Jan Young
InstantRiverside.com

Adam Yauch, one of the founding members of the hip hop/rock trio The Beastie Boys died this morning in New York at the age of 47.  He had been battling cancer since diagnosis in 2009, after a tumor was discovered on his salivary gland.

Yauch, also known as “MCA, along with Mike “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz co-founded the group in 1979, first as a punk band, and later experimenting with rap and hip hop with a rock & roll edge.  They pioneered the genre and their songs have become ageless college party anthems since then, with titles such as No Sleep ’til Brooklyn, Intergalactic, Sabotage,  and arguably their most popular hit (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party).

They personified the party atmosphere and seemed to parody themselves with an awkward, white bread, geeky look against the cool factor of the hard edged rock & roll guitars and the hip hop scratch.  MTV was coming into vogue at the time and their heavy rotation of The Beastie Boys videos helped propel them to the top of the charts.

The Beastie Boys’ first hit album, Licensed to Ill, was released in 1986 and quickly became the soundtrack of a generation.  It was the first hip hop album to top the Billboard 200 chart, and was reportedly Columbia Records’ fastest-selling debut record to date, selling over 9 million copies.

The band was still recording, releasing their latest album in 2011. Yauch had also branched out into directing, including the band’s music videos, a concert film, and the 2008 basketball documentary “Gunnin’ for That #1 Spot”.

He is survived by his wife and daughter.