Image via Complex Original
The late Adam "MCA" Yauch was a man of many talents. Aside from being a husband, father, humanitarian, snowboarder, and pick-up basketball player, he was a founding member—with Michael "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz—of the groundbreaking hip-hop trio the Beastie Boys, who were responsible for some of the most pivotal, influential, and flat-out best hip-hop albums of all time. He also played a mean bass guitar and was equally deft on the keys, making him a triple-threat as a musician given his MC skills.
Actually, make that quadruple-threat. On top of everything else, Yauch was an accomplished film maker who founded Oscilloscope Laboratories, through which he directed a couple of awesome documentaries as well as some of the Beasties' best music videos—who better to capture the group's elusive essence? Never one to blow his own horn, he directed most of these videos under the alias Nathanial Hörnblowér, although last year, he shot one mini-movie under his born name.
Today is a sad day for hip-hop, but let’s try to raise our spirits as we take a look at Yauch’s work behind the lens.
Written by Andrew Martin (@Andrew_J_Martin)
Beastie Boys "So Whatcha Want" (1992)
How does one capture the hyper-caffeinated energy of the Beastie Boys? Simple: just shoot them head-on in a forest, wylin' out to the raucous lyrics and beat of "So Whatcha Want." It's equal parts pure hip-hop and snarling punk-rock, aka exactly what made so many of us adore the Beasties in the first place. Sometimes, simplicity is the best option.
Beastie Boys "Body Movin'" (1998)
When you listen to "Body Movin'," off Hello Nasty, do you picture bedroom sword fights between a dapper gentleman and a ninja? Probably not. But that's exactly Yauch saw when putting together the song's music video, a piece that's just as much indebted to Monty Python as it is to the 1968 Italian spy film Danger: Diabolik and The Cannonball Run flicks. You would think the mayhem would end when Yauch gets decapitated, but it only gets better from there.
Beastie Boys "Intergalactic" (1998)
To say Yauch went all out with the video for "Intergalactic" would be a massive understatement. In the space of just 4:35, he created a monster movie of epically low-budget proportions with the help of a dude in a robot costume, a tiny hand-crafted city, and some choice wardrobe selections. We get the feeling Godzilla creator Tomoyuki Tanaka, who passed the year before the "Intergalactic" single was released, would be proud.
Beastie Boys "Ch-Check It Out" (2004)
Given their history of gut-rupturing visuals, it's not easy to narrow down the Beasties' most hilarious video. One very strong contender for the top spot would have to be "Ch-Check It Out," which finds the trio on the streets on NY trying to film a video. All hell breaks loose when they encounter various groups of people, from grannies to yuppies, who want nothing more than to stop the shoot from happening. Oh, and there's also fist-fights between Star Trek nerds, office co-workers, and airboat operators, all of whom are played by the Beasties themselves.
Beastie Boys "Make Some Noise" (2011)
Although the Beasties had released two singles for Hot Sauce Committee Part II, it was "Make Some Noise" that truly served as the album's lead single. With that in mind, it wasn't like Yauch was going to blow the proverbial roof off with the song's music video. It's not just an homage to the group's legendary visuals for "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)"; it's a full-blown sequel.
The video, which also goes by the name of Fight For Your Right Revisited, is also as close to a short film-cum-music video as it gets. The full piece runs for 30 minutes (!) and stars young and old versions of the Beasties.
In the former category, you have Elijah Wood, Danny McBride, and Seth Rogen while the latter is handled by Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly and Jack Black. This, of course, leads to a dance battle between the two groups of actors and cameos from the likes of Orlando Bloom, Steve Buscemi, Rashida Jones, and Chloe Sevigny.
