Beastie Boys sales spike after MCA's death

Six Beastie Boys albums have returned to the Billboard 200 chart following the death of member Adam Yauch (a.k.a. MCA) on May 4.

According to Billboard, the band's 1986 album Licensed to Ill re-entered the chart at number 18 with 19,000 copies sold. The album made history in 1987 when it became the first rap record to top the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Collectively, the trio's albums sold 55,000 in the two days after Yauch died or a 1,235 per cent increase in sales over the previous week. In terms of downloads, the group sold 151,000 digital songs or a gain of 949 per cent.

Other albums to return to the chart are Solid Gold Hits, Paul's Boutique, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, Ill Communication, Check Your Head and Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds of Science.

However, the sales boost could be even bigger next week after a full week of sales passes since Yauch's death.

The rapper passed away last week after a three-year battle with cancer. He was 47.