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It's a sad day for Beastie Boys fans as Adam Yauch, has passed away from cancer at age 47. Yauch, also known as MCA, was diagnosed with cancer in 2009 when doctors found a tumor in his salivary gland. He had been receiving treatment for the past 3 years, delaying the release of the group's most recent album, Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2, and preventing the group from performing live. In March Adam announced he was unable to attend the Beastie Boys' induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland on March 14, a clear sign his health had declined further.

Along with Mike "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horowitz, Adam co-founded the group in 1979. The trio experimented with different sounds, starting with hardcore punk rock and eventually finding their sound as a hip-hop group and gaining a massive following. Their first album, Licensed to Ill was released in 1986 produced under Rick Rubin's newly minted Def Jam Records. It peaked at #2 on the top Hip hop/R&B chart and was the first rap LP to top Billboard's Pop Albums chart.  It was also Columbia Records' fastest selling debut record to date and sold over 5 million copies. The album went on to be selected as one of The Source Magazine's 100 Best Rap Albums in 1998 and in 2003 the album ranked number 217 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Rest in peace, Adam.