Image via Complex Original
Throughout their dynamic career as one of the most important groups in hip-hop, A Tribe Called Quest always rode comfortably in their own lane. From properly bringing the jazz to the game to helping introduce J Dilla to the masses, their seat in the hip-hop hall of fame was reserved years ago...which makes the unfortunate loss of Phife Dawg all the more painful.
The key to Tribe's lyrical dynamic was a sort of yin and yang between Q-Tip the Abstract and Phife Dawg, the five foot assassin. While Tip could get more esoteric with his pen, Phife always felt like he was more gritty, more street, and always hilarious. Phife brought the heads who were looking for witty punchlines, and he brought them in spades to anything he touched. Some of Tribe's most memorable lines came out of Phife's mouth, and for that alone, he will sorely be missed.
Today, with the news of his passing still raw, we look back at some choice lines and rhymes from Tribe's designated shooter. Just shut your shit and clap your hands.
“Check the Rhime” (1991)
Lyric: “Now here's a funky introduction of how nice I am/Tell your mother, tell your father, send a telegram/I'm like an energizer 'cause, you see, I last long/My crew is never ever wack because we stand strong.”
“Electric Relaxation” (1993)
Lyric: “Let me hit it from the back, girl I won't catch a hernia/Bust off on your couch, now you got Seaman's Furniture.”
“Buggin' Out” (1991)
Lyric: “Yo, microphone check one, two, what is this?/The five-foot assassin with the roughneck business/I float like gravity, never had a cavity/Got more rhymes than the Winans got family.”
“Lyrics to Go” (1993)
Lyric: “Always wanted this 'cause it surely beats a scramble/I'm Jordan with the mic, huh, wanna gamble?”
“Show Business” (1991)
Lyric: “Seems in '91 everybody want a rhyme/And then you go and sell my tape for only $5.99?/Please nigga, I've worked too hard for this/No more will I take the booty end of the stick.”
“Award Tour” (1993)
Lyric: “I have a quest to have a mic in my hand/Without that, it's like Kryptonite and Superman.”
“Phony Rappers” (1996)
Lyric: “Talking 'bout I need a Phillie right before I get loose/Poor excuse, money please, I get loose off of orange juice.”
“Oh My God” (1994)
Lyric: “Mr. Energetic, who me sound pathetic?/When's the last time you heard a funky diabetic?”
“Butter” (1991)
Lyric: “I remember when girls were goodie two shoes and now they turning freaks/All of a sudden (“We love you Phife”) ease off ho, my name's Malik.”
“Skypager” (1991)
Lyric: “If you get your high, then mine is next/The 'S' in skypage really stands for sex/Beeper's goin off like Don Trump gets checks/Keep my bases loaded like the New York Mets.”
“Can I Kick It?” (1991)
Lyric: “Can I kick it? To my Tribe that flows in layers/Right now, Phife is a poem sayer/At times, I'm a studio conveyor/Mr. Dinkins, would you please be my mayor?”
“Scenario” (1992)
Lyric: “I'm all that and then some, short, dark, and handsome/Bust a nut inside your eye to show you where I come from.”
“Vibes and Stuff” (1991)
Lyric: “Party animal I was, but now I chill at home/All I do is write rhymes, eat, drink, shit and bone.”
“Steve Biko (Stir It Up)” (1993)
Lyric: “Hip-hop scholar since being knee high to a duck/The height of Muggsy Bogues, complexion of a hockey puck.”
“Jazz (We've Got)” (1991)
Lyric: “Me sweat another? I do my own thing/Strictly hardcore tracks, not a new jack swing/I grew up as a Christian so to Jah I give thanks/Collect my banks, listen to Shabba Ranks.”
“8 Million Stories” (1993)
Lyric: “Stressed out more than anyone could ever be/Forever tryin' to clear the samples for my new LP/Everybody knows I go to Georgia often/Got on the flight and I ended up in Boston/With all these trials and tribulations, yo, I've been affected/And to top it off, Starks got ejected.”
“Clap Your Hands” (1993)
Lyric: “The worst thing in the world is a sucker MC/Favorite rap group in the world is EPMD/Can't forget the De La, due to originality/And if I ever went solo my favorite MC would be me.”