Adam Yauch a.k.a. MCA, one of the founding members of the most-celebrated hip-hop group in history, has passed away after a 3-year battle with cancer.

Yauch, together with Mike "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horowitz, founded the forerunning trio in 1979 that forever changed the course of hip-hop music. Although starting out as a punk band, the musicians from Manhattan, New York, made an experimental transit effort to hip-hop with their 12" LP, 'Cooky Puss' in 1984.

Two years later, the trio released 'Licensed to Ill,' the album that made the Beastie Boys a rising legend of the genre. The first single off the record, (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right to Party, became an instant hit and a staple theme for the shenanigan-showered generation.

Highly-acclaimed albums 'Paul's Boutique' (1988) 'Ill Communication' (1994) and the Grammy-winning 'Hello Nasty' (1998), placed the trio on the top tier of brilliant hip-hop acts in the industry. Some of the group's most memorable contemporary masterpieces include 'Sabotage,' 'Make Some Noise' and 'Intergalactic.'

Yauch has been in and out of treatment since 2009 after being diagnosed with a cancerous parotid gland (salivary gland) and a lymph node. Due to his condition, MCA was not able to attend the group's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction last April, around the same time when the emcee was undergoing treatments.

Yauch's condition delayed the release of the trio's most recent record, 'Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2.' After being diagnosed, Yauch practiced Buddhist religion and became a vegetarian as advised by his Tibetan doctors.

MCA was born on August 5, 1964 in Brooklyn, New York, and was 47 years old. Yauch is survived by his wife, Dechen Wengdu and his daughter, Tenzin Losel.

Watch the video below to see Yauch perform as part of the Beastie Boys during the peak of their career in 1994.