Pass the mic: Yauch, Beastie Boys over the years

May 5, 2012 RSS Feed Print

By The Associated Press, Associated Press

Adam "MCA" Yauch was the gravelly-voiced rapper who helped make the Beastie Boys one of the seminal groups in hip-hop. And his good-hearted nature led him to humanistic causes and made him beloved in the industry. He died Friday morning at 47 after a nearly three-year battle with cancer.

In a span of more than a quarter century that covered four No. 1 albums and more than 40 million records sold, the Beastie Boys played both prankster and pioneer- a simultaneously goofy and groundbreaking act that helped bring hip-hop to the mainstream.

The demure, gray-haired Yauch wasn't the most boastful B-Boy; he was the thoughtful one and a steady source of the trio's innovative spirit. A practicing Buddhist, he led the group in performing concerts to benefit Tibet and, as a filmmaker, he helped create their imagery.

Here are photos from throughout his career.