable character in EA's NBA Jam (2010). This is seen by many as a homage to his original appearance along Adrock and Mike D in Midway's original NBA Jam, circa 1993 as secret characters. In NBA Jam 2010, the Beastie Boys team can be unlocked through the use of a cheat code or by defeating them in game.
The Beastie Boys had sold 40 million records worldwide by 2010. In 2012, the group was inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. Yauch was inducted in absentia due to his illness, with his bandmates paying him warm tribute from the stage; a letter from Yauch was read to the crowd. Fellow inductees the Red Hot Chili Peppers dedicated their live performance to Yauch.
In 2011, Yauch received the Charles Flint Kellogg Award in Arts and Letters from Bard College, the college he attended for two years. The award is "given in recognition of a significant contribution to the American artistic or literary heritage."[5]
Personal life
Yauch was a practicing Buddhist.[6]In 2009, Yauch was diagnosed and treated for a cancerous parotid gland and a lymph node and underwent surgery and radiation therapy delaying the group's album release and tour.[7][8] Yauch became a vegan under the recommendation of his Tibetan doctors.[9] Yauch died May 4, 2012. He is survived by his wife and Tibetan American activist Dechen Wangdu, with whom he had a daughter, Tenzin Losel Yauch (b. September 31, 1998). [10] His death was first reported by Russell Simmons' website GlobalGrind.com, and later confirmed by TMZ and Rolling Stone.
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