There is the time before, and there is the time after A Tribe Called Quest (ATCQ). That’s how influential the group consisting of Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and at times Jarobi White, has been to Hip Hop culture.
The release of the group’s debut, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, helped spawn a shift in how rappers were perceived. Their aesthetics were more down-to-Earth and almost bohemian, their beats lifted grooves from jazz and funk while their rhymes were witty and woke before it had a definition. ATCQ’s second and third albums, The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders, respectively, are landmark projects that are considered classics in the Hip Hop genre.
While songs like “The Scenario” and “Check The Rhime” made them household names in casual rap fan circles, for the Hip Hop purists, this list of 13 ATCQ deep cuts mined from album cuts, soundtrack gems, collaborations and more are just as beloved as any of their mainstream hits.
1. God Lives Through
Midnight Marauders is nearly a flawless record and “God Lives Through” can be considered its capstone. If you saw the ATCQ biopic, Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes recalls being moved to tears when listening to the song (his voice also hauntingly floats through the track). If there is one Tribe song to keep near at all times, it’s this one.
2. Busta’s Lament
Not every album is going to resonate, and The Love Movement isn’t high amongst ATCQ projects as far as commercial acclaim. However, with plenty of contributions from J Dilla aka Jay Dee, it is not an album to snooze on. “Busta’s Lament” features that ethereal Dilla swing that has made him a legend after his untimely passing in 2006 while Tip and Phife complement the jazzy track with astute, smoothly delivered verses.
3. Vibes and Stuff
Don’t let the generic sounding title fool you. Q-Tip and Phife never shy away from sharing their everyday experiences in rhyme (“Competition's good, it brings out the vital parts, the Abstract Poetic, majors in recital arts,” raps Tip). But there’s also the caveat that they are elite emcees, and will let you know it, slickly, every chance they get.
4. Footprints
On their first album, Phife was still getting his footing as a rapper, no pun, so he doesn’t appear on this song. No matter because Q-Tip puts on a display of superb storytelling, utilizing a hypnotic groove culled from Donald Byrd (“Think Twice”) and Stevie Wonder (“Sir Duke”) samples. The Queens rapper lyrically weaves a tale of the many places A Tribe Called Quest will leave their mark, and it all came to fruition.
5. Lyrics To Go
Not every song can be a single, but if there’s any album cut deserving of a promotion, it’s “Lyrics To Go” from Midnight Marauders. Tip took a sultry sample of Minnie Riperton’s “Inside My Love” — looping her famous high note — and flipped it into an anthemic beat for him and Phife to lyrically attack. There’s a good reason why this song is usually at the top of favorite ATCQ song lists.
6. Hot Sex
A Tribe Called Quest was between albums when they dropped “Hot Sex,” their entry on the soundtrack to the Eddie Murphy film Boomerang. It became a hit and the song even got the video treatment. Unfortunately, a beef with Wreckx-N-Effect caused Q-Tip to rock a ski mask in the video to hide a black eye. “I’m not a man called Hawk but I ain’t Mr. Soft-ee,” was a dope line from Phife that will be over your head unless you’re part of Gen X, respectfully.
7. Bonita Applebum (Hootie Mix)
“Bonita Applebum” was already a hit on its own. Then Tribe went ahead and remixed with all new lyrics and a new beat that flipped an Isley Brothers sample (“Between The Sheets”) and added rugged drums. It was an all-new energy that extended the shelf life of an already classic song.
8. Excursions
Every rapper, and rap groups, fears a sophomore jinx but A Tribe Called Quest destroyed any such trepidation with “Excursions,” the first song on The Low End Theory. Over a searing bass line provided by jazz great Ron Carter, Q-Tip takes you on a nostalgic trip from his childhood (“Back in the days when I was a teenager, before I had status and before I had a pager…”) and sets the stage for the delivery of a classic album.
9. Scenario (Remix) (with Leaders of the New School)
A Tribe Called Quest was good for dropping a remix that sounded nothing like the original. Leaders of the New School returned and so did a late rapper named Kid Hood who unfortunately passed away before the song’s release. Like the original, Busta Rhymes closes out the song with his trademark bravado.
10. Jazz (We’ve Got) [Re-Recording]
“Your mic and my mic? Come on you, no equal,” spits Q-Tip. While the original “Jazz (We’ve Got)” was laid back, this more up-tempo re-recording — featured on The Love Movement and the Revised Quest for the Seasoned Traveller compilation, not on the original Low End Theory — showcased how it was damn near impossible to pin down Tribe as a one-note rap act.
11. Butter
Phife Dawg, born Malik Taylor, is often described as Scottie Pippen to Q-Tip’s Michael Jordan or Robin to his Batman, respectively. But Phife’s lyrical talents made him anything but a sidekick. On “Butter” from The Low End Theor y, he handles all the verses (Tip performs the hook) about high school romantic drama and created one of the album’s better songs.
12. Peace, Prosperity & Paper
Another clutch soundtrack selection, this time from High School High. We like "Peace, Prosperity & Paper” because Phife is along for the ride and per usual makes sure Tip stays sharp because he never slacks. “If the beat is wicked, you know Malik will whip it,” raps Phife Dawg over the track’s moody but engaging production.
13. Phony Rappers
Beats, Rhymes & Life arrived three years after the group’s prior album and felt like a sonic reset. “Phony Rappers” opens the LP with Tip and Phife lyrically detailing how they dismantle anyone who dares to question their MC credentials. Longtime collaborator Consequence tag teams the last verse along with Phife for a nice switch up in chemistry, too.