Nightly News   |  May 04, 2012

Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch dies at 47

Yauch, known as MCA, has died after a long battle with cancer. As one of the founding members of rap group the Beastie Boys, he helped define 80’s music. NBC’s Brian Williams reports.

Share This:

This content comes from a Full-Text Transcript of the program.

BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor: A major loss in the music business . Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys has died after a long fight with cancer. He was known as "MCA," and the three musicians together sold 40 million records and growing. Along with Run-DMC , they helped to define '80s music, bridging from punk in their case to the first white rap artists, and then a force in hip-hop. They were among the few at the vanguard of a movement. Yauch was a self-taught musician and later a filmmaker. He leaves behind his wife and a 13-year-old daughter. Adam Yauch ,