Yauch cancer forces Beastie Boys album delay

Hip hop group the Beastie Boys have been forced to delay their forthcoming album and tour after rapper Adam Yauch was diagnosed with cancer.

The 44-year-old Yauch, who is better known to fans by his stage name MCA, will undergo surgery next week to remove a malignant tumour in his salivary gland. The cancer is also in a lymph node in that area.
 
Yauch, who announced his illness via a video message on the band's website, described the condition as a "pain in the ass" but added that it was "very treatable". The Beastie Boy said he had noticed a "little lump" in his throat around two months ago which he reported to his doctor.
 
The band will now delay their new album Hot Sauce Committee, their eighth studio record which had been scheduled for release on September 15 in the United States. A seven-date tour across the US and Canada starting at the end of this month has also been postponed. But Yauch is confident he can return to performing after recovering from the surgery. "It's not in a place that affects my voice, so that's nice," he said. "That's convenient."
 
Yauch is a founding member of the Beastie Boys, the New York trio who first found fame in the mid-80s with their debut album Licensed to Ill, produced by Def Jam producer Rick Rubin. Their fourth album, 1994's Ill Communication cemented their reputation as one of hip hop's most innovative and influential rap groups. ·