Released: September 24, 1991

Songwriter: Q-Tip

Producer: A Tribe Called Quest

[Intro]
I had a dream about my man last night
And my man came by the studio
And his name is...

[Chorus: Q-Tip]
Busta Rhymes in effect
Shaheed is in effect
Phife Did-awg is in effect
Check it out and give me my 'spect

[Verse 1: Q-Tip]
I'm moving, yes I'm grooving cause my mouth is on the motor
Use the Coast in the morning to avoid the funky odor
Can't help being funky, I'm the funky Abstract brother
Funky in a sense, but I play the undercover
Once had a fetish, fetish for some booty
Now I'm getting funky in my rap and that's my duty
Brothers tend to jock on the style in particular
If you got the ego like some brothers then I'll get with ya
But if I don't pursue, then I just don't give a (fuck)
My motto in the 90's is be happy making bucks
Girls love the jim, cos it causes crazy friction
When it goes up in and fluctuates the diction
I still understand the oomph cause that's what I met her for
I'm hooked on the swing, so just call me the music whore
Women love the voice, brothers dig the lyrics
Quest the people's choice, we driving for the spirit
If you can't hear it, then get the wax utensil
Write my rhymes straight up, don't give it no fancy stencil
The rhymes be getting sweet, we stay away from tart
A perfectionist at work, perking up the art
If you want to battle, I suggest you check your clock
Your demise is coming up and I want your man to watch
Be the prime example, or deeper still the sample
Insignificance, here I'll place you on the mantle
Born up in Harlem, reside down in Jamaica
The girl I used to rock, her moms was a Quaker
Now what does that make her? The evil money taker?
The crazy move faker, I use that to break her

[Chorus: Q-Tip & Vinia Mojica]
Phife is in the house (ooohh, you know you got going on)
Uncle Mike is in the house (this ain't a R&B song)
Bob Power is in the house (you got it going on)
Tim Latham is in the house (and on and on and on)
Wise Men is in the house
The Brand Nubes is in the house
The J Beez, they in the house
And De La, they in the house

[Verse 2: Q-Tip]
I must regroup my thoughts and kick the next ones for my people
Please don't be deceived by the ugly slice of evil
The world is kinda cold and the rhythm is my blanket
Wrap yourself up in it, if you love it, then you'll thank it
Don't move to rebuttal, wave your hand for action
Some women in the 90's want more than satisfaction
They want keys and Gs, and all those illy things
If you want to, I'll show you, just what the Ab can bring
I keep a tight net with my brothers Ken and Kenny
If the question is of rhymes, then I'll tell ya, I got plenty
The thing that men and women need to do is stick together
Progressions can't be made if we're separate forever
I hooked this funky beat with the loop and the feature
This the funky singing by Miss Vinia Mojica
So listen because the Quest is led through the underground
My people have been oppressed too long, no more will we be down
People tend to riff cause they don't know the mental
People tend to bug cause the beats are hard but gentle
Africano lurks through the body of this youngun'
Play like Bobby Byrd on your back and you're coming to
The house of the jazz, of the funk, of the rhythm
All the goods are welcome, but if you're a villain
I'll just wait and debate, contemplate your arrival
If flexing is your motive, then you don't like survival
The Abstract is speaking, the hard beats is reaching
To Black and Puerto Ricans cause they're butt naked streaking
Through the ever murky streets of the urbanized areas
Blasting out the speakers is the hip hop hysteria

[Chorus: Q-Tip & Vinia Mojica]
Craig is in the house (ooohh, you know you got going on)
Pete Rock is in the house (this ain't a R&B song)
CL is in the house (you got it going on)
Ultramag is in the house (and on and on and on)
Nice and Smooth is in the house
Big Daddy Kane is in the house
Beatnuts is in the house
Special Ed is in the house

[Outro: Q-Tip]
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
And this one goes out to my man
Thanks a lot Ron Carter on the bass
Yes my man Ron Carter is on the bass
And check it out, going into the '91 decade
Up in until the 2000 decade
You gotta say the Quest is on
And goddamn it, yes the Quest is on
And we out!

A Tribe Called Quest

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.

MEMBERS