Check the Rhime Decomposed
I’ve been meaning to listen to more of A Tribe Called Quest so I guess I’ll start by breaking this song down. With a catchy beat, fun rhymes, and a really interesting structure (pay attention to the verses before and after they start asking each other, “you on point, (phife/tip)?”), Check the Rhime is really easy to get into. I got a kick out of a couple lines that I’ve heard sampled in other songs (“Now here’s a funky introduction…”, “How far must you go to gain respect, UMMM?”). Let’s get into it.
The drums come from the very beginning of a song called Hydra by Grover Washington Jr.
The intro and chorus are predominantly driven by a loop from Average White Band’s Love Your Life starting at about 3:38…
… but if you listen closely, there is also some organ from Fly Like an Eagle by the Steve Miller Band from somewhere around the 2:30 mark.
Finally, they use a loop from the first few seconds of Baby this Love I Have by Minnie Ripperton, a song also sampled by Blackstar in their song Knowledge of Self (Determination), in the verses.
