Adam Yauch, a member of the hip-hop rap group the Beastie Boys, died Friday, according to various media reports.

Yauch, also known as MCA, had been in treatment for cancer since 2009, when he first discovering a tumor in his salivary gland. He was 47.

Yauch co-founded the Beastie Boys with Mike "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horowitz in 1979. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month, but Yauch did not attend.

The group had not toured in recent years due to Yauch's illness, which also forced the delay of the trio's most recent album, Rolling Stone reported.

In 1986, the group released the smash Licensed to Ill, which became the first hip-hop album to top the Billboard album chart. The album featured the breakthrough hit “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party).”

Yauch is survived by a wife and daughter.

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