Award Tour

The lead single from Midnight Marauders, and their highest-charting song.
A Tribe Called Quest, from Midnight Marauders (1993)

Written by
Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad
Released
October 1993
Length
3:46
Album
Midnight Marauders

Released by Jive in October 1993, it features Trugoy of De La Soul on the chorus and samples Weldon Irvine's We Gettin' Down from his 1975 album Spirit Man. Q-Tip told Vibe that he built it on a bass line from Jade's Don't Walk Away, which he had seen win over a crowd while DJing at a party. He added a Rhodes part to counter the bass line. The chorus lists cities and states, from New York City to Detroit, and the second verse mentions the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees. It reached number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100, the group's best placing, number 54 on the Cash Box Top 100, and topped the Billboard Dance Singles chart.

The B-side was the original version of The Chase, Pt. 2, which has the first known verse by Consequence. Josh Taft directed the video, released in November 1993, which was filmed inside the borders of a painting and was nominated for Clip of the Year in the rap category at the 1994 Billboard Music Video Awards. It is in 37 of the 64 logged setlists that list songs, first on 23 November 1993 at the Moore Theatre in Seattle and last at the group's final concert.

More songs by A Tribe Called Quest

Can I Kick It?, Scenario, Electric Relaxation, Bonita Applebum, Check the Rhime

Sources

  1. Award Tour, Wikipedia
  2. Midnight Marauders, Wikipedia
  3. Electric Relaxation, Wikipedia