It was a banner MCA-Day.
Beastie Boys fans gathered in Adam Yauch Park in Brooklyn Heights on Saturday to honor the late emcee during the sixth annual get-together in the rapper’s home neighborhood. Admirers have been crowding into the park each year to mark the anniversary of the wordsmith and human rights activists’ death by listening to his rhymes and enjoying the park of his namesake, and this year was no different.
“It was just a fun day at the park,” said Rob Hearon, who drove up from Philadelphia and sported a “RIP MCA” shirt for the occasion. “It was cool to hang out, listen to some music, play some basketball, and talk to friends.”
Hearon was in high school when the Beastie Boys’ first album, “Licensed to Ill” came out in 1986 and he has been a huge fan ever since, trekking up from the sixth borough for the past four years to celebrate Yauch.
The rapper, who once commanded people fight for their right to party, went on to become a celebrated activist, organizing a concert to support the Tibetan independence movement, and famously slamming Islamophobia during his 1998 MTV Music Video Awards speech — setting an example for many to look up to, including Hearon.
“I just really respect the way he lived his life. He kind of matured throughout the years in front of his fans and went from being this punk rock kick ass guy to a socially conscious philanthropist and it was cool to mature along with him,” he said.
Fans will get another chance to pay tribute to Yauch at an official MCA Day shindig at Gowanus’ Littlefield on Aug. 5, a party its organizer declared will be the “Grand finale event.”
MCA Day at Littlefield (622 DeGraw St. between Third and Fourth Avenues in Gowanus, www.littl
