Rest in Peace Adam MCA Yauch – August 5, 1964 – May 4, 2012

By now you’ve heard some of the saddest news that hip hop lifers like us have had in a really long time- after being diagnosed in 2009 with a cancerous parotid gland and lymph node, Adam MCA Yauch died yesterday, being the youngest of the three Beastie Boys, at age 47. When Licensed to Ill dropped, it was immediately clear how important MCA was to the group; Mike D & King Adrock‘s high-pitched, nasal deliveries were part of what we first noticed about the B-Boys’ styles- but MCA provided an excellent balance with his grainy, back of the throat vocal projections, rounding out the roster perfectly. The chemistry was instant, and every album different from the previous. Adam Yauch matured from a ex-skinhead punker bass player-turned rapper who wanted to name the Beastie Boys’ Def Jam debut LP “Don’t be a faggot” to an advocate for human rights, an important voice in the Free Tibet/Tibetan Independence Movement, and ultimately went on to organize the Tibetan Freedom Concert, which helped to amass greater numbers and funding for Students for a free tibet.

There’s really not enough that can be said about the impact that the Beastie Boys have had on music and in particular, hip hop culture. There was never anybody like them before their transition to rap in 1985, and when you look at albums like Paul’s Boutique and Check Your Head- there hasn’t been another group like them since. Considering their fellow legendary Golden Era hip hop contemporaries Run DMC, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, I always thought that the Beastie Boys would be the one group to stay together, literally until death stepped in. They’ve been best friends since the late 70s, with none of the drama, jealousy, or career changes that pretty much every other group from that period has dealt with.

Adam Yauch leaves behind a wife, Dechen Wangdu, and a 14 year old daughter, Tenzin Losel. He leaves behind two lifelong friends and an unrepairable hole as 1/3rd of arguably the greatest rap group in history. He leaves behind millions of fans of his near 30 years of unbelievably great hip hop music. He did wonderful things with his life and I’m never going to stop listening to the Beastie Boys. Rest in peace to my hero, Adam MCA Yauch, 47. – Skylar Woodman

Tags: Adam Yauch, Beastie Boys, RIP MCA, RIPMCA

Investigation into Notorious B.I.G.’s murder “reinvigorated” according to law enforcement source

According to one law enforcement source, the investigation into the 13-year-old unsolved case was “reinvigorated” months ago as a result of new information, but the source would not elaborate further because of the ongoing investigation that includes the Los Angeles Police Department, L.A. County District Attorney’s Office and the FBI.

-By Ted Rowlands, CNN – January 7, 2011

The city of Los Angeles says it has put together a special taskforce made up of federal and California based law enforcement officials to investigate Biggie’s death and hopefully find his true killer(s). We’ll keep you posted when we read something. -Skylar Woodman

Tags: Notorious B.I.G. Murder Case

Rest in Peace to Keith “Guru” Elam • July 17, 1966 – April 19, 2010

There’s a huge sense of loss today the world over as Keith Elam, who went by Guru and co-founded the legendary 2 man New York rap crew Gangstarr has passed on due to complications from a cardiac episode and subsequent coma. If you’re anything like me and grew up on Hip Hop in the 1990s, Guru’s gruff voice and perfect timing over those unmistakable jazz loops and vocal scratches courtesy of Primo were constantly in your walkman or discman providing a profound soundtrack to growing up. Guru will always mean very, very much to me and represents a time in Hip Hop where if the rhyme wasn’t super tight and the beat wasn’t well put together- you got absolutely no dap.

Take it personal was an all-time perfect banger- Primo chopped the Skull Snaps’ loop up far from where another DJ would just play the sample like every other kid with an MPC.. and laced it with dusty old piano stabs.. the perfect recipe for Guru to rip the mic over. Rest in Peace Guru. You are very much missed and loved. -Skylar Woodman

Tags: Guru Dies, R.I.P. Guru, Rest in Peace Guru

Rest In Peace Mr. Magic – Juice Crew All-Stars tribute

The Return of the Juice Crew – Mr. Magic Tribute

Hip Hop lost a true pioneer of the culture a month ago monday when Super Rockin’ DJ Mr. Magic passed away at only 53. To pay tribute to an Icon, some fellow rap pioneers got together and cut a track.

This is the 2009 return of the Juice Crew on a posse cut- Big Daddy Kane, The Diabolical Biz Markie, TJ Swan, MC Shan, Craig G, and Roxanne Shante together again with Marley Marl on the cut… don’t miss out on this one. There’s alot of disrespect in the game right now, but this collaboration is a straight celebration of what Mr. Magic gave to the culture. R.I.P. Magic!

Tags: Juice Crew

Rest in Peace – Super Rockin’ DJ MR. MAGIC

The Hip-Hop nation takes yet another loss in 2009- Super Rockin’ DJ Mr. Magic, Government name John Rivas- Died this morning of a heart attack in his hometown, New York City.

Mr. Magic Aka Sir Juice (This resulted in the “Juice Crew”‘s moniker being created) holds the distinction of being the first DJ to have a Hip-Hop show on a major Radio station, and in 1983 he started that show, “The Rap Attack” on WBLS-FM NYC.

To pay our respects, we put up a couple examples of his work. Magic cutting up Run-DMC’s incredible genre-defining track “Rock Box”, and one of the few times Magic the Deejay assumed the role of Magic the Emcee- “Magic’s Message”.

Manifest says thank you and expresses all our respect for a true Pioneer in Hip Hip’s earliest years- Super Rockin’ DJ MR. MAGIC.

Tags: Mr. Magic, Rest in Peace DJ MR. MAGIC