Mother’s Day is an appropriate time for the Video Gateway to pay tribute to a great Jewish musician and film maker, Adam Yauch, or MCA, one of the founding members of the Beastie Boys, who passed away this month at the tragically young age of 47. In “Sure Shot” recorded in 1994 Yauch rapped, “I want to say a little something that’s long overdue/the disrespect to women has got to be through. To all the mothers and sisters and the wives and friends, I want to offer my love and respect to the end.” Listen in at 2:08 for this line in the “Sure Shot” video above. Yauch brought personal growth into his music in a natural and real way that led to homage and respect from peers across the spectrum of music. A great quote illustrating this comes from Questlove, the drummer for The Roots, who said, …”Did we really expect the most thoughtful, mature, considerate act in music to be the same brats who gave us ‘Licensed To Ill’?” A moving tribute to Adam from one of his English teachers at Murrow High School in Brooklyn reminds us of the young man behind the star. Finally, don’t miss the JTA’s article, “No Adam Yauch wasn’t a yeshiva boy but we can still claim him” by Dvora Meyers.