From Rolling Stone:
John Berry, an original member of hip-hop group the Beastie Boys, died Thursday morning at 7:30 a.m. at a hospice in Danvers, Massachusetts. He was 52.
John Berry III, Berry’s father, confirmed his death Thursday afternoon. He said his son suffered from frontal lobe dementia, which had worsened in recent months. […]
Berry played on the Beastie Boys’ first seven-inch EP Polly Wog Stew, which was recorded at 171A studios in November 1982. He left the group shortly after, followed by Schellenbach in 1983. […]