With his gravelly vocals and quick-witted rhymes, Adam Yauch—better known as MCA—was a crucial member of the Beastie Boys.

The trio balanced each other well, and there really wasn’t one Beastie who out-rhymed the others. But as we just passed the 14th anniversary of MCA’s death—on May 4, 2012—here are just four Beastie Boys tracks that highlight his work.

“Posse In Effect”

“Well, I’m MCA, I got nothin’ to prove / Pay attention, my intention is to bust a move.”

MCA opened “Posse in Effect” with blunt force attitude. Licensed to Ill was a debut album to end all debut albums, and while the Beastie Boys’ more experimental work also had merit, the youthful audacity of their first album remains a favorite for many.

The instinct when trying to categorize that attitude is to go straight to “Fight for Your Right”. But these two lines from “Posse in Effect” have always stood out against everything else for their simplicity.

“Intergalactic”

“Well, I gotta keep it going, keep it going full steam / Too sweet to be sour, too nice to be mean / Well, on the tough guy style, I’m not too keen / Trying to change the world, I will plot and scheme.”

“Intergalactic” appeared on the Beastie Boys’ 1998 album Hello Nasty, and it was one of their last big chart hits. MCA also directed the music video under the name Nathanial Hörnblowér, which won Best Hip-Hop Video at the 1999 MTV VMAs. MCA’s rhymes come in the second verse, following Ad-Rock’s claim of “I like my sugar with coffee and cream.”

“Paul Revere”

“Now my name is MCA, I’ve 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’ve made myself clear?”

As a whole, “Paul Revere” is unmistakably one of the Beastie Boys’ most substantial early tracks. They weave a rich narrative through trading verses, and while their back and forth isn’t as structurally dense as it is on “Shadrach”, it’s still easy to get lost in the story they create. “Paul Revere” stands out as a joint effort, but MCA’s introduction to the story deserves recognition.

“Professor Booty”

MCA takes the third and final verse on this track from Check Your Head, closing out with a massive diss on the rap trio 3rd Bass. The Beastie Boys had just left on bad terms with Def Jam, and 3rd Bass was signed and thrust into the beef between the Beasties and Russell Simmons right after.

On “Professor Booty”, MCA’s final verse singles out MC Serch as being “one big oaf who’s faker than plastic / A dictionary definition of the word spastic.” MCA goes on to claim, “You shoulda never started something that you couldn’t finish / ‘Cause writin’ rhymes to me is like Popeye to spinach.”