Yauch had been diagnosed with cancer in 2009 and it is thought that he died as a result of complications associated with the cancer. He is survived by his wife Dechen Wangdu, and their daughter, Tenzin Losel Yauch. He was aged 47.

Originally from Brooklyn in New York, Yauch was a multi-talented artist. In addition to his career with The Beastie Boys, he was also a fine film and video director. Under the Nathaniel Hornblower pseudonym, he was responsible for directing many of the Beastie Boys' videos and also directed the full-length feature film Gunnin' For That #1 Spot, which was released in 2008.

The Beastie Boys are one of the most successful hip hop bands of all time, with a host of major selling albums to their name, beginning with the seminal Licensed To Ill in 1986, which topped the Billboard charts. In all they have sold in excess of 40 million records. The band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2012, but Yauch was unable to attend and the band were forced to cancel an intended live performance.

"The Beastie Boys are one of the most important acts of the past twenty-five years," Hot Press editor Niall Stokes said. "They made the leap from punk to hip hop in a way that helped to liberate the generation of musicians that followed. And they wrote some extraordinary tunes in the process. Everyone will be familiar with tracks like '(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right To Party', 'Sabotage', 'Hey Ladies' and 'Intergalactic'. But they released a series of cracking albums that are up there among the best of their time. They were also prepared to stand up for what they believed in, and at times were as politically charged as any of America's great protest singers. Throughout their 25 years of work, MCA's contribution was huge. He is a great loss."

Our concolences to his family, to the members of the band and to their friends and colleagues. RIP.