Beastie Boy Adam Yauch Dies Aged 47

(Newsroom America) -- Beastie Boy and activist Adam Yauch has died aged 47 after a long battle with cancer, according to multiple reports.

The hip-hop artist, also known as MCA, had been in treatment for a cancer tumor in his salivary gland since 2009.

He co-founded the Beastie Boys with Mike "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horowitz in 1979, with the group transitioning from a hardcore punk group to hip-hop.

Yauch was also an activist, and lent his support to the free Tibet cause and helped organize the Tibetan Freedom Concerts of the late Nineties.