The co-founder of Beastie Boys, Adam Yauch died this morning at 47 years old after suffering for three years of a severe form of cancer. Based on a recent report published by Daily News, the Brooklyn-born rapper, who was also known as MCA, was attended by doctors at the New York-Presbyterian hospital during the final moments of his life.
Adam Yauch was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his left salivary gland in July 2009. Since then he underwent various medical treatments, but his health condition worsened. The late rapper spent the last months of his life in the New York-Presbyterian hospital. Despite the efforts that the medical staff made to ameliorate his state, Yauch’s heart ceased to beat on Friday morning.
The news, which was first communicated by his publicist, saddened all the people who knew Adam Yauch. He was not only a hip hop artist, but also a devoted activist and a fervent practitioner of Buddhism. The New York artist did everything he could during his life to raise awareness on the plight of the Tibetan people. He even adopted a vegan diet to protect animals against violence. Given his activist behavior, Dalai Lama led tribute to the performer after his death was announced.
Adam Yauch began his career as a musician when he was very young. He learned to play bass when he was in high school and later on, founded the Beastie Boys band with Mike “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz. They became popular thanks to their 1986 album called “Licensed to III” which was first introduced on Russell Simmons’ Def Jam Records. After the 1986 hit, came other classic albums, such as, “Paul’s Boutique” in 1989 and “III Communication” in 1994. Thanks to the singles on these LPs, the band attained international fame.
Adam Yauch is survived by wife, Dechen Wangdu and by his 13-year-old daughter, Tenzin Losel Yauch. Friends of the late performer hurried to show their support to the bereaved family. Rapper Talib Kweli, who was on tour with Beastie Boys in 2004, wrote on his Twitter account that being able to meet Adam Yauch changed his life completely.
