MUMBAI: The gravelly voiced rapper Adam Yauch a.k.a MCA from the hip-hop trio the Beastie Boys, passed away on Friday after a three-year battle with cancer.

The Grammy award winning multi-instrumentalist who also functioned as chief executive of the indie movie-production company Oscilloscope Laboratories was diagnosed in 2009 after discovering a tumor in a salivary gland in his neck.

Due to complications from the disease, the 47-year-old white hip-hop act pioneer also missed his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, last month. The release date of the group’s final album ‘Hot Sauce Committee’ was also delayed from September 2009 to April 2011.

The band stated,  "It is with great sadness that we confirm that musician, rapper, activist and director Adam "MCA" Yauch passed away in his native New York City this morning after a near-three-year battle with cancer."

Music Industry grieved the death of Yauch through social networking sites - Rapper Common tweeted “God bless the soul of Adam Yauch” while Alt-rock group Smashing Pumpkins lead singer Billy Corgan said, “Sad news about Adam Yauch's passing, a man of dignity + spiritual conviction. I always had great respect for him in times we met and talked.” Billy CQ-Tip, lead MC from A Tribe Called Quest and frequent Beastie Boys collaborator praised Yauch as a “humanitarian and a true friend.”

American rapper, songwriter, and film director Adam Nathaniel Yauch co-founded the hip hop trio Beastie Boys in New York in 1979. The group comprising of Mike D (Michael Diamond) (vocals, drums) and Ad-Rock (Adam Horovitz) (vocals, guitar), with Mix Master Mike (Michael Schwartz) (turntablist) appeared as a hardcore punk band but was later conjured to a sneering iteration of hip-hop that attracted fans of all races. The group catapulted to international superstardom with its platinum breakout single (You Gotta Fight) For Your Right (To Party!), Boutique, Check Your Head, and Ill Communication.

The Beastie Boys sold over 40 million records and released four number one albums, including the first hip-hop album ever to top the Billboard 200, the band's 1986 debut full length, Licensed to Ill. The group won three Grammys: two in 1998 -- best rap performance and best alternative music performance -- and one in 2007, best pop instrumental album, for The Mix Up.

Born in Brooklyn, Yauch was heavily involved in support for Tibet, and helped organize charity concerts for the cause in the 1990s. Yauch is survived by his wife Dechen and his daughter Tenzin Losel, as well as his parents Frances and Noel Yauch.