Beastie Boy Yauch Has Successful Cancer Surgery

(NEWSER) - Beastie Boy Adam Yauch has been diagnosed with cancer of the salivary gland and will undergo treatment, Billboard reports. The surgery and radiation forced the group to cancel summer tour dates and postpone the release of a new album. The outlook, though, is good. “It’s a pain in the ass, but … very treatable,” says Yauch, aka MCA. “It’s only localized in this one area, and it’s not in a place that affects my voice.” More»

Rapper known as MCA had been fighting cancer

(NEWSER) - One of the Beastie Boys has died: Adam "MCA" Yauch, who had been fighting cancer, is dead at age 47, report TMZ and GlobalGrind . Yauch and fellow Beasties Adam "Ad-rock" Horovitz and "Mike D" Diamond were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last month, notes AP , though Yauch himself couldn't make the ceremony. Critics initially dismissed the group as "beer-drinking frat boys" because of songs like "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)!" wrote the AP's Tom Withers around the time of the induction. "But the Beasties eventually won over critics and fans with their sharp lyrics, samples, and beats." More»

'MCA' will be missed

(NEWSER) - The tributes are rolling in for Adam "MCA" Yauch of the Beastie Boys, who died at 47 after a three-year fight with cancer.

• Mary Elizabeth Williams, Salon : For Gen-Xers, Kurt Cobain's death "represented the darkness of rock 'n' roll," but years later, Yauch's "is something else. It's random and cruel. It's the banal awfulness of disease." As for Yauch himself, the vegan, crusader for Tibet, and practicing Buddhist: "He changed and grew but somehow always stayed true to his badass heart." Read the full column .

U2 frontman injured back performing in Germany

(NEWSER) - Bono has undergone emergency surgery to fix a back injury he sustained in rehearsal. The U2 frontman is recuperating in the neurosurgery unit at a Munich hospital. The 50-year-old sustained the injury during “tour preparation training” for the North American swing of U2's “360 Degree” world tour, a rep said. He'll spend a few days in the hospital and a few more at home before deciding how the injury will affect the band's tour plans. More»

Keith Elam of Gang Starr was also celebrated solo artist

(NEWSER) - Keith Elam, who performed as Guru with the high-profile hip-hop duo Gang Starr, died yesterday. He was 43 and had been battling cancer. Although Guru was from Boston and partner DJ Premier from Houston, Gang Starr played a high-profile role on the New York underground rap scene of the '90s. Guru recorded with Gang Starr from its founding in 1987 into the 2000s even as he established a solo career with his Jazzmatazz series of albums, MTV reports. More»