Check the Rhime

About this song

"Check the Rhime" was released as the lead single for A Tribe Called Quest's sophomore album The Low End Theory on September 6, 1991, with "Skypager" on the B-side. The song was ranked #30 on VH1's 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs list and included on The Source's list of the 100 Best Rap Singles of All Time.

What it's about

Q-Tip and Phife Dawg celebrate their middle-class roots from Queens. The song is known for its call-and-response rhyme cipher, with Phife delivering one of his most inspired verses.

Fun facts

• It's actually a cover of “C”.
• Samples “Baby, This Love I Have by Minnie Riperton” and “Love Your Life by Average White Band”.
• Sampled in 29 other songs, like “The Music Industry (Remix) by Termanology (Ft. Akrobatik, Consequence, Crooked I & Royce Da 5'9")”.
• Covered once, including “Check the Rhime (Live on BBC R1) by Loyle Carner (Ft. Rebel Kleff)”.
• Written by Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Alan Gorrie, Hamish Stuart and Leon Ware.