Rolling Stone reports that Beastie Boys co-founder Adam Yauch, aka MCA, has died at the age of 47. Yauch had been diagnosed with cancer in 2009 after a tumor was discovered in his salivary gland.
He was unable to attend the Beastie Boys’ induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month.
“His treatments delayed the release of the group’s most recent album, Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2,” Rolling Stone reported. “The Beastie Boys had not performed live since the summer of 2009, and Yauch’s illness prevented the group from appearing in music videos” for the album.
Yauch co-founded the Beastie Boys with Mike “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horowitz in 1979. The band started off as a hardcore punk group, but soon began experimenting with hip-hop. The band broke big with their first proper album, Licensed to Ill, in 1986, and further albums Paul’s Boutique, Check Your Head and Ill Communication cemented the band as a true superstar act.
In addition to his career with the Beastie Boys, Yauch was heavily involved in the movement to free Tibet and co-organized the Tibetan Freedom Concerts of the late Nineties. In 2002, he launched the film production company Oscilloscope Laboratories.
Long Burn the Fire by Beastie Boys
Photo: Adam Yauch with Beastie Boys at Brixton Academy, 5 September 2007 by Fabio Venni. CC Liecnse. Some Rights Reserved.
