I was sitting in my college dorm room in North Carolina on a humid night in September, trying to study, while my ancient stereo was tuned to the WKNC. A song played that my roommate and I had heard just about every night at that time — Can I Kick It by A Tribe Called Quest. We’d never heard of them before college, but couldn’t help being hooked by the catchy rhythm, sweet rhymes, and smooth delivery.
I’ve been a Tribe fan ever since and it was sad to hear of the passing of Phife Dawg last week. In honor of him and the group, below is a playlist of some of my favorite tracks. Paired with each track is a second song from another artist that is the source for a sample — whether drum beat, vocal, or bass line. See if you can catch what element from the other artists was used by Tribe.
