Sonic Youth‘s Kim Gordon has paid tribute to Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch and said he was a “great rapper and lyricist”.

The bassist has shared her memories of Yauch, who passed away on Friday (May 4) after a three-year battle with cancer, with NME and hailed the rapper’s lyrics.

She said: “He told me once that he really liked the lyrics to ‘Bull In The Heather‘. It surprised me that he had even listened to it. It meant a lot to me that he went out of his way to tell me that, coming from such a great rapper and lyricist.”

Gordon also spoke about the time her and Yauch wandered the streets of Tokyo with her 6 month old baby daughter Coco, and said his death was a “hugely sad moment”.

She added: “Yauch seemed happy to hang out with me and Coco as we wandered around Tokyo, which was unusual because no one else had babies at that point. Everyone else was busy taking advantage of their precious time in Tokyo.”

Yauch was diagnosed with cancer of the preaortic gland and lymph node in July 2009 and had been fighting the disease ever since.

In 1979, Yauch co-founded the Beastie Boys with Mike “Mike D” Diamond, who he met at school, and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horowitz. After starting out as a punk group inspired by Black Flag, the trio soon began experimenting with hip-hop.

The release of their first full album Licensed To Ill in 1986 broke them into the mainstrean by becoming the the first hip-hop album to top the Billboard album chart. In total, the band released eight albums including Paul’s Boutique, Check Your Head and Ill Communication.

The group’s last album, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, was released last year. It was originally planned for release in 2009 but was delayed after Yauch’s diagnosis. Adam Yauch is survived by his wife, Dechen Wengdu, and their daughter Tenzin Losel.