A Tribe Called Quest

Released: November 9, 1993

Songwriter: Ali Shaheed Muhammad Phife Dawg Q-Tip

Producer: A Tribe Called Quest

[Intro: Phife Dawg]
Linden Boulevard represent, represent-sent
Tribe Called Quest represent, represent-sent
When the mic is in my hand, I'm never hesitant
My favorite jam back in the day was "Eric B. for Presi—"

[Verse 1: Phife Dawg]
Rude boy composer, step to me you're over
Brothers wanna flex, you're not Mad Cobra
MC shorty black, there ain't no other
Trini-born lad like Nia Long's grandmother
Tip and Sha they all that, Phife Dawg ditto
Honey tell your man to chill, or else you'll be a widow
Did not you know that my styles are top-dollar?
The Five-Foot Assassin knocking fleas off his collar
Hip hop scholar since being knee high to a duck
The height of Muggsy Bogues, complexion of a hockey puck
You better ask somebody on how we flip the script
Come to a Tribe show and watch the three kids rip

[Verse 2: Q-Tip]
Queens is in the house represent, represent-sent
A Tribe Called Quest represent, represent-sent
No taming of the style cause it gets irreverent
A Tribe Called Quest represent, represent-sent
Huh-huh, here we go, you know that I'm the rebel
Throwing out the wicked like God did the Devil
Funky like your grandpa's drawers, don't test me
We in like that, you're dead like Presley
When we coming through get tickets to see me
We work for the paper so there'll never be a freebie
Lyrics are abundant cause we got it by the mass
Egos are all idle cause the music is the task
Valenzuela on the pitch, curveball, catch it
I think I got it locked, just smooth while I latch it
Right, now I must move with the quickness
Here comes Shaheed so we must bear the witness

[Chorus]
Stir it up! Stir it up! Stir it up!
Stevie
Stir it up! Stir it up! Stir it up!
Stevie

[Verse 3: Phife Dawg and Q-Tip]
New York City represent, represent
A Tribe Called Quest represent, represent-sent
The Dawg is scientific with the styles I invent
A Tribe Called Quest represent, represent-sent
MCs like to meddle, but here's my proposition
I let my lyrics flow, and juxt your whole position
I'm radical with this like the man this song is after (*laughing*)
Yo Tip settle down, what's the reason for the laughter?
I really can't say, I guess I laugh to keep from crying
So much going on, people killing, people dying
But I won't dwell on that, I think I'll elevate my mental
Thanks for these bars on the Biko instrumental
Yo I'll take it back, I'm the Indian giver
MCs take notes as I stand and deliver (word)
Percussion isn't less (uh), Ds wear the vest (what)
Why they dodging bullets (what?), you should be dodging Quest (uh, uh)
Don't get me wrong, violence is not our forte
I just like to rhyme, kick the lyric skills like Pelé
Tip educate 'em, my rhymes are strictly taboo (o-o-)
Fill 'em with some fantasies and I'll look out like Tattoo

[Verse 4: Q-Tip]
Ok, I am recognizing that the voice inside my head
Is urging me to be myself but never follow someone else
Because opinions are like voices, we all have a different kind
So just clean out all of your ears, these are my views and you will find
That we revolutionize over the kick and the snare
The ghetto vocalist is on a state-wide tear
Soon to be the continent and then the freaking globe
There's room for it all as we mingle at the mall
We welcome competition cause it doesn't make one lazy or worn
We gotta work hard, you know the damn card
Try to be the phattest is the level that we strive
Try to be the phattest also to stay alive

A Tribe Called Quest is to Hip Hop what Pink Floyd is to Rock ‘n’ Roll. With humble beginnings in Queens, New York, the group blossomed from the friendship of Jonathan Davis (Q-Tip) and Malik Taylor (Phife Dawg). Along with acts like Jungle Brothers and De La Soul—their comrades in the Native Tongues rap collective—they vitalized East Coast Hip Hop, setting the stage for the rise of mainstream and alternative hip hop alike.

Their style, a synthesis of avant-garde production and authentic lyricism, paved the way for the conscious and jazz rap movements. Alongside other upbeat artists like Digable Planets, Us3, and Guru, ATCQ opened up the world of afrocentrism to a wider audience.

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