A Tribe Called Quest

mild; humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness

Captivate the mass, 'cause the prose is profound

Do it for the strong, we do it for the meek

Boom it in your boom it in your boom it in your Jeep

figure out; convert code into ordinary language

'Cause the job of resurrectors is to wake up the dead

So pay attention, it's not hard to decipher

And after the horns, you can check out the Phifer

fascinate; attract; cause to be enamored

Just like Ringling Brothers, I'll daze and astound

Captivate the mass, 'cause the prose is profound

Do it for the strong, we do it for the meek

quick; moving quickly and lightly

Got the scrawny legs, but I move just like Lou Brock

With speed, I'm agile plus I'm worth your while

One hundred percent intelligent black child

end; an external body part that projects from the body

See, I'm far from a bully and I ain't a punk

Extremity in rhythm, yeah that's what you heard

So just clean out your ears and just check the word

scolding speech; talk in a noisy, excited, or declamatory manner

The whole world see it, but you can't

My peoples, they complain, sit and rave, and rant

Your name is out my mouth like an ancient chant

tighten; a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time

You don't really fret, you stay in your sense

Comafied your feeling, of absolute tense

You soar off to another world, deep in your mind

story; a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events

The fog and the smog of news media that logs

False narratives of Gods that came up against the odds

We're not just nigga rappers with the bars

enjoy; derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in

I instruct you to be the obeyer

A rhythm recipe that you'll savor

Doesn't matter if you're minor or major

stimulate; restore strength

We be the real MC's and you dead, bring a shovel

Revitalize, the vital Tribe nigga, WHAT?

The ladies sweat the style like the squirrel sweat the nuts

goods; articles of commerce

They are extensions of instinctual soul

It's the highest in commodity grade, and you could get it today

Dis generation, dis generation, dis generation

teach; impart skills or knowledge to

Do you like the garments that we wear?

I instruct you to be the obeyer

A rhythm recipe that you'll savor

add detail; mark by complexity and richness of detail

I like to tell ya things some brothers don't

If only you could see through your elaborate eyes

Only you and me, hun, the love never dies

calmness; steadiness of mind under stress

Decaptatin foes yo as if my name was Jason (c'mon)

Makin all the fellas at the party lose composure

up the beat with the mic and it's over (original, uh!)

mistake; make a mess of, destroy or ruin

Serenity and silence of the sounds and emotions

In the concrete jungle when the sun don't bungle

I think it's hard to find the words on how I feel

active at night; belonging to or active during the night

But now the night is on the mind

As for me, I'm a nocturnal animal, dark concentrates

On a young Black man who makes the niggas speakers shake

calm; a disposition free from stress or emotion

Spirit-wise, musically, you gotta be it

Serenity and silence of the sounds and emotions

In the concrete jungle when the sun don't bungle

hardship; a state of misfortune or affliction

I really know how it feels to be, stressed out, stressed out

When you're face to face with your adversity

I really know how it feels to be, stressed out, stressed out

obvious; clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment

So smooth and debonair, especially for the ear

Gotta keep my thing in gear 'cause it's evident and clear

That I will rock (gonna rock)

suspension; an interruption in the intensity or amount of something

Online they debate us, if we different, then we're haters

We ended our hiatus, the dogs looking for food

The nucleus is here now

examine; any tiny hole admitting passage of a liquid (fluid or gas)

My fist stands firm because I'm, black and solid

I open up your pores like a plate full of collards

C'mon take it easy wouldya, easy easy

disgrace; cause to be distrusted or disbelieved

But critics still continue to plaster

My name and discredit my fame

All that shit is game and I don't really give a damn

useful; promoting or enhancing well-being

I will be enhancing your cassettes and CDs

With certain facts that you may find beneficial

The average bounce meter for your Midnight Marauder program

catastrophe; a sudden and violent collapse

Kickin' freestyle raps, rollin' up Phillies

It's the four-man fiasco in charge like Roscoe

Now you get the picture like Picasso

chat; utter meaningless sounds, like a baby, or utter in an incoherent way

Babies babble on, they lookin' for excuses

Game for the buzzer who kicked it to the mooses

extraordinary; so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe

You'll find out only if she tells you, take her kiss and hug, cuz

In the answer for cancer in a prodigious kid's mind

Yes, the government will fund, learning is free for everyone

obvious; provide evidence for

Fumigate our economy, 'lluminate broken dreams

And manifest all insanity, look around

Sayonara tomorrow, it's just blood on the ground

learned person; someone who has been admitted to membership in a scholarly field

Is this enough?

