A Tribe Called Quest Hit ’90s TV With An Amazing “Rhime” Routine (Audio)

This week, Hip-Hop and music-lovers are deeply mourning the loss of Phife Dawg. At 45 years old, the man born Malik Taylor died from complications due to diabetes on March 22. For more than 25 years, the Queens, New York MC and co-founder of A Tribe Called Quest impressed lyric lovers with his clever bars, easygoing flow, and audible charm.

In reflecting about the loss of Phife, Ambrosia For Heads was chatting with our friend and ally Photo Rob. A New Yorker who had been documenting A Tribe Called Quest for years with his lens, Rob pointed back to a particularly special 1991 Yo! MTV Raps performance of “Check The Rhime.” Regardless of where this hit song stands in your best-of Tribe playlist, it very possibly is the tightest routine for the then-trio from Queens.

Within, Q-Tip and Phifer play off of each other as well as any rhyme-tandem in Hip-Hop, with Ali Shaheed Muhammad mixing in the sounds that brilliantly paint a time of innocence and innovation. Also worth noting, The Low End Theory and this jam very much alerted Tribe Heads from the debut that the 5 Foot Assassin would be a star in his own right, in “show business.”

This is a moment in time, and one that many may have missed, forgotten, or overlooked as the incredible Phife gave us so many. From now til’ forever, we will continue checking those rhymes. Rest in peace.

Ambrosia For Heads’ Do Remember features.

#BonusBeat: Check the flick, too:

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