Today, let’s light a few candles for Mark Ramos Nishita, a.k.a. keyboardist, producer and Beastie Boys best bud Money Mark, born on February 10, 1960. Mark is best known for his contributions to the Beastie Boys discography. He met the group initially while they made the 1989 classic Paul’s Boutique, and became a collaborator beginning with 1992’s Check Your Head, through their final record, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (2011) – one of the great two-decade runs in hip-hop. He toured with them as well, and could usually be found stage right, behind a bank of keyboards, as he was here, when the Beasties played “Sabotage” on Late Show with David Letterman
Money Mark is also a sought-after session musician, having worked in the studio with such luminaries as The Rolling Stones, Beck, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Carlos Santana, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and others. His most recent collaboration was on Linkin Park singer/rapper Mike Shinoda's solo record Dropped Frames, Vol. 2, on the strange but strangely alluring song “Isolation Bird.”