It doesn’t take too much to create something really special.

Inspiration, efficient seeking, and true musical diversity. If there’s a group who got all three, it’s certainly A Tribe Called Quest.

The band from Queens, factory of Hip-Hop legends (Nas, Mobb Deep, Run DMC, LL Cool J), landed on to the Hip-Hop scene in 1990 with their long-titled first album People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm.

The two MC’s Q-Tip and Phife Dawg impressed with their complementarity and their positive lyrics far from Hip-Hop clichés.

On top of that, DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad broke all rap codes by incorporating many genre of sample into his music. The beats are simple and clean and A Tribe Called Quest were immediatly considered as heavy-weight contenders in their debut.

A year later in 1991 came their second opus much awaited.

And the result is astonishing. The Low End Theory is full of jazz influence (Jazz We’ve Got, Check The Rhime, Butter), messages sent to phony rappers (Show Business, Rap Promoter), touching writings (The Infamous Date Rape), and for sure track to electrify the crowd (Scenario).

Anyway, today I picked one of them song that I particularly enjoy: Check The Rhime.

Like I said, it seems simple. Two main sample.

First one is from the funky scottish Average White Band. Famous during the 70’s for some hits, (mainly for Pick Up the Pieces in 1975), the group only composed by white dudes is still performing out there.

They got sampled a lot of times. But Ali Shaheed chose to serve interest in a less-known composition of the AWB: Love Your Life.

If you know Check The Rhime, you’ll recognize the sax riff faintly arriving throughout the song below to finally explode at 3:39. This is where sampling happens.

Average White Band – Love Your Life (sample appears at 3:39)

The sax riff was for the chorus. But for verses, a lingering and calm percussions taken from Minnie Riperton let Q-Tip and Phife Dawg talking and call to each other.

You’re on point Phife?
All the time Tip
You’re on point Phife ?
All the time Tip.

The female Soul legend had as well been sampled various times. And it works every time.

Minnie Riperton – Baby This Love I Have (sample appears at 0:02)

Enjoy the full song and videoclip that goes with.

A Tribe Called Quest – Check The Rhime

Hip-Hop every day all day.