When MCA’s On The Mic, Suckers Run: Adam Yauch’s 10 Nastiest Verses

Carl Williott | May 4, 2012 1:27 pm

We’re still reeling from the horrible news that “MCA” Adam Yauch of Beastie Boys is gone, especially after it seemed he’d turned a corner in his cancer treatment last year, around the release of the excellent Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. Back when Beastie Boys first emerged, Ad-Rock was the bratty star of the group and Mike D was the class clown. But MCA was the bad boy who always seemed a little more complex. Yauch added some endearing grit to their dynamic, he balanced out the playful snottiness. He may not have had a flow as rambunctious as Ad-Rock’s or as slick as Mike D’s, but his verses always felt a little more raw; they were the anchors that held their raps together. Like on “Pass The Mic” above, MCA sets the tone for the lyrical roundtable:

And this is me, y’all, I MC y’all / My name is MCA and I still do what I please / And now I’d like to introduce / I’ll pass the mic to D for a fist full of truth.”

We dug deep into our Beastie Boys collections to hear his immediately recognizable, raspy rhymes again. Here are nine more of our favorites, in no particular order.

1. “Paul Revere” (Licensed To Ill, 1986)

Now my name is MCA, I got a license to kill / I think you know what time it is, it’s time to get ill / Now what do we have here? An outlaw and his beer? / I run this land, you understand? I made myself clear”

2. “Flowin’ Prose” (Hello Nasty, 1998) For two minutes, MCA is at his smoothest:

I’m flowing prose to cons and cons to pros / I’m scheming rhyme against reason like it was flow against know.”

3. “The New Style” (Licensed To Ill)

4 and 3 and 2 and 1 / And when I’m on the mic, the suckers run / Down with Adrock and Mike D and you ain’t / And I got more juice than Picasso got paint.”

4. “Posse in Effect” (Licensed To Ill)

I’m MCA, I’ve got nothin’ to prove / Pay attention my intention is to bust a move / I drink quarts and cans and bottles and sixes / Between the turntables keep the vodka and the mixes.”

5. “B-Boy Bouillabaisse” (Paul’s Boutique, 1989)

Take the microphone in hand as that I am a professional / Speak my knowledge to the crowd and the ed. is special / For I am a bard and I am the last one / I’m my own king and this is my castle.”

6. “3-Minute Rule” (Paul’s Boutique)

A lot of parents like to think I’m a villain / I’m just chillin’ like Bob Dylan / Yeah I smoke cheeba, it helps me with my brain / I might be a little dusted but I’m not insane / People come up to me and they try to talk shit / Man, I was making records when you were sucking your mother’s dick.”

7. “Long Burn The Fire” (Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, 2011) Wherein MCA becomes the only rapper who could fit “pizzazz,” “analgesic” and one of the worst movies ever made all into one verse:

Jump out the window onto a parade balloon / My style is iller than the goblins in “Troll 2″ /Cuz I’m the type of MC with the most pizzazz / You’re stealin’ my book like I was Grandmaster Caz / Got rhymes about antihistamines and analgesics / Roll without expectorants, y’all don’t see it.”

8. “Professor Booty” (Check Your Head, 1992) In which Adam absolutely dismantles MC Serch of 3rd Bass in what is arguably his most impressive verse:

I’m bad ass, move ya’ fat ass, cuz you’re wack son / Dancing around like you think you’re Janet Jackson / Thought you could walk on me to get some kinda walk on / I’ll pull a rug out from under your ass as I talk on / I’ll take you out like a sniper on a roof / Like an MC had the fever in the DJ booth.”

9. “Sure Shot“(Ill Communication, 1994) One of the first hints at Yauch’s inherent maturity:

I want to say a little something that’s long overdue / The disrespect to women has got to be through / To all the mothers and sisters and the wives and friends / I want to offer my love and respect to the end.”

Which of your favorite MCA verses did we miss? Sound off in the comments, or on Twitter and Facebook.