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Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch's Buddhist Spirituality Permeated His Life And Music
Posted: 05/04/2012 3:01 pm Updated: 05/04/2012 4:06 pm
By Jaweed Kaleem
Adam Yauch, the Beastie Boys member who went by the stage name MCA, had long practiced Tibetan Buddhism before his death, which was announced Friday in several news reports.
The cause of his death is unclear, but Yauch, who died at age 47, had been battling a cancerous tumor in his salivary gland in since mid- 2009 and was vocal about the role spirituality had played in his recovery efforts. Yauch, who was born in Brooklyn, New York to a Catholic father and a Jewish mother, had practiced Buddhism since 1994.
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Several songs by the Beastie Boys, who rose to prominence in the 1980s with titles such as "
You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)" and "Brass Monkey," took a more spiritual turn in the 1990s with Yauch's influence. Two popular tracks from "Ill Communication," the group's fourth album that was released in 1994, were "Shambala" and "Bodhisattva Vow."
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Proceeds from the Buddhism-inspired songs were donated to Milarepa Fund, an organization Yauch created to support Tibetan independence. At the 1994 Lollapalooza tour, which the Beastie Boys co-headlined, Yauch's organization set up tents and passed out pro-Tibetan independence pamphlets. The Beastie Boys and the Milerepa Fund launched the Tibetan Freedom Concert series to support independence for Tibet.
More: HuffPo Story
By Jaweed Kaleem
Adam Yauch, the Beastie Boys member who went by the stage name MCA, had long practiced Tibetan Buddhism before his death, which was announced Friday in several news reports.
The cause of his death is unclear, but Yauch, who died at age 47, had been battling a cancerous tumor in his salivary gland in since mid- 2009 and was vocal about the role spirituality had played in his recovery efforts. Yauch, who was born in Brooklyn, New York to a Catholic father and a Jewish mother, had practiced Buddhism since 1994.
-------
Several songs by the Beastie Boys, who rose to prominence in the 1980s with titles such as "
You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)" and "Brass Monkey," took a more spiritual turn in the 1990s with Yauch's influence. Two popular tracks from "Ill Communication," the group's fourth album that was released in 1994, were "Shambala" and "Bodhisattva Vow."
-------
Proceeds from the Buddhism-inspired songs were donated to Milarepa Fund, an organization Yauch created to support Tibetan independence. At the 1994 Lollapalooza tour, which the Beastie Boys co-headlined, Yauch's organization set up tents and passed out pro-Tibetan independence pamphlets. The Beastie Boys and the Milerepa Fund launched the Tibetan Freedom Concert series to support independence for Tibet.
More: HuffPo Story
