At last night "s gala benefit for The Moth, a non-profit dedicated to the art of storytelling, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels shared a few memories of Adam "MCA" Yauch with The Huffington Post.

In the 1980s, McDaniels " group, Run-D.M.C., and Yauch "s group, the Beastie Boys, were tag-team partners locked in combat with music "s status quo. Today, both groups are safely ensconced in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but it wasn "t always obvious that they were destined for immortality.

"You know, it was early, so people thought Run DMC "s a fad, Beasties is a fad, you know, all of this is a fad," McDaniels said. "Run-D.M.C., we crossed over with the rock -- but then it was Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys that took it to venues. We started playing Madison Square Garden, L.A. Coliseum, and all the critics were like, "There "s no way these black hip hop guys, these black B-boys, and these white punk rockers gonna go into these venues and anything good "s gonna happen, because there "s gonna be racial tension, fighting and gangs and all that. " But it was no problem."

A 1987 concert review in The New York Times confirms McDaniels point: "Airport-style metal detectors on the way into Madison Square Garden, and helmeted, club-wielding police officers on the way out, lent Monday "s sold-out rap show by Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys the air of a concert in a prison," Jon Pareles wrote. "But inside the arena, it was clear that most people came to party -- to dance, wave their arms and shout rhymes along with the rappers."

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