Adam Yauch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Adam "MCA" Yauch
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Yauch in 2007
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Adam Nathaniel Yauch |
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| Born | August 5, 1964 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | May 4, 2012 (aged 47) New York City, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1979–2012 |
Adam Nathaniel Yauch (pronounced YOWK; born August 5, 1964 – died May 4, 2012), was an American musician and filmmaker. He was best known by his stage name MCA. Adam Yauch was a founding member of the famous hip hop group Beastie Boys.
Besides making music, he also directed many of the band's music videos. He often used the name Nathaniel Hörnblowér for his film work. Yauch also started a film company called Oscilloscope Laboratories. He was a Buddhist and supported the Tibetan independence movement. He helped organize the Tibetan Freedom Concert to raise awareness. Adam Yauch passed away in 2012 from a type of cancer. After his death, the Beastie Boys group stopped making music.
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Early Life and School
Adam Yauch was born in Brooklyn, New York City. He was the only child in his family. His father, Noel, was an architect, and his mother, Frances, was a social worker. Adam grew up in Brooklyn Heights without a specific religion.
He went to Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn. While in high school, he learned to play the bass guitar by himself. He then formed the Beastie Boys band with his friends John Berry, Kate Schellenbach, and Michael Diamond. Their first show was on his 17th birthday. At that time, they played hardcore punk music. Adam went to Bard College for two years but then left.
His stage name, MCA, stands for "Master of Ceremonies Adam."
The Beastie Boys Band
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The Beastie Boys was a hip-hop group with three members. They released their first album, Licensed to Ill, when Yauch was 22 years old. This album came out on Def Jam Records. Adam Yauch directed many of the Beastie Boys' music videos. He often used his other name, Nathaniel Hörnblowér, for these videos.
In 2002, Yauch built a recording studio in New York City. He named it Oscilloscope Laboratories. He also started a company to distribute independent films called Oscilloscope Pictures.
By 2010, the Beastie Boys had sold 40 million records around the world. In April 2012, the group was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Adam Yauch could not be there because he was sick. His bandmates honored him, and a letter from Yauch was read to everyone.
In 2011, Adam Yauch received an award from Bard College. It was called the Charles Flint Kellogg Award in Arts and Letters. This award is given to people who have made important contributions to American art or literature.
Other Creative Work
Adam Yauch also worked on other projects. He directed a film in 2008 called Gunnin' For That #1 Spot. This movie was about eight talented high school basketball players.
He also produced an album for the hardcore/punk band Bad Brains in 2007. It was called Build a Nation. When Bad Brains released their album Into the Future in 2012, they dedicated it to Adam Yauch. He had been a good friend and supporter for a long time.
His company, Oscilloscope Laboratories, also helped distribute other movies. These included Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy (2008) and Oren Moverman's The Messenger (2009).
Personal Life and Beliefs
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Adam Yauch was a practicing Buddhist. He became a strong supporter of the Tibetan independence movement. He created a non-profit group called the Milarepa Fund. This group worked to help Tibet become independent. He also organized several benefit concerts, like the Tibetan Freedom Concert, to support this cause.
In 1995, he met his future wife, Dechen Wangdu, at a speech by the Dalai Lama. She was a Tibetan American. They got married in 1998 and had a daughter named Tenzin Losel that same year.
In 1998, when the Beastie Boys received an award at the MTV Video Music Awards, Yauch spoke out. He talked about America's wars in Muslim countries. He also spoke against unfair treatment of Muslims and Arabs.
Illness and Passing
In 2009, Adam Yauch was diagnosed with a type of cancer in his salivary gland and lymph node. He had surgery and radiation therapy to treat it. This caused delays for the Beastie Boys' album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two and their tour. He could not appear in the music videos for the album. Yauch also became a vegan because his doctors suggested it. At the time, he said the cancer was "very treatable."
Adam Yauch passed away on May 4, 2012, when he was 47 years old.
In his last will, Yauch asked that his music not be used in advertisements. A park in Brooklyn Heights was renamed Adam Yauch Park on May 3, 2013, in his honor.
Discography
with Beastie Boys
- Licensed to Ill (1986)
- Paul's Boutique (1989)
- Check Your Head (1992)
- Ill Communication (1994)
- Hello Nasty (1998)
- To the 5 Boroughs (2004)
- The Mix-Up (2007)
- Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (2011)
See also
In Spanish: Adam Yauch para niños
