A Tribe Called Quest

Released: November 11, 2016

Featuring: Consequence

Songwriter: Lord Jones Consequence Jarobi Phife Dawg Q-Tip

Producer: Q-Tip Blair Wells

[Intro]
Girl, this motherfucker's got rhythm

[Verse 1: Phife Dawg]
Say am I 'posed to be dead or doin' life in prison?
Just another dummy caught up in the system
Unruly hooligan who belongs in Spofford
Verse getting that degree at Stanford or Harvard
Threatened by my work ethic, the way I speak, yo
Should I be mentally weak, verse being Malik? Yo
Should I be trapped in the trap? Would you prefer that?
Fourth grade reading level but he knows how to rap
Are you amused by our struggles? The English that's broken?
The weed that I'm smokin'? The guns that I'm totin'?
The drugs that I'm sellin'? No need for improvement
Fuck you and who you think I should be, forward movement

[Verse 2: Jarobi]
Melanated shrouded in complexity
Brain charge shocking like 'lectricity
Mouth translate happens organically
The media relates it what it thinks it sees
Judging steps in shoes of a path they never walked
Shot down in a blaze of a phrases is how they talk
Dark skinned, walk with a bot portrayed villain
I'm chillin', felon down to the DNA crime willin'
Subliminate their youth, hyper-sexualize their women
They ain't got the strong enough hold, so they built the prisons
Pumping false religions to all of these niggas' systems
Every voice devoid of the truth
Come on, listen

[Verse 3: Q-Tip]
Man look at this, man look at this
Whatever will be will be
Like a billionaire investin' in a nigga's dreams
Certainly a head scratcher, like Pac and Big's killers' capture
Or a women with the wisdom who's leadin' the way
The rarity is in the rear, but never today
Man, picture a PD lettin' good records play
On the strength of what it is, not the finesse of your biz
And your lady calls you dirty, her dirts under rugs
You'll find out only if she tells you, take her kiss and hug, cuz
In the answer for cancer in a prodigious kid's mind
Yes, the government will fund, learning is free for everyone
And from that lie, young leaders will rise
In the eyes of despair and adversity
In some universe, this verse will be true

[Hook: Q-Tip]
Everybody runnin' when they see the storm's comin'
But whatever's gonna be will be
Everybody runnin' when they see the storm's comin'
But whatever's gonna be will be
Some will dash to the mountain, some will crawl
And the weakest amongst them, they will fall
But the strongest in faith, they will stand tall
Everybody runnin' when they see the storm's comin'
But whatever's gonna be will be

[Verse 4: Consequence]
I just wanna feel as liberated as lions in Liberia
'Cause recently my heart turned cold as Siberia
'Cause everywhere I go, bein' cold is the criteria
Let's see how well you know all your Tribe trivia
Green and the white, we servin' that Nigeria
North side of Queens, one-nine-two is the area
This is for my dawgs from Shih Tzus to Terriers
Fuck it, it's showtime, Tip, make sure they hearing you

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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