(AP) NEW YORK Adam Yauch, the gravelly voiced Beastie Boys rapper who co-founded the seminal hip-hop group, has died at age 47.
Yauch's representatives confirmed that the rapper died Friday morning in New York after a nearly three-year battle with cancer.
Also known as MCA, Yauch was diagnosed with a cancerous salivary gland in 2009. He had undergone surgery and radiation.
At the time, Yauch expressed hope it was ``very treatable,'' but his illness caused the group to cancel shows and delayed the release of its 2011 album, ``Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2.''
The Brooklyn-born Yauch created the Beastie Boys with high school friend Michael ``Mike D'' Diamond. Originally conceived as a hardcore punk group, it became a hip-hop trio after Adam ``Ad-Rock'' Horovitz joined.