A Tribe Caleed Quest

Remembering Phife Dawg Seven Years Later! (R.I.P.) Phife’s Five Hottest Verses

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Phife Dawg

Even though Phife’s premature passing was unfortunate, he was able to leave a legacy of his innermost thoughts in the form of rhyme. As o member of undoubtedly one of Hip Hop’s greatest groups of all time, it’s only right that he’s saluted for his lyrical skills on his born day.

On many of ATCQ’s tracks, fans have always rightfully celebrated Q-Tip’s lyricism, but rarely gave Phife Dawg his proper due. In honor of his birthday, we have put together a list of his top five hottest verses to shine light on the unsung lyrical phenom that is Phife Dawg.

5. “Electric Relaxation”– On this standout track from the album Midnight Marauders, Phife and The Abstract went toe to toe, trading off verse without a hook until the song ended, with standout bars like,

“Let me hit it from the back, girl I won’t catch a hernia/Bust off on your couch, now you got Seaman’s Furniture..”and let’s not forget, “I like ‘em brown, yellow, Puerto Rican or Haitian/Name is Phife Dawg from the Zulu Nation..”

4. “La Schmoove”– This was a featured verse from Phife Dawg on a track by Brooklyn rap tongue twisters Fu Schnickens. On this track, Phife had the third verse, yet opened it like it was his own song saying,

“Now here I go, once again with the ill flow/Other MC’s that rap, their style is so-so..”

3. “Scenario”– Being one of the most popular songs on A Tribe Called Quest’s Low End Theory album, Phife Dawg’s opening verse is one that rings in the ears of many rap fans.

“Ayo, Bo knows this, and Bo knows that/ But bo don’t know jack cause Bo can’t rap//Well what do you know, the Di-Dawg, is first up to bat/No batteries included and no strings attached.”

2. “Award Tour”– Another cut from Midnight Marauders, Award Tour was a huge success for A Tribe Called Quest. It also houses some of Phife Dawg’s strongest metaphors.

“I have a quest to have a mic in my hand/without that, it’s like Kryptonite and Superman/So Shaheed come in with the sugar cuts/Phife Dawg’s my name, but on stage, call me Dynomutt”

“So, next time that you think you want something here/Make something dope or take that garbage to St. Elsewhere…”

1. “Buggin Out”– Coming from their most popular album, this is regarded as Phife’s illest bars. Phife Dawg spit two of the hardest verses on the album on this one record.

“Yo microphone check one, two, what is this?/The five foot assassin with the roughneck business/I float like gravity, never had a cavity/Got more rhymes than the Winans got family..”

“You soar off to another world, deep in your mind/But people seem to take that, as being unkind/’Oh yo he’s acting stank,’ really on the regal?/a man of the fame not a man of the people/believe that if you want but I tell you this much/riding on the train with no dough, sucks..”

The post Remembering Phife Dawg Seven Years Later! (R.I.P.) Phife’s Five Hottest Verses appeared first on The Source.

Wu-Tang Clan And ATCQ Albums Will Be Added To The Library Of Congress

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Last week, two more classic Hip Hop albums were added to the National Recording Registry; Wu Tang Clan’s Enter The Wu Tang(36 Chambers) and A Tribe Called Quest’s 1991 Low End Theory. Its the first entry from the Staten island collective, but it’s the second album for the Queens crew to hit the Congress.

The two LPs join a 2022 inductee class that includes Bonnie Raitt’s Nick Of Time album, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and Alicia Keys’ Songs In A Minor.

Tribe’s fourth member, Jarobi White, left the group before the album was finished to pursue culinary arts while Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and the late Phife Dawg completed the album on the Jive/Zomba Records imprint. The album has been certified platinum following a coveted 5-mic rating from The Source Magazine.

Wu-Tang’s 1993 debut introduced the nine-member crew of RZA, GZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. The Loud Records debut followed a solo outing from GZA (as The Genius) at the top of the decade, as well as an EP from RZA (as Prince Rakeem). The album was subsequently certified triple platinum. Notably, this album arrived the same day as Tribe’s third LP, Midnight Marauders.

The complete list of Hip-Hop works and the year they were selected to be inducted:

Nas’ Illmatic (2020)
Dr. Dre’s The Chronic (2019)
JAY-Z’s The Blueprint (2018)
Run-D.M.C.’s Raising Hell (2017)
N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton (2016)
Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill (2014)
Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” (2011)
De La Soul’s 3 Feet High And Rising (2010)
Tupac’s “Dear Mama” (2009)
Public Enemy’s Fear Of A Black Planet (2004)
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five’s “The Message” (2002)

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