A Tribe Called Quest’s Biggest Singles And Their Samples
A Tribe Called Quest told us they were on an “Award Tour,” and their efforts have finally paid off.
On Sunday (April 21), the group received “music’s highest honor” by being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The group responded to the news on their Instagram with a simple nod to their unity. “A E I O U And sometimes Y,” the post read, referencing their track, “We Can Get Down.”
And much like the iconic rap group, VIBE will be using Tribe’s acclaimed discography to celebrate this career milestone. Honing in on the band’s most successful singles, VIBE will break down their placement on the charts and the samples used to create those timeless songs. Here are A Tribe Called Quest’s biggest singles and the samples that make up those songs.
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“Can I Kick It?”
Image Credit: YouTube Screenshot “Can I Kick It?” was released as the third single off their debut album, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, in October 1990. The cut contains numerous samples to create, as some would call it, one of the best Hip-Hop songs of all-time. “Can I Kick It?” features samples from Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side,” Ian Dury and the Blockheads’ “What a Waste,” Dr. Lonnie Smith’s “Spinning Wheel,” “Dance of the Knights” by Sergei Prokofiev, and “Sunshower” by Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band. While the song was a smash success, peaking at No. 8 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart, ATCQ didn’t actually see any bread from the song’s sales. According to The Grio, Phife Dawg spoke about Reed’s decision to take 100% of the song’s royalties.
“So Lou Reed could have easily said, ‘Oh yeah, a rap group use my sh*t? Alright.’ No. Anita Baker don’t let nobody use her sh*t, period,” Phife said. “So Lou Reed, instead of saying no altogether, he was like, ‘Yeah, nice! Give me the motherf**king money.’ Like Smokey in Friday.”
Oh, as for People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, it became the first LP to snag the coveted 5-mic rating in The Source‘s history.
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“Scenario”
Image Credit: YouTube Screenshot. “Scenario” is legendary for numerous reasons. The 1992 cut, third single from the Low End Theory, is considered as one of Hip-Hop’s posse cuts. “Scenario” is also regarded as the breakout moment for a then 19-year-old Busta Rhymes, who was the frontman for Leaders of the New School. The groundbreaking video features appearances from Redman, Kid Capri, Brand Nubian, De La Soul, Fab Five Freddy, and Spike Lee. On top of that, the song was a success on the rap charts, snagging No. 6 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart.
And you know Q-Tip sampled a couple of songs for this timeless top 10 hit. The Abstract employed the drums from Mitch Mitchell’s drum performance on Jimi Hendrix Experience’s “Little Miss Lover.” He then lifted the chords and the baseline from Brother Jack McDuff’s “Oblighetto” to give the song a complete atmosphere.
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“Jazz (We’ve Got)”
Image Credit: YouTube Screenshot “Jazz” is one of the best examples of the quintessential ATCQ record: low-key, infectious bassline, irreverent lyricism, and, of course, jazz samples. The song is officially credited to A Tribe Called Quest as the its producer. However, it was Pete Rock who designed the cut from the demo recording of the instrumental, with Tip recreating the beat. Q-Tip gives props to the legendary producer at the end of the song. “Pete Rock for the beat, ya don’t stop.”
During an interview with Moovmnt, the Abstract opened up about Rock’s involvement in the beat and how it began:
“Yeah and this is what happened. We were at his crib in Mount Vernon, and we were all supposed to rhyme over this beat—me, [Pete Rock], and Large Professor,” he recalled. “He was rockin’ it and I was just like ‘Are we gonna do it?!’ and he was like, ‘I don’t know… I don’t know’. So I asked him again, ‘Yo what’s up with that beat that sh*t is hot… yo what’s those records I wanna hook that beat up!’ And he was like, ‘Aight f**k it’. I was like, ‘I’m gonna do that sh*t and then we can exchange, I’ll give you some sh*t’. And he was like, ‘Alright, cool’. That was the story… that’s why on ‘We Got The Jazz’ I said, ‘Pete Rock for the beat ya don’t stop.’ You know… because it was some exchange sh*t.”
As for the samples that were then used in the recreation, we got you covered. The Five Starstep’s “Don’t Change Your Love” was sampled for the song’s main drum sequence. Jimmy McGriff’s “Green Dolphin Street” and The Door’s “Light My Fire” were also sampled for added vocals and instrumentation. The Low End Theory cut landed at No. 19 on the Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart.
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“Check The Rhime”
Image Credit: YouTube Screenshot “Check the Rhime” uses a whopping six samples, three of which are used for drums. These three tracks include “Nobody Beats the Biz” by Biz Markie and T.J. Swan, “I’m Just a Rock ‘N’ Roller” from Dalton & Dubarri, “Hydra” by Grover Washington Jr., “Oblighetto” by Brother Jack McDuff, and the Average White Band’s “Love Your Life.” But the song is probably most closely associated with its Minnie Ripperton sample, “Baby, This Love I Have.”
And these samples made for the perfect combination to catapult the song to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs. In fact, the song ended up moving 500,000 units, which officially certified it as Gold as of September 2021.
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“Bonita Applebum”
Image Credit: YouTube Screenshot “Bonita Applebum” is probably the most ATCQ-synonymous track on this list—it’s a masterpiece. The single was built from the drums in Little Feat’s “Fool Yourself,” speeding up the composition. The melody and groovy baseline were ripped from Rotary Connection’s “Memory Band” and RAMP’s “Daylight”—both amazing records in their own right.
Q-Tip plays the song solo this go around, creating one of the most playfully sensual Hip-Hop tracks at the time and maybe of all-time. He raps about the beautiful figure of an unnamed woman, historically rumored to be a girl from Tip’s high school, Murry Bergtraum High School. This explains a lot because the song was one of Tribe’s first demos, as the song was crafted in 1985. “Bonita Applebum” originally featured a standard rap delivery. However, the Abstract changed it to employ a conversational approach, like you’re hollering at a young lady.
The song instantly became a fan-favorite, peaking at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs.
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“Electric Relaxation”
Image Credit: YouTube Screenshot Okay, we lied. “Electric Relaxation” is definitely the quintessential Tribe synonymous cut. It has to be. The song was the theme for The Wayans Bros’ show’s first two seasons, and it was voted as the third best Hip-Hop beat of all time by Rock The Bells. I mean, once you hear that baseline sampled from Ronnie Foster’s “Mystic Brew,” you already know the vibes. Look at you, humming along to it right now. Immediately recognizable as greatness. And, according to Phife, it’s always been that way. During an interview with XXL, the 5-foot Assassin talked about hearing the song for the first time—and being blown away.
“I just remember coming home from somewhere—my grandmother gave him a key, the whole nine, he used to just go in and do his thing—I came home from some type of trip and I walked in the kitchen, and you know, he’s in the basement and you could hear the music coming up, and all I heard was that. I didn’t even say hello to my grandmother or whoever was in the house, I was just like, ‘Hold on!’ and went downstairs. ‘Yo, what the hell is that?!’ He was like, ‘Yo, that sh*t is crazy, right?’ And it just became what it is now,” Phife recalled.
“Electric Relaxation” peaked at No. 13 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart. The track was also one of the few Tribe songs to actually land on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 65.
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