Illustration by Max Kornell

We've had a lot to say about Adam Yauch, which you can read below.

But, in a way, this kind of says it all. RIP MCA

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Wikipedia Commons

See also:
*Our Adam Yauch Obituary
*Adam Yauch, RIP: A Life in Photos

Adam Yauch, better known as MCA of the Beastie Boys, died last week. His group was a big deal in hip-hop, not just because they were the first white act to break through, but because they helped establish both the sample-based production and rambunctious lyricism that made rap an international juggernaut.

Within the act, Yauch stood out as well, as noted by our writer Chaz Kangas, for bringing them early credibility. "[H]is grizzled voice -- between Ad-Rock and Mike D.'s higher-pitched wails -- made for their most conventional element, allowing them to connect to a more traditional hip-hop audience."

But from the string of memorials that have come out since his death, one could get the impression that a single stanza came to define his career, from the group's 1994 track "Sure Shot":

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See also:
*Our Adam Yauch Obituary
*Let's Not Reduce Adam Yauch's Career to a Single Lyric

Upon hearing the sad news that Beastie Boy Adam Yauch died this morning, we headed to the L.A. Weekly file cabinets and found a trove of old press photos from the years...

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See also:
*Let's Not Reduce Adam Yauch's Career to a Single Lyric
*Press photos from every stage of Yauch's career
*Our Adam Yauch slide show

Hip-hop pioneer Adam Yauch, better known as MCA of the Beastie Boys, died this morning of cancer, at age 47. The information was reported by Def Jam founder Russell Simmons.

The Beasties' legacy spans three decades, crossing genres and mediums. The group had a knack for innovation. Originally a hardcore New York City punk band, they first found fame in the mid-'80s opening for Madonna and performing their famed Rick Rubin-produced rock-rap hybrid music.

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Alexander George

E.B. and Eazy-E's tombstone

Yesterday was the 17th anniversary of Eazy-E's death. To commemorate the date, his daughter E.B., who is also a rapper, put on a gauzy white gown and curled around her father's tombstone.

She also re-created two of her father's iconic album covers. You can see them below.

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Don Cornelius, creator of Soul Train, is dead of a reportedly self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was 75.

As our news blog The Informer reported this morning, Cornelius was found in his Sherman Oaks home and taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center around 4 a.m. Investigators from LAPD have not officially ruled if the death was a suicide or homicide.

Cornelius was born in Chicago in 1936. He began his career as a journalist and was hired by Chicago's WCIU-TV as a news and sports reporter. At the same time, he was emceeing a traveling concert series featuring local acts he called "The Soul Train." The station soon became home to the program, and its first airing was August 17, 1970.

As documented in 2010's Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America, Cornelius was a visionary, not only introducing African-American musicians to a mainstream audience, but also creating one of the first African-American owned media empires. As the writer, producer and host of Soul Train, he was integral in the show's immediate, overwhelming success -- by the end of its first season, it was syndicated and running in 24 markets outside of Chicago.

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Rebecca Haithcoat

Houseshoes, left, and Coleman, right

Jovan "J-1" Coleman, producer and drummer in Dam-Funk's band Master Blazter, passed away Sunday. He was 32 years old. The cause of death is unknown.

Late yesterday afternoon Dam-Funk tweeted, "At this time we send our most deep condolences 2 family & friends of @THEDEER (aka J-1/Jovan Coleman) whom in an accident passed in Sweden."

The news shocked L.A.'s underground music scene, with Peanut Butter Wolf -- of Master Blazter's label Stones Throw -- and Questlove of the Roots sending out remembrances and notes of sympathy and respect on Twitter.

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Peter Palladino

Peter Palladino's famous picture of The Spotlight

It's been a couple of weeks since Hollywood's oldest gay bar, the Spotlight, closed its doors for good. Having done the Cahuenga shuffle a couple of times since then (including on our way to Freak City), we must say that the street feels different.

Many considered The Spotlight "Cahuenga's ugly sore thumb," as we noted in our book Los Angeles' Best Dive Bars. But for others, it was a boozy beacon to individuality on the nightlife scene.

Rumors of the bar's imminent demise circulated for years, but it finally happened on Monday, September 5. There was weekend of wild goodbye parties beforehand, including the birthday bash for former club promoter Jeffrey Hilbert, who is currently working on a documentary about the place, tentatively titled The Last Gay Bar on Earth.

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Leiber, right, with Elvis and Stoller

Obituary by Sean O'Connell

For I know just as well as I'm standing here talking to you,
when that final moment comes and I'm breathing my last breath,
I'll be saying to myself,
Is that all there is? Is that all there is?
If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing
Let's break out the booze and have a ball
-"Is That All There Is?"

Lyricist Jerry Leiber passed away earlier today. Alongside his writing partner Mike Stoller, they wrote some of the most enduring hits of the '50s and '60s, including "Jailhouse Rock," "Love Potion #9," "Yakety Yak," and "Stand By Me." He was 78 years old.

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Jani Lane, the lead singer for Hollywood glam metal band Warrant, was found dead last night at a Comfort Inn in Woodland Hills. Police responded to a 911 call around 5:30 pm, and fire department officials pronounced him dead shortly thereafter. The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office is investigating the cause of death, which is not known at this time. He was 47.

Though they arrived late on the hair metal scene, Warrant was one of the most popular groups of the era, breaking through with their 1989 debut, Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich. The album sold two million copies and had a seemingly endless string of radio hits, including "Down Boys" and the power ballads "Sometimes She Cries" and "Heaven." The group became best known, however, for their sophomore work Cherry Pie, which also went double platinum. Its lead, eponymous single famously featured model Bobbie Brown being hosed down by the group, dressed as firemen. Brown and Lane later wed, and had a daughter together before divorcing not long after.

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