Adam Yauch, one of the founding members of the Beastie Boys, who went by the stage name MCA, has died after a three-year battle with cancer. Last month the hip hop group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a ceremony Adam Yauch was too ill to attend.

In a 25-year span that covered four number one albums and more than 40m records sold, the Beastie Boys helped bring hip-hop to the mainstream.

Mark Beaumont, music journalist for the NME and the Guardian examined Adam Yauch's influence.

"He was the serious one", Mark told the today programmes Justin Webb, "it was his maturity and intelligence that allowed the Beastie Boys to innovate".

Mark described how the Beasty Boys "exploded onto the scene" in the 80s as the "Sex Pistols of Hip Hop".

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