We’re sad to inform SoulTrackers that Adam Yauch, one-third of the rap group the Beastie Boys, has died at age 47 after a long bout with cancer. Yauch was diagnosed in 2009 with a cancerous parotic gland.
Along with partners Michael “Mike D” Diamond, Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz, Yauch rose out of Brooklyn to take the music world by storm with 1986’s License to Ill, a raunchy but infectious album that mixed element of rap and rock and included the breakout hit “Fight for Your Right to Party.”
The Beastie Boys went on to release albums sporadically over the next quarter century and modified their style with the times. They remained surprisingly relevant and popular even as times changed.
While the Beasties weren’t among our favorite groups over the years, they certainly had their time, and it is just so sad to see death take an artist this young. He will be missed by millions of fans.
