HE HAD A LICENSE TO ILL

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Along with Run DMC, the Beastie Boys were the first rap artists I ever listened to obsessively. I never thought of them as a trio of individual MCs; they always sounded to me like a group package so I can’t say MCA was “my favorite” of three. But if Ad Rock had the most elliptical voice with its droops and slurs, MCA was the hardcore anchor: rough and rugged.

It saddens me to realize how both Run DMC and the Beasties, each lost a core member far before their time. At least, in their time though, they both helped change popular music as we know it. Thanks Adam, thanks Jay.