Our take: Adam "MCA" Yauch, a member of the '80s rap group the Beastie Boys, died Friday, May 4, from cancer but found solace in the practice of his faith until the end of his life. Raised in a multi-faith family, Yauch started practicing Tibetan Buddhism nearly 20 years ago and is credited with being responsible for a slight shift in the Beastie Boys' music by encouraging a more spiritual, reflective tone.
Adam Yauch, the Beastie Boys member who went by the stage name MCA, had long practiced Tibetan Buddhism before his death, which was announced Friday in several news reports.
The cause of his death is unclear, but Yauch, who died at age 47, had been battling a cancerous tumor in his salivary gland since mid- 2009 and was vocal about the role spirituality had played in his recovery efforts. Yauch, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Catholic father and a Jewish mother, had practiced Buddhism since 1994.
In an email to the Beastie Boys fan club in 2010, Yauch asked supporters to meditate with him in "smashing apart all the cancer cells of the world."
Read more about Adam Youch's faith at The Huffington Post.