Adam Yauch, a founding member of the pioneering rap band Beastie Boys, died Friday after a nearly three-year battle with cancer, the band’s publicist said.
A torrent of Twitter messages from entertainers lauded Yauch, 47, as a visionary musical artist, filmmaker and humanitarian.
“He stood for integrity as an artist. What a loss. He was a very good man,” said actor Ben Stiller.
Everything came to a halt, however, on July 20, 2009, when Adam “MCA” Yauch announced that he had been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his left salivary gland. On Friday, May 4, that cancer tragically claimed Yauch’s life.
When MCA first announced that he was battling the disease, he lamented the effect that his health would have on the Beasties’ upcoming plans, but remained optimistic that immediate surgery would lead to a full recovery. “I just need to take a little time to get this in check, and then we’ll release the record and play some shows,” he said in a written statement at the time.
“It’s a pain in the neck, because I was really looking forward to playing these shows, but the doctors have made it clear that this is not the kind of thing that can be put aside to deal with later.”
“I started feeling this little lump in my throat, like you would feel if you have swollen glands or something like that, like you’d feel if you have a cold, so I didn’t really think it was anything,” he said then in a video to fans.
Yauch, a self-taught bassist and vocalist, underwent surgery to treat the tumor that year.


