Beastie Boys co-founder Adam Yauch has died aged 47.

The rapper's death was confirmed in a statement posted on the band's official website, Beastieboys.com. The post read: "It is with great sadness that we confirm that musician, rapper, activist and director Adam 'MCA' Yauch, founding member of Beastie Boys and also of the Milarepa Foundation that produced the Tibetan Freedom Concert benefits, and film production and distribution company Oscilloscope Laboratories, passed away in his native New York City this morning after a near-three-year battle with cancer."