Was sad for weeks and took me years to even listen to Beastie Boys again without getting weepy. Here was a guy that was a standard issue kid, making obnoxious music for laughs and fun, that showed the world how to really grow up and mature. We were supposed to get a couple more decades of his creativity and unstoppable kindness before it got taken from us.
For a fun read, go look up how Lucent Technologies failed.
History really can rhyme.