Beastie Boys Adam Yauch, aka MCA, passed away last week, inspiring us to search our archives for our cover story on the groundbreaking rap crew.
When NOW sat down drummer Mike D, aka Michael Diamond, the group wasn’t so much fighting for the right to party as it was dealing with its massive success. Read the issue here.
But on the heels of the release of their fourth album, Ill Communication, the Beasties were still taking major musical risks and were more politically pro-active than ever.
Yauch himself went on to co-found the Milarepa Fund, which sponsored, among other things, the Tibetan Freedom Concerts and the New Yorkers Against Violence benefit.
R.I.P. MCA.