I was extremely sad to hear the news that MCA had died. My friend Warren sent me a text, just as we read on the internet, what a great loss. My condolences to his wife and daughter.

I grew up with the Beastie Boys, not literally, but when their first album was released I though it was absolutely fantastic; I used to wear my Beastie Boys with Run DMC T-shirt with great delight when I was 14. I can remember in 1991 when I first caught the video for ‘So Watcha Want’ and was blown away. Check your Head is still one of the best albums that I ever heard. It was in 1991 at the Notting Hill Carnival that I was trying to describe to my girlfriend at the time, the colour that MCA had dyed his hair. ‘It’s that colour’ I said excitedly, pointing to a man just across the way, to my amazement it was MCA. I will upload the photo’s when I find them.

It was fantastic at Reading 1998 when the Beatie Boys got the knock with the Prodigy as they had requested that the Prodigy, who were on before them, didn’t play ‘Smack my Bitch up’ as they felt it was disrespectful to women; Prodigy refused. When the Beastie Boys performed they made a big point of announcing to the crowd what they had requested and what was said – I have never looked at the Prodigy through the same eyes again.

MCA was a devout Buddhist and through him I became aware of the Free Tibet issue; a performer who used his position to actually try and make a difference. The world will miss his prescence.