MCA, one third of the hip-hop group Beastie Boys, a.k.a. Adam Yauch has passed away of cancer. Yauch had been battling the decease since July of 2009 when doctors discovered a cancerous tumor in his salivary gland.
later that year Yauch announced that he would stop touring with the group in order to seek treatment. His illness also delayed the release of the group’s last album “Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2.”
In 1981 Yauch co-founded the punk rock band the Beastie Boys with Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock) and Mike Diamond (Mike D). The following year they decided to experiment with hip-hop, releasing a 12-inch vinyl rap spoof “Cookie Puss”. The three teenages, who all came from affluent New York families, were the first to break hip-hop’s racial barrier, becoming the first successfully white group in the genre. Their 1986 album “Licensed to Ill” (which featured hits like “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)” and “Brass Monkey.” ), was the first rap album to hit No. 1 on the album charts.
Yauch was notably absent when the Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock & Roll hall of fame 2 weeks ago. In his place he sent a letter which read in part:
“I’d like to dedicate this to my brothers Adam and Mike. They walked the globe with me. It’s also for anyone who has ever been touched by our band. This induction is as much ours as it is yours.”
When Ad-Rock and Mike D accepted the Beastie Boys’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two weeks ago, they read a letter from Mr. Yauch thanking both his bandmates and the group’s fans. “I’d like to dedicate this to my brothers Adam and Mike,” he wrote. “They walked the globe with me. It’s also for anyone who has ever been touched by our band. This induction is as much ours as it is yours.”
Adam Yauch, MCA, was 47.
