Throwback Tuesday: A Tribe Called Quest’s “Check the Rhyme”

I know, I know, it's supposed to be Throwback Thursday, but you'll be in a turkey coma this Thursday and it just didn't feel right to deprive you of some old-school goodness, so we're moving up the schedule. Point is, you can never go wrong with some old-school A Tribe Called Quest, especially when we're talking about "Check the Rhyme", a dope cut featuring one of the best two man call and response choruses in hip-hop history. Enjoy:



The Refined Take:

1) I love how they go with the Predator-style night vision effect for the first five seconds and then never use it again. That's like if Neo dodged one bullet in the "Matrix" all super slow-mo style and then just had to dodge bullets like a regular motherf**ker for the rest of the movie. If I ever get the chance to talk to Q-Tip my first question's going to be, "What's the deal with the night vision for the first five seconds of 'Check the Rhyme'".

2) Speaking of Tip, huge sports apparel fail. I don't know why Phife Dawg is rocking an Indians outfit, considering he's from Queens, but at least he's coordinated. Tip on the other hand is pairing a Yankees jersey with a Braves hat; um what?! At least they're not division rivals, but at the time (1991) the Braves were having a great year and the Yankees were slumping. Talk about a bandwagon jump. You're better than that Tip. You're better than that.

3) I also feel like this video set the stage for a slew of "performing while standing on the roof of a local store" videos, most prominently also seen in Snoop's "Doggystyle". Tribe was a trendsetter in more ways than one.

4) Phife comes right out and says it, but there are moments in this video when you're like, "damn, that dude was small," particularly when he's standing close to Q-Tip, who's not exactly a big man himself. Can I officially nominate Phife as the best inch-for-inch rapper in hip-hop history? It appears that I just did.

5) Man, almost no group makes me feel nostaligc the way Tribe does. I try to to get too attached to all that "golden era of hip-hop" stuff, but the early 90s were a great time for hip-hop fans. Long live creative music and long live A Tribe Called Quest.