The significance of this runs deeper than many may realize. The Beastie Boys weren't just pioneering or influential, they were legendary, and not only in hip-hop circles. Their importance can be felt in the music of Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Linkin Park, and Kid Rock as much as in that of Eminem, Naughty By Nature, Nas, and the rest of hip-hop. They weren't just rappers or rockers, they seamlessly blended the two genres to form a raucous, rowdy mixture that transcended hip-hop's street appeal and brought it into the suburbs and the pop charts, kicking down barriers everywhere they went and opening doors for every white rapper you've ever heard since their 1986 debut, Licensed To Ill, topped the charts (the first hip-hop album to do so). They were the third rap act to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the first and only white rap act to date to receive 5 mics in The Source (also for Ill). Their sophomore album, Paul's Boutique, revolutionized the art of sampling, sometimes utilizing as many as 24 samples on a single track, further breaking ground in the hip-hop culture, as their style would be cited as an influence on many producers from DJ Premier to J Dilla to Kanye West. They were often credited as the white counterparts to Run-DMC and the two groups would heavily influence one another's work (even recording covers of one another's songs at times), creating a dynamic that arguably single-handedly brought hip-hop into the mainstream. Every white rapper, from Vanilla Ice to Eminem to Brother Ali to Asher Roth to Ill Bill to ICP, owes them a thank you for breaking the color boundary in hip-hop. Every rap group to adopt a back-and-forth rhyme style, from Method Man & Redman to A Tribe Called Quest to Naughty By Nature, owes them a thank you for being among the pioneers of the style. Every rapper that became known for an animated, sometimes over-the-top flow, from Busta Rhymes to Lil' Wayne to B Real to Mystikal, has probably taken a little something from the Beasties' nasal, high-pitched, at times comical deliveries. Every rapper, period, owes them a thank you for helping to push hip-hop to national prominence.
The loss of Yauch may mean the end of the Beastie Boys, as their back-and-forth rhyme style was a hallmark of the group. The Beasties had been actively recording and performing up until last year. The death of MCA is tragic for everyone who considered themselves a fan of the group, but on a larger scale, it's a monumental loss for hip-hop. Even if the Beasties continue their career in the future, MCA's absence will take a heavy toll. The Beastie Boys are true pioneers of the genre of hip-hop and legends in music in general, and if MCA's passing is the end of them, it is the end of an era as well. The spirit of MCA will continue to live on through the music regardless of the future of the group, and he will be fondly remembered for his contributions to the world of music.
Adam "MCA" Yauch was 47 years old.
