RIP MCA

Adam Yauch, the gravelly voiced Beastie Boys rapper and the most conscientious member of the seminal hip-hop group, has died. He was 47. Yauch's representatives confirmed that the rapper died yesterday morning in New York after a nearly three-year battle with cancer. But at least Yauch, who also went by his stage name MCA, didn't get shot in a drive-by like the popular cliche about rappers would suggest. Just like Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, and several others before him, this is a devastating loss to the music industry. Rest in peace, Adam Yauch.