Beastie Boys' rapper Adam 'MCA' Yauch lost battle with cancer at age of 47
The pioneer of the hip-hop group Beastie Boys, Adam 'MCA' Yauch was announced dead, at age of 47 after he was diagnosed three years ago with cancer. Rolling Stone reports that the rapper had been in treatment for cancer since 2009. MCA was diagnosed in 2009 after discovering a tumor in his salivary gland. The likes of Eminem, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, P. Diddy and Nas have since yesterday, May 4th remembered the rapper and expressed their grief over his passing.
Meanwhile, on Saturday May 5, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces that the late rapper will be remembered at the end of the show that airs tonight. A photo of the Beastie Boys star will be shown to close the event with text that read "In Memory of Adam Yauch".
In addition to the Yauch tribute, the induction ceremony that was taped on April 14 had been changed to include Levon Helm and Dick Clark during the In Memoriam section. The member of The Band died on April 19, while the former "New Year's Rockin' Eve" host passed away one day prior.
The induction of 2012 Hall of Famers took place at Public Hall in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, during which Beastie Boys were introduced by Chuck D. Yauch was unable to attend the event, but his parents were in attendance. He also sent a letter that was read to audience by fellow bandmate Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz.
"It is with great sadness that we confirm that musician, rapper, activist and director Adam 'MCA' Yauch, founding member of Beastie Boys and also of the Milarepa Foundation that produced the Tibetan Freedom Concert benefits, and film production and distribution company Oscilloscope Laboratories, passed away in his native New York City this morning after a near-three-year battle with cancer," reads an official statement from the Beastie Boys. "He was 47 years old."
In addition to his career with the Beastie Boys, Yauch was heavily involved in the movement to free Tibet. A founder of the Milarepa Fund, Yauch was instrumental in the first Tibetan Freedom Concert in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park 1996, which drew 100,000 people – the largest U.S. benefit concert since 1985's Live Aid. After 9/11, Yauch and the Beastie Boys organized New Yorkers Against Violence, a concert benefit for some of the victims least likely to receive help from elsewhere.
Yauch also directed many of the Beastie Boys' music videos under the pseudonym Nathaniel Hornblower.
Coldplay recently shared their Adam MCA Yauch tribute-cover of Beastie Boys' hit-single "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)" during band's concert at the Hollywood Bowl, California, US. Liste to it below.
Coldplay - Adam Yauch Tribute "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)" - May 4
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