Scopin’ out the honeys, they know who they are

I was listening to “The Low End Theory” for the umpteenth time recently, trying to break down what was my favourite tune on there. Impossible of course, but certainly one of the very best is one of the solo efforts, namely Phife Dawg’s peerless flow on “Butter”. Now I have always loved this song for a number of reasons, not least that fact that Phife’s lyrics are pure murderation and provide a flawless example of why he remains the component of A Tribe Called Quest that I have the most affection for. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t like I don’t love Tip and Shaheed, the legend of Jerobi, the combination of all of their talents in a beautiful whole. Hell, I’ll even like Consequence given the right conditions and a sunny day.

It would have to be very sunny though. But regardless, if I was pushed it would always be Phife’s raps that I would hold up as my ideals, particularly on the dual pinnacles of “The Low End Theory” and “Midnight Marauders”. I just love his bounce, his braggadocio, his seminal quips and phrases, and the smoothness of the flow. And of course “Butter” is an archetypal example of just why he is so revered, particularly verse 2. I mean, have you listened to verse 2 recently, the rhyme that begins with “I remember when girls were goody two shoes..” and goes on to lay down the heaviest diss onto girls who chase fame and fortune through celebrity baiting and aesthetically questionable means. Their own fault really because like the Dawg says, “If your eyes and hair were real, I wouldn’t have dissed ya, but since they were bought, I had to dismiss ya”. It is just an awesome rap, and even gives rise to the immortal line “Slum Village gold still dangling in your ear!”. Brilliant.

But the other reason why I love “Butter” is the beat, that most simplest and yet rich of productions, supported by the rolling drums and the chime like organ chords, almost flanged into a dream coda throughout, plus that mellowest of saxophone breaks on the chorus. But the real joy with this beat comes when you deconstruct it because here is a real example of the sum parts each being equal to the whole. The four tunes sampled are Gary Bartz’ “Gentle Smiles” for the sax, the Weather Report’s amazing “Young and Fine” for the intro and melodies, the under-rated Motown tenor Chuck Jackson’s “I Like Everything About You” providing the drums, and the Eighties Ladies “Turned On To You”.

I’m not even sure where the latter fits in to the mix, but am glad it is included because it is truly one of the best rare groove songs around, period. And the same is true of each one of these constituent blocks, they are all outstanding tunes and all worthy of our attention. It is easy to forget sometimes how hip-hop has created a musical genre based in part upon the sampling of others, and in doing so overlook the genius that comes with mining these beats and forging them into new and delightful forms. If you have ever spent time trying to do so yourself you’ll know how much of an art it is. And there were few better than A Tribe Called Quest. Their source material is truly inspired, and if you want to add to your collection you could do a lot worse than find a samples list from any one of their albums, arm yourself with the internet, and dig away to your heart’s content.

But their genius was really in the simplicity. They let the music that they find do the talking, seamlessly combined and with the bass and the drums to the fore and choice samples peppered throughout. Little else is needed, but with these sparse ingredients they constructed a masterpiece. Not no Parkay, not no margarine, strictly butter all the way.