1.
Your whole appearance is a lie and it could never be true.
And if you really loved yourself, then you would try and be you.
Phife Dawg
Your entire facade is a falsehood and it cannot possibly be genuine. If you truly cherished yourself, then you would attempt to be your authentic self.
2.
Straight from the heart, I represent hip hop
I be three albums deep, but I don't wanna go pop
Too many candy rappers seem to be at the top
Too much candy is no good, so now I'm closing the shop.
Phife Dawg
Direct from the soul, I am the embodiment of hip hop
I have released three albums yet still remain true to my roots
Too many flashy MCs are garnering attention nowadays
An excess of superficiality is not what I'm aiming for so now I'm moving on.
3.
I like them brown, yellow, Puerto Rican, or Haitian
Name is Phife Dawg from the Zulu nation.
Phife Dawg
I appreciate them cocoa, golden, Puerto Rican, or Haitian. I'm Phife Dawg from the Zulu nation.
4.
Now here's a funky introduction of how nice I am
Tell your mother, tell your father, send a telegram.
Phife Dawg
Inform your kin, alert your relations, dispatch a cablegram - to let them know what a great individual I am.
5.
Cuz if I don't say I'm the best, tell me who the hell will.
Phife Dawg
'If I don't proclaim my greatness, who else will?'
6.
I instruct you to be the obeyer,
A rhythm recipe that you'll savor,
Doesn't matter if you're minor or major,
Yes, the Tribe of the game, rhythm player,
As you inhale like a breath of fresh air
Phife Dawg
7.
When's the last time you heard a funky diabetic?
Phife Dawg
When's the last time you encountered an exuberant diabetic?
8.
A Tribe Called Quest was one of those things where it was supposed to be about growth. When I say 'growth,' I don't just mean with our sound or our product, but Tribe was supposed to grow as individuals.
Phife Dawg
9.
Used to have a crush on Dawn from En Vogue.
It's not like honey dip would wanna get with me,
But just in case I own more condoms than TLC.
Phife Dawg
10.
Question: Why is that MC's be wack
And major labels wanna sign that crap?
A-yo...funk that!
Phife Dawg
11.
I'm a rapper but I'm a human being.
Phife Dawg
12.
When I hear the word "documentary," I don't think certain things should be left out. You've got to keep it 100 percent as much as you can, unless your group has a meeting beforehand and says, "Yo -- don't say this, 'cause boom, boom, boom." Other than that, it's a documentary so let's document, you know what I mean?
Phife Dawg
13.
Styles be fat like Jackie Gleason, the rest be Art Carney.
Phife Dawg
14.
If your not honest with yourself, how the hell are you gonna be honest with me.
Phife Dawg
15.
I'm doing a fun EP. It's called 'Songs in the Key of Phife: Eight Is Enough.' It's radio-friendly, but then a lot of it just has that raw hip-hop. Some of it will be vintage Tribe, but for the most part I'm just letting my voice be heard.
Phife Dawg
16.
I'm all about the fans.
Phife Dawg
17.
I emcee how I feel for the moment. I'll always be influenced by Tribe, but my EP and LP have a lot of different flavors! I'll keep it vintage Tribe if Tribe decides to do another LP... which, in my heart, I'd love to do for the fans.
Phife Dawg
18.
I really don't have to answer to nobody.
Phife Dawg
19.
Yeah, me and Q-Tip is cool outside of the business, but you know, within the business sometimes it can get ugly, you know what I mean?
Phife Dawg
20.
Call it stubborn, call it ignorant, call it what you want, but I don't think I have to join a particular faith or culture or creed or religion just to fit in, since I was part of the clique since it's inception.
Phife Dawg
21.
I would never disrespect a man's way of life, especially if they're happy.
Phife Dawg
22.
London is one of my favourite places to come to overseas.
Phife Dawg
23.
People in the U.S. always got to be spoon-fed. If it's something to difficult to understand, they don't give it a chance. They want something real simple that they can sing along with and play in the clubs and that's about it. In the UK, their whole mind set is completely different.
Phife Dawg
24.
New York City pretty much reeked of music. Reeked of rap and hip-hop. As for me, growing up in a strict West Indian, Trinidadian household, and a Christian household as well, I had to fight for the right to go and actually be a part of it.
Phife Dawg
25.
Too much of something is never good.
Phife Dawg
26.
I think hip-hop needs a little bit of diversity.
Phife Dawg
27.
I don't have a problem expressing myself.
Phife Dawg
28.
New York has changed a whole lot. For worse I think because back when I was growing up in New York we were always the trendsetters. I don't care if it was from clothes to hip-hop music, to whatever. Right now New York is a bunch of followers. A lot of them are. It's really not the same.
Phife Dawg
29.
I am totally involved with music, but my goal is to do the sports thing.
Phife Dawg
30.
One of my main goals is to become a sports broadcaster. That is the ultimate for me.
Phife Dawg
31.
I love New York. New York made me the man that I am, and I always rep it to the fullest, but right now it's completely different from what it was and anybody that says it's for the better is straight up lyin'. Straight up lyin'!
Phife Dawg
32.
I got tired of New York. I mean when you grow up somewhere, uh, I just basically wanted something different for myself and if I was planning on having a family.
Phife Dawg
33.
There were only two things you did in New York City, Queens to be exact, music or sports.
Phife Dawg
34.
If it takes 30 days of rehearsal, you better ace all 30 of those days. When it's game time, you're ready to play ball.
Phife Dawg
35.
I don't want to take food off of somebody's plate.
Phife Dawg