Adam Yauch (MCA) of Beastie Boys passes away at age 47

Rapper Adam Yauch (right), perhaps better known to Beastie Boys fans as MCA, has reportedly passed away at age 47. Russell Simmons' GlobalGrind.com first reported the news:

“Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys has passed.  GlobalGrind is confirming this very sad news.  One of our heroes, Adam Yauch aka MCA of the Beastie Boys has passed this morning after a long bout with cancer. Yauch co-founded Beastie Boys in 1979 with Mike D, Mix Master Mike, and Ad Roc. The group has won multiple Grammys.Yauch became a vegan at the recommendation of his doctors and is survived by his wife and daughter. He was 47.

Our prayers go out to the family of Adam and the entire Beastie Boys crew.”

TMZ has corroborated the initial report as well. Yauch was diagnosed with cancer of the parotid (salivary) gland in 2009. The Beastie Boys released Hot Sauce Committee Part Two in 2011 and were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this year, which Yauch did not attend. 

Yauch sent out a statement via press release in January 2011, denying reports he was cancer-free:

“While I'm grateful for all the positive energy people are sending my way, reports of my being totally cancer free are exaggerated.

I'm continuing treatment, staying optimistic and hoping to be cancer free in the near future.”

Update, 2:34 p.m.: The Beastie Boys' publicity firm has just sent out a press release confirming Yauch passed away this morning in New York. Read the entire release below:

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. He was 47 years old.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Yauch taught himself to play bass in high school, forming a band for his 17th birthday party that would later become known the world over as Beastie Boys.

With fellow members Michael “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Adrock” Horovitz, Beastie Boys would go on to sell over 40 million records, release four #1 albums–including the first hip hop album ever to top the Billboard 200, the band's 1986 debut full length, Licensed To Ill–win three Grammys, and the MTV Video Vanguard Lifetime Achievement award. Last month Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with Diamond and Horovitz reading an acceptance speech on behalf of Yauch, who was unable to attend.

In addition to his hand in creating such historic Beastie Boys albums as Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head, Ill Communication, Hello Nasty and more, Yauch was a founder of the Milarepa Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting awareness and  activism regarding the injustices perpetrated on native Tibetans by Chinese occupational government and military forces.  In 1996, Milarepa produced the first Tibetan Freedom Concert in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, which was attended by 100,000 people, making it the biggest benefit concert on U.S. soil since 1985's Live Aid. The Tibetan Freedom Concert series would continue to stage some of the most significant benefit shows in the world for nearly a decade following in New York City, Washington DC, Tokyo, Sydney, Amsterdam, Taipei and other cities.

In the wake of September 11, 2001, Milarepa organized New Yorkers Against Violence, a benefit headlined by Beastie Boys at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom, with net proceeds  disbursed to the New York Women's Foundation Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Association for New Americans (NYANA) September 11th Fund for New Americans–each chosen for their efforts on behalf of 9/11 victims least likely to receive help from other sources.

Under the alias of Nathanial Hörnblowér, Yauch directed iconic Beastie Boys videos including  “So Whatcha Want,” “Intergalactic,” “Body Movin” and “Ch-Check It Out.” Under his own name, Yauch directed last year's Fight For Your Right Revisited, an extended video for “Make Some Noise” from Beastie Boys' Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, starring Elijah Wood, Danny McBride and Seth Rogen as the 1986 Beastie Boys, making their way through a half hour of cameo-studded misadventures before squaring off against Jack Black, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as Beastie Boys of the future.

Yauch's passion and talent for filmmaking led to his founding of Oscilloscope Laboratories, which in 2008 released his directorial film debut, the basketball documentary Gunnin' For That #1 Spot and has since become a major force in independent video distribution, amassing a catalogue of such acclaimed titles as Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy,  Oren Moverman's The Messenger,  Banksy's Exit Through The Gift Shop, Lance Bangs and Spike Jonze's Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait Of Maurice Sendak, and many more.

Yauch is survived by his wife Dechen and his daughter Tenzin Losel, as well as his parents Frances and Noel Yauch.