Adam Yauch
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Adam Yauch, a founding member of the hip-hop group Beastie Boys, has died at age 47, according to Rolling Stone and EW.
“Adam was incredibly sweet and the most sensitive artist who I loved dearly,” says producer Russell Simmons, a mentor and the band’s early manager. “I was always inspired by his work. He will be missed by all of us.”
Known by his stage name MCA, Yauch was unable to join bandmates Mike ‘Mike D’ Diamond and Adam ‘Ad-Rock’ Horovitz at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month because of medical reasons.
In 2009, he announced that a cancerous tumor was discovered in his left salivary gland. The band postponed the release of their new album.
The Brooklyn-born Yauch taught himself to play the bass guitar and while in high school formed the Beastie Boys.
Starting out as a punk band, the Beastie Boys transitioned to hip-hop and their first album Licensed to Ill, with the youth anthem “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party),” became a blockbuster seller.
Read more: http://globalgrind.com/news/adam-yauch-you-will-be-missed-russell-simmons#ixzz1tvMqpeh8 Yauch also directed many of the Beastie Boys music videos, including the band’s 2006 concert film Awesome; I F—– Shot That!
Although his cancer was caught early and described as “very treatable,” Yauch revealed in January 2011 that he had still not fully recovered.
“While I’m grateful for all the positive energy people are sending my way, reports of my being totally cancer free are exaggerated,” Yauch said in a statement at the time, according to Rolling Stone. “I’m continuing treatment, staying optimistic and hoping to be cancer free in the near future.”
Yauch is survived by his wife, Dechen Wangdu, and 14-year-old daughter, Tenzin.
Mike Diamond, Adam Yauch and Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys in 1986
Lynn Goldsmith / Corbis