Musician succumbs to cancer
Founding member of Beastie Boys
LOS ANGELES – Adam Yauch, a founding member of pioneering hip-hop group the Beastie Boys who captivated fans with their brash style in early hits like Fight for Your Right (To Party), died on Friday after a long battle with cancer. He was 47.
“It is with great sadness that we confirm that musician, rapper, activist and director Adam (MCA) Yauch, founding member of Beastie Boys ... passed away in his native New York City this morning after a near-three-year battle with cancer,” said a statement posted on the band’s website.
In July 2009, Yauch disclosed that he had been diagnosed with a tumour in his left salivary gland and lymph nodes, and he later underwent surgery and sought medical treatment in Tibet, among other places. In October that year, he said he was “feeling healthy, strong and hopeful” that he had beaten the disease.
But as recently as last month, it was apparent the Beastie Boys’ bassist was very ill as he was forced to miss his group’s introduction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Yauch, who went by the stage name MCA, founded the Beastie Boys with his two friends Michael Diamond (Mike D) and Adam Horovitz (Adrock). In the rap genre that was dominated by African-american acts, the Beasties stood out for their ethnicity – three white Jewish kids from Brooklyn, N.Y.
They formed initially as a punkrock band following that 1970s music movement, but soon switched to rap as it gained prominence on the street and in underground clubs in the early 1980s. Their breakout album was 1986’s Licensed to Ill, which featured the hit Fight for Your Right (To Party).
The Beasties would go on to sell over 40 million records, release four No. 1 albums and win three Grammys.
Long-time associate and friend Russell Simmons, a co-founder of Def Jam Records, the label that first signed the Beasties to a record deal, posted a message on his website saying: “Adam was incredibly sweet and the most sensitive artist, who I loved dearly. I was always inspired by his work. He will be missed by all of us.”
Under the alias of Nathanial Hjornblowder, Yauch also directed iconic Beastie Boys videos, including So Whatcha Want, Intergalactic, Body Movin and Ch-check It Out.
Outside music and film, Yauch founded the Milarepa Foundation, which raised money for post-sept. 11 disaster relief and other causes.