Adam Yauch, a founding member of the seminal rap group the Beastie Boys, has died at the age of 47.

Also known as MCA, Yauch had been undergoing treatment for cancer since 2009 when tumours were found in a salivary gland and lymph node.

A statement released Friday from the band read: "It is with great sadness that we confirm that musician, rapper, activist and director Adam ‘MCA' Yauch, founding member of Beastie Boys ... passed away in his native New York City this morning after a near-three-year battle with cancer."

Born in Brooklyn on Aug. 5, 1964, the only child of Frances and Noel Yauch, Yauch originated the Beasties Boys with bandmates Mike Diamond and Adam Horowtiz as a teenager.

The group transformed from its punk roots into rap, releasing some of the biggest albums in hip hop.

Their 1986 debut "License To Ill," which featured such hits as "Fight For Your Right to Party," was largely dismissed as the product of white, middle-class hip hop wannabes.

That attitude changed with the release of their follow-up "Paul's Boutique," which enjoyed wider critical acclaim.

The group went on to sell 40 million albums worldwide by 2010.

The Beastie Boys won three Grammy Awards -- the first two in 1998 for Best Alternative Music Performance for "Hello Nasty," and Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group for "Intergalactic," and the third in 2007 for Best Pop Instrumental Album for "The Mix-Up."

An accomplished filmmaker, Yauch directed several of the band's music videos, including one for "Intergalactic" under the name Nathaniel Hörnblowér. He also directed the 2006 Beastie Boys' concert film "Awesome: I F----- Shot That!"

In 2008, he co-founded the film distribution company Osciolloscope Laboratories, which distributed such films as "Wendy and Lucy" and "We Need to Talk About Kevin."

In an online video posted in 2009, Yauch announced the news of his cancer, saying the group would have to cancel some upcoming shows and delay the release of its eighth record, "Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2," because he had "a form of cancer" in his parotid gland and lymph node. He said he would have to have surgery and radiation, but he was optimistic.

"The good news is they did scans of my whole body and it's only localized in this one area and it's not in a place that affects my voice," he said.

"This is something that's very treatable," he added.

However, his illness kept him away from the Beastie Boys' induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April.

A practicing Buddhist, Yauch had also been involved in the movement to free Tibet. In 1994, he co-founded The Milarepa Fund to promote awareness and generate support of the movement. He helped launch the first Tibetan Freedom Concert in San Francisco in 1996.

He is survived by his wife Dechen Wangdu and their daughter Tenzin Losel Yauch, as well as his parents.