A Tribe Called Quest

Released: April 17, 1990

Songwriter: George Clinton Q-Tip Ali Shaheed Muhammad

Producer: A Tribe Called Quest

[Intro: Prince Paul]
It's a new decade
The Native Tongues are about to proceed with the usual lingo
The usual rhythm

[Verse 1: Q-Tip]
Devoted to, the art of moving butts
The rhythm's happening, and it's moving up
The Tribe has been on hold for much too long
Don't fear the rhythm because it's strong
On the corners, brothers bop their heads
From the high-tops to the natty dreads
I'm a nubian y'all, look what we did
Took the crust away from the third eyelid
Now it's kinda open, longs to see the sight
Rhythms of the Tribe which is passed outright
Night after night, day after day
Questing for the rhythms of the Native Tongue way
Rhythm is the key as we open up the door
Things a B-boy has never seen before
Poly-rhythm addict with a big fat boom
You have an eargasm as you start to consume
The ghetto beat with a ghetto poem
Yeah, it's from the heart, 'cause it's from the home
Jarobi, Phife, Ali Shaheed
Call me Koala, got what you need
You're a disc jock, then jock this
Rhythms can't lose, rhythms can't miss
If you feel uptight and you need to freak
It'll be alright once we drop this beat

[Hook]
I got the rhythm, you got the rhythm
I got the rhythm, you got the rhythm
I got the rhythm, you got the rhythm
I got the rhythm, you got the rhythm
I got the rhythm, you got the rhythm
I got the rhythm, you got the rhythm
I got the rhythm, you got the rhythm
I got the rhythm, you got the rhythm

[Verse 2: Q-Tip]
Ma Massa-ya, Ma Makossa
Gets hectic, freak a bourgeois
We quest around for the musical heart
On avenues, streets and boulevards
Not selling out, that's a negative
Loving Hip Hop, loving heritage
Got the instinct to travel miles and miles
Gotta whole lot of rhythm, piles and piles
Now you're kinda with it, wanna get the funk
From the Zulu Nation, topping all the junk
Standing on the top like the Temptations said
Rhythms are obese, yeah, you gotta keep 'em fed
Read what I read, can't be better said
Tribe'll lick motions dabble in the head
Sweetback's bad, not as bad as a beat
It's a (stone groove baby)
Continue, on the windy road
But, I'm lugging, a crazy big load
Will we be on point for the ninety dec
Is it muscle bound and will it flex?
But trudging, we are used to
You don't Quest alone, Quest with a crew
We're four, once more, must make the tracks
You see four fronts, but now you see four backs

[Hook]
I got the rhythm, you got the rhythm
I got the rhythm, you got the rhythm
I got the rhythm, you got the rhythm
I got the rhythm, you got the rhythm
I got the rhythm, you got the rhythm
I got the rhythm, you got the rhythm
I got the rhythm, you got the rhythm
I got the rhythm, you got the rhythm

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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