Adam Yauch, best known as Beastie Boys rapper MCA, died Friday at the age of 47. Take a look back at photos from his groundbreaking career. Here, he performs at the VooDoo Music Festival on Oct. 16, 2004 in New Orleans.
The Beastie Boys burst onto the music scene in 1986, the year this photo was taken, with the album Licensed to Ill, which included hits such as "(You Gotta) Fight for the Right (to Party)," "Brass Monkey," and "No Sleep Till Brooklyn." Yauch, then 21-years-old, is pictured second from left.
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Yauch speaks at a press conference on June 13, 1998 prior to the Tibet Freedom concert at Robert F. Kennedy stadium in Washington, D.C.
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From right: Adrock, aka Adam Horovitz, 38, Mike D, aka Michael Diamond, 39, and MCA, aka Adam Yauch, 37, of the Beastie Boys, in Paris in May 2004.
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The Beastie Boys present the MTV2 Award at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 29, 2004 in Miami, Fla.
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From left: Adam Horovitz, Adam Yauch, and Mike Diamond pose for a portrait while promoting their film, Awesome: I F*ckin' Shot That! during the 2006 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 23, 2006.
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Yauch arrives, with beard, to Think Film's premiere of Awesome; I Fuckin Shot That! in New York City on March 28, 2006.
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The Beastie Boys perform on stage during the Live Earth concert at Wembley Stadium on July 7, 2007 in London, England.
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Yauch performs at the Good Vibrations Festival on Feb. 10, 2007 in Melbourne, Australia.
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The Beastie Boys perform on stage at the Exit music festival in the Serbian town of Novi Sad on July 14 2007.
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Yauch performs at the Virgin Festival at Pimlico Race Course on Aug. 4, 2007 in Baltimore, Md.
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Deandre Jordan (left), Adam Yauch, and Michael Beasley attend the "Gunnin' for That No. 1 Spot" after party on April 28, 2008 in New York City.
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Yauch attends the premiere of The Social Network at the New York Film Festival on Sept. 24, 2010 in New York City. His battle with cancer began in 2009 and it took his life this Friday.
