The Queen of Pop has spoken out about the death of Beastie Boys member Adam 'MCA' Yauch and described him as "one of a kind".

It was announced on Friday, May 4 that the 47-year-old star had passed away following a tough battle with cancer and Madonna told the Associated Press that the music world has lost a pioneer:

"The Beastie Boys were one of a kind, and so was Adam. They were all an important part of my musical history. And integral to the musical revolution that was happening at the time."

"I'm very sad to hear about Adam's passing. God bless him and his family."

Musicians and celebrities alike took to social networking site Twitter over the weekend to pay their respects and British band Coldplay even performed a cover of '(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)' as a tribute to Yauch at one of their recent concerts.

Watch Coldplay perform the Beastie Boys' world-famous anthem below: