Adam Yauch - Stars Unite To Pay Tribute To Late Adam Yauch

One of the most important and influential figures in modern music, Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, sadly passed away on Friday (May 4th) after a long battle with cancer. Since his tragic passing, tributes have been made the world over from friends, fans and celebrity admirers, commending the astounding life he lived.

Stars of the rap community spoke positively on the influence that Yauch, or Mca as he was known on stage, with rap superstars including Eminem, Jay Z and Nas each giving their own individual accounts of the hip-hop legend's legacy. Eminem and Nas both spoke to MTV News about the late wordsmith, producer and philanthropist, with Eminem saying "Adam Yauch brought a lot of positivity into the world and I think it's obvious to anyone how big of an influence the Beastie Boys were on me and so many others." Nas, who worked with the Beasties on their last album together, Hot Sauce Committee Part 2, told of how working with Mca was one of the defining moments of his life.

Social network sites, Twitter especially, became awash with respectful homages to the late hip-hop pioneer; Jack Black, Flea of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, members of Weeer, producer Diplo, Lenny Kravitz, Cee-Lo Green, Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas and Tom Morello of Rage Against the MAChine are but some of the stars who took to Twitter to voice their sorrow at the unfortunate passing.

The tributes of course did not end on Twitter, with the influence of Mca clearly transcending music. The Dalai Lama gave an official statement to TMZ outlining Yauch's dedication to the Tibetan people, the two having met a number of times in the past due to their Buddhist bonding.