Community Corner

Graffiti Artist Pays Tribute To Adam 'MCA' Yauch On Gowanus Rooftop

The latest spray-painted memorial to the deceased Beastie Boy is visible from the F/G line.

An unknown graffiti artist with "a little story to tell" has thrown up a tribute to recently deceased Adam 'MCA' Yauch on a rooftop in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn. 

Hidden in broad daylight, the new tag reads "MCA" in large, uppercase bubble letters written on the lip of a rooftop and cater-cornered by "Rest in Peace" painted in a red script.

Since , spray-painted murals and throw-ups have appeared nationwide from to San Francisco's Mission District to Midwood, Brooklyn, as well as  and ideas for .

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This latest piece of graffiti art, however, is much closer to MCA's childhood stomping grounds and is only visible while riding the F/G in between the 4th-9th Street and Smith-9th Street stations. 

The discovery of the artwork comes on the heels of recently released interviews with surviving Beastie Boys' Mike D and Ad Rock, in which the pair finally comment on the passing of their lifelong friend and musical collaborator.

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"He had us fooled in the most beautiful way," Michael Diamond said of Adam Yauch, to Rolling Stone (RS), describing the latter's "incredible optimism" during his three-year battle with cancer. "I believed, up to last week, that Adam was somehow coming back."

While fellow member Adam Horowitz told RS that he still feels "totally numb" since the death of Yauch, he takes comfort in the fact that the elder Beastie Boy wasn't afraid at the end of his life.

"I don't believe Adam was afraid," Horowitz said in his interview with RS. "Bummed out, yeah. But I can't think when I ever saw him afraid. We got jumped in Brooklyn one time, so we've been afraid in that sense. But, man, he hadn't been afraid in a long time. That gives me peace."

Have you seen other tributes around the neighborhood honoring Adam 'MCA' Yauch? Share them in the comments or upload your own photos to the gallery.


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