The Beastie Boys, crown princes of hip-hop and overall silliness, lost one of their own Friday when founding member Adam “MCA” Yauch died of cancer.

Tributes poured in from the entertainment and pop culture universe — and from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

“As an artist, Adam Yauch changed the course of music; as a humanitarian, he changed lives,” the California Democrat and former Speaker said in a statement about the “creative genius.”

So we get why Rolling Stone and “Fresh Air” would sing MCA’s praises, but why a grandmother and political trailblazer who was a couple of generations removed from rocking out to “Sure Shot” and “Intergalactic”?

In addition to Yauch’s quarter-century in music and most recent forays into filmmaking, he was also a longtime advocate of Tibetan human rights, a longtime endeavor for the raspy-voiced Beastie.

Pelosi nodded to this in her statement, pointing out that one of the bigger Tibetan Freedom concerts that Yauch helped organized took place at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco: “Adam Yauch’s concerts raised awareness on campuses across the country; what a beautiful sight it was in 1996, when he drew 100,000 people to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco for a concert to benefit the cause of freedom in Tibet.”