Adam Yauch

Adam Nathaniel Yauch ( ; August 5, 1964 – May 4, 2012), better known by the stage name MCA, was an American rapper, bass player, filmmaker and a founding member of the hip hop group Beastie Boys. Besides his musical work, he also directed many of the band's music videos and did much of their promotional photography, often using the pseudonym Nathaniel Hörnblowér for such work. Yauch founded Oscilloscope Laboratories, an independent film production and distribution company based in New York City. As a Buddhist, he was involved in the Tibetan independence movement and organized the Tibetan Freedom Concert. He died in 2012 from parotid cancer, after which the Beastie Boys disbanded. Early life and education Born in Brooklyn, New York City, Yauch was an only child. His father Noel was an architect, and his mother Frances was a social worker. Yauch's mother was Jewish and his father Catholic, but he had a non-religious upbringing in Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn. Yauch attended Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn's Midwood neighborhood. In high school, he taught himself to play the bass guitar and formed Beastie Boys from hardcore punk band, Young Aborigines, with John Berry, Kate Schellenbach, and Michael Diamond. They played their first show—while still a hardcore punk band in the vein of Reagan Youth—on his 17th birthday. He attended Bard College for two years before dropping out.