A Tribe Called Quest

Featuring: Consequence

Songwriter: Q-Tip Consequence Ali Shaheed Muhammad J Dilla

Producer: The Ummah

[Intro: Q-Tip]
Yo, yo, don't say nothin'
Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, just get on the dance floor and be alright

[Chorus: Q-Tip & (Consequence)]
You know what this is, pa, we 'bout to set it off
Hands up off your side
Throw your joints in the air and keep your body movin'
'Cause it's a (stick up, stick up, sticky stick up) Hands high
'Cause it's a (stick up, stick up, sticky stick up) Hands high
'Cause it's a (stick up, stick up, sticky stick up) Hands high
'Cause it's a (stick up, stick up, sticky stick up)

[Verse 1: Consequence]
What up, cat? It's my stick shift, you automat'
ATM plans and a cell phone jack
When y'all jokers snap, my mic got LoJack
'Cause I've been getting chips since John and Ponch-o
Keep your mouth closed and come on up out yours
I shot the sheriff, that makes me outlaw
Give me everything, withdraw up out yours
'Cause I got fam to feed, chicks that need weaves
Tore up in the hood tryna P.I.M.P
When you in the midst of a robbery
What's the procedure? Here's the procedure
I'm soon to be one up in a million like Aaliyah

[Verse 2: Q-Tip]
You're like the Outlaw Josey Wales with steel in your ribs
I advise you do what we say and that's it
Like Butch Cassidy, I make all the sons dance
And on the stagecoach, I keep the dimes in trance
I'm riding off in the sun with pockets lumped out
Leave the town verbin' with jewels and love about
Who be the black cat cat with the intelligence
Make it a civilized poke, regain sense
It's me, Jimmy Cliff, harder they come, they fall out
The stressed out stranger rearrange your ball out
I'm getting target practice with the sure shot aims
Run you on the dance floor with my Jesse James
So click clack, it's like that
Click clack, The Abstract
Click clack, the Consequence
We coming through, and we making you tense

[Chorus: Q-Tip & (Consequence)]
Yo, you know what this is, pa, we 'bout to set it off
Hands up off your side
So throw your joints in the air and keep your body movin'
And you will be a'ight
'Cause it's a (stick up, stick up, sticky stick up) Hands high
'Cause it's a (stick up, stick up, sticky stick up) Hands high
'Cause it's a (stick up, stick up, sticky stick up) Hands high
'Cause it's a (stick up, stick up, sticky stick up)

[Verse 3: Consequence]
The Black English professor, throws you under pressure
Making lakes in your jersey, like Jerome Kersey
Jealous and you're thirsty, cut open a cactus
You scared to soar to new heights like B.A. Baracus
I'm wild for the night, you's a daytime actress
192, we been rebels, hold you captive
Regis and Kathy never seen this live host
Upholding space jams, hitting hang 'em high notes
Catch me pushing more Cherokees than Walter Oates
Folks on the check in
Bills get passed and Billy Razor gets elected
Now who defected?
Broke camp and switched stations, Queens the foundation...

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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