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The reason? The New York rap trio's founding member Adam "MCA" Yauch was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in a salivary gland.
"I just need to take a little time to get this in check, and then we'll release the record and play some shows," Yauch said in a recorded video statement placed on the band's website.
His casual tone and innate sense of optimism made it feel like everything would be fine. In fact, the Beastie Boys' label, EMI, followed it up with an announcement that assured fans that the cancer was local and treatable with immediate surgery. Yauch's vocal cords would not be affected. He was expected to make a full recovery.
"I apologize to everybody, for anyone who's made plans or was psyched to come to these shows that are coming up," Yauch said. "We'll be back doing this soon."
It seemed impossible that any of the Beastie Boys - a band that seemed so full of life from the moment it gate-crashed MTV with its party-starting first single "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)" - would ever have to deal with life-threatening illness.
Throughout a career that saw them selling more than 40 million records, releasing four No. 1 albums and picking up three Grammys, the group - which also included Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz and Michael "Mike D" Diamond - never lost its exuberance or love for its work.
When the Beastie Boys headlined at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in 2004 - its members well into middle age - they wore electric green tracksuits and leaped around the stage like huge goofballs, reviving classics such as "Brass Monkey."
Sense of enlightenment
The Beastie Boys never got around to releasing "Hot Sauce Committee Part 1," but after a period out of the spotlight, the group put out its eighth studio album, "Hot Sauce Committee Part Two," last year. It was heralded as a return-to-form for its gut-busting beats and sharp rhymes.Yauch, a practicing Buddhist, had previously e-mailed the Beastie Boys' official fan list that he was taking Tibetan medicine following the removal of his tumor and switched to a vegan diet. He added, "I'm feeling healthy, strong and hopeful that I've beaten this thing, but of course time will tell."
His greatest contribution to the rowdy rap trio - whose biggest hits included "Shake Your Rump" and "Hey Ladies" - was a sense of enlightenment. The gruff-voiced Yauch seemed almost immediately apologetic for the misogyny that ran rampant on the Beastie Boys' first album, "Licensed To Ill," and its accompanying tour that featured girls in go-go cages and a giant inflatable penis. He even went on to chastise other artists for similar infractions.
"I didn't realize how much harm I was doing back then, and I think a lot of rap artists probably don't realize it now," Yauch said.
After visiting Nepal and hearing the Dalai Lama speak in Arizona, he founded the Milarepa Fund, which organized the first Tibetan Freedom Concert in Golden Gate Park in 1996. The event brought together artists like Smashing Pumpkins, No Doubt and Foo Fighters and raised $800,000 to support the cause of Tibetan independence.
He married Dechen Wangdu, and in 1998 they had a daughter, Tenzin Losel.
Directing music videos
Even as he took on the weight of the world, he never lost the sense of humor or adventure that made the Beastie Boys stand out in the hip-hop world. He directed music videos for the group under the pseudonym "Nathanial Hörnblowér."He produced a crowd-sourced concert film, "Awesome; I F-' Shot That!" His verses in the band's songs were among the most memorable: "I've got more rhymes than I've got gray hairs, and that's a lot because I've got my share."
When Yauch didn't make the induction ceremony for the Beastie Boys at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month it was pretty clear that his recovery wasn't going as expected. But few outside his inner circle would have guessed the end would come so quickly.
He sent a message to the party, which his band mates read from the podium. It read, in part: "I'd like to dedicate this award to my brothers Adam and Mike who have walked the globe with me. To anyone who has been touched by our band, who our music has meant something to, this induction is as much ours as it is yours."
The loss of "MCA" is ours as well.
10 essential songs by the Beastie Boys
"Egg Raid on Mojo""(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)"
"No Sleep Til Brooklyn"
"Hey Ladies"
"Shake Your Rump"
"Gratitude"
"So Whatcha Want"
"Sabotage"
"Intergalactic"
"Body Movin'"
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