Yo, I'm savant with the game

Go on, tell 'robi yo' name

give insincere compliments; excessive or insincere praise

Just wanna have shenanigan, don't wanna make you mad again

So focus on the flattery you feel when I fring it

Acknowledge that I got it and you love it when I bring it

technical language; a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves)

This is not an excuse, I just wanna get loose

That's some nigga jargon, girl, you're making me harden

To the stone and granite statue, I'm prone to get at you

lying down; having a tendency (to); often used in combination

That's some nigga jargon, girl, you're making me harden

To the stone and granite statue, I'm prone to get at you

It's hard to break your defense, I guess I have to leap fence

frighten; make timid or fearful

Do it to the music that's the raw butt groove

Intimidate the boy

Cupid, that's his name

enjoy; derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in

Think it, do it, be it, embellish

Here's another point for everyone to relish

When Ski busts his tools for ya fools will embellish

decorate; add details to

Move oceans wit' your mental

Think it, do it, be it, embellish

Here's another point for everyone to relish

deserted; a person without a home, job, or property

God will never make it too hard for me to bare

I'm hungry like a derelict whose stays in the diluse

Some can count me out, but yo, I doubt that I lose

award; a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction

Movin throught every town off the fumes of...

And accolades of the crowd with our chests out proud

Yo, we bout to pack these joints so that these... sound loud

trouble; a severe or trying experience

Dream about Bugattis and other four-wheels

They say Illuminati and other ordeals

Is how my lawyer got me to avoid a raw deal

faultless; without fault or error

I'm from a different cloth, we the oracles of the sound

Skip town, hit 'em with impeccable pound

Lost, found, the way I flood it, niggas gon' drown

wander; to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course

Hand in hand 'cross the land as Muhammad cross the fade

It's a Tribe who meanders, precious like a jade

It's a art, Theo arch rhymes the ground placed upon

slope; have a tendency or disposition to do or be something; be inclined

One is for the beat and the two is for the rhyme

Three is for the life, now we on this incline

Never catch this kid stickin forks in swine

suggestion; what you must know in order to determine the reference of an expression

Sometimes it makes you trip out on your people

Sometimes it has connotations of evil

Sometimes niggas call on it when they need to

inactive; in a condition of biological rest or suspended animation

These fruitful trees are rooted in bloody soil and torment

Things haven't really changed, been dormant for the moment

Marks and scars, we own it, only makes for tougher skin

undeniable; not open to question; obviously true

Hold friends tight, never know [?]

Soul so beautiful, [?] indisputable

Heart of the largest lion trapped inside the little dude

condemn; speak out against

Rhythm on your toes, yes it's the funk again

Appreciate the flow, denounce the circuit breakers

Do it with the best, the movers and the shakers

productive; intellectually productive

Don't worry about a thing, I won't get specific

This is a song that is long and prolific

Think of the stuff that I said if you can

seriousness; the state of being sober and not intoxicated by alcohol

Causin' verbal lobotomy, it's in my geneology

Six months of sobriety, movin' very methodically

Like a unicorn, more ways than oceanography

very gifted young person; an unusually gifted or intelligent (young) person

Was the degree of the economy that do the sovereignty

Regarded as a prodigy, leery in sociology

Let the wallabees always conceal my gynecology

cut; set or keep apart

Planted on the ground, the act is so together

Bonafide strong, you need leverage to sever

The unit, yes, the unit, yes, the unit called the jazz is

combination; the process of producing a chemical compound

Verse one: q-tip

We in a world that places heavy emphasis on money synthesis

Y'all can be my witnesses

settle; act between parties with a view to reconciling differences

Some cats go about it with too much passion

We got to mediate our greedy levels

Cuz the lust of currency can have us sleepin with the devil

wealth; an economic state of growth with rising profits and full employment

All we want in this life

Is peace, prosperity and a little paper

Objects that seem greater

snobbish; someone who believes in rule by an elite group

Kappo Masa with a G to my waiter

You can't define us, XY us, or Z us, you generational elitists

Have your chi in virtual think pieces

hide; lie in wait, lie in ambush, behave in a sneaky and secretive manner

People tend to bug 'cause the beats are hard but gentle

Africano lurks through the body of this youngun'

Play like Bobby Byrd on your back and you're coming to

change; cause to fluctuate or move in a wavelike pattern

Girls love the jim, 'cause it causes crazy friction

When it goes up in and fluctuates the diction

I still understand the oomph 'cause that's what I met her for

disrespectful; showing lack of due respect or veneration

A Tribe Called Quest represent, represent-sent

No taming of the style 'cause it gets irreverent

A Tribe Called Quest represent, represent-sent

ten years; a period of 10 years

Yes, my man Ron Carter is on the bass

And check it out, going into the '91 decade

Up in until the 2000 decade

organized; a soldier who serves as an attendant to a superior officer

Gotta motivate ourselves to go and grab it

We got to get it yall, in an orderly fashion

Some cats go about it with too much passion

to exceed in cleverness; beat through cleverness and wit

I bring the Mardi Gras to your face

I outwit vipers in my rhyme cipher

I can easily lick them 'cause they victims of the subconscious race