Award Tour ft. Trugoy the Dove
A Tribe Called Quest Lyrics

We on Award Tour with Muhammad my man
Travelling on a tour, accompanied by my friend Muhammad, collecting different awards on the way.

Going each and every place with the mic in their hand
Performing at every location they go, holding a microphone.

New York, NJ, N.C., VA
Visiting various places in the United States such as New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Virginia.

People give your ears so I be sublime
Asking the crowd to pay attention so that the artist can impress them tremendously.

It's enjoyable to know you and the concubine
Appreciating the audience and their company along with their significant others.

Niggas, take off your coats ladies, act like gems
Addressing the crowd in a friendly, informal manner and encouraging them to be comfortable and put on a great show.

Sit down, Indian style, as we recite these hymns
Politely requesting the audience to sit in the traditional Indian style and enjoy the poetic and musical performance.

See, lyrically I'm Mario Andretti on the mo-mo
Comparing himself to a skilled racing driver known for his speed and precision.

Ludicrous, we speedy, or infectious with the slow-mo
Boasting about being incredibly fast and powerful in their artform as well as sculpting it slowly and meaningfully.

Heard me in the eighties, J Beez on the promo
Making a reference to people hearing about his music in the 1980s, with J Beez doing the promotion work.

On my never ending quest to get the paper on the caper
Working continually on making money from their music gigs.

But now, let me take it to the Queens side
Introducing a new segment about a location called Queens.

I'm taking it to Brooklyn side
Shifting focus onto another location, Brooklyn

All the residential Questers to invade the way
Encouraging everyone to join him to explore and conquer the locations.

Hold up a second son, 'cause we almost there
Asking for a brief pause as they approach their destination.

You can be a black man and lose all your soul
Warning people that their spirit can still suffer and be broken even if they are a black man.

You can be white and blue but don't crap the roll
Encouraging white people to be themselves and not pretend to be someone else.

See my shit is universal, if you got knowledge and dolo
Claiming that his music is universal, and that anyone can enjoy it if they have intelligence and courage.

Of delf for self, see there's no one else
Stating that only the self can be trusted with the best interests of oneself.

Who can drop it on the angle, acute at that
Asserting that only he can deliver poetry and lyrics on a sharp angle or slope.

So, do that, do that, do do that that that(come on)
Encouraging the crowd to follow his lead and groove along with him.

Do that, do that, do do that that that(OK)
Giving permission to do what he just asked for.

Do that, do that, do do that that that
Repeating the command for emphasis and rhythm.

I'm bugging out, so let me get back 'cause I'm wettin niggas
Getting excited about the performance and jokingly saying he's spraying the crowd with spit as he talks.

So run and tell the others 'cause we are the brothas
Saying that they are the leaders in their group.

I learned how to build mics in my workshop class
Revealing a little bit about his background and skills in building microphones.

So give me this award, and let's not make it the last
Asking to be given the award for their success and hoping for even more awards in the future.

Chinatown, Spokane, London, Tokyo
Listing out various locations he is visiting, such as Chinatown, Spokane, London, and Tokyo.

Houston, Delaware, DC, Dallas
Naming locations like Houston, Delaware, Washington DC, and Dallas.

Back in '89, I simply slid into place
Recalling how they found their place in the music industry in 1989.

Buddy, buddy, buddy all up in your face
Describing people trying to assert themselves into the music scene and get noticed.

A lot of kids was busting rhymes but they had no taste
Saying that many other rappers tried to get attention, but their music quality was not great.

Some said Quest was wack, but now is that the case
Recalling a time when some people criticized their music, but posing the question of whether people still think that way now.

I have a quest to have the mic in my hand
Asserting their goal of always holding and performing with a microphone.

Without that, it's like Kryptonite and Superman
Comparing his dependence on the microphone to Superman's weakness to Kryptonite.

So Shaheed come in with the sugar cuts
Referring to Shaheed's skills as a DJ who is adept at seamlessly incorporating a range of music tracks into a performance.

Phife Dawg's my name, but on stage, call me Dynomutt
Joking about his name being Phife Dawg but preferring to be called Dynomutt like the cartoon character when performing on stage.

When was the last time you heard the Phifer sloppy
Rhetorically asking the audience when they had last heard him perform sloppily.

Lyrics anonymous, you'll never hear me copy
Stating that he always creates original lyrics and never copies from other artists.

Top notch baby, never coming less
Claiming to always deliver the best possible performance.

Sky's the limit, you gots to believe up in Quest
Saying that the sky is the limit in terms of success and achievement, and encouraging people to believe in themselves and their abilities like they believe in their group, Quest.

Sit back, relax, get up out the path
Taking a moment to relax and enjoy the performance while moving out of the way to make room for others to dance.

If not that, here's the dance floor, come move that ass
For those who don't want to relax, he is inviting them to the dance floor to move and groove to the music.

Non-believers, you can the steps
Telling those who don't believe in their music that they can leave and step away from the performance.

I roll with Shaheed and the brother Abstract
Referencing his friends, Shaheed and Abstract, who are also part of the music group.

Niggas know the time when the Quest is in the jam
Saying that people know when their group is performing, and they should be excited about it.

I never let a statue tell me how nice I am
Saying that he does not rely on external validation, such as awards or praise, to know he is good at what he does.

Coming with more hits than the Braves and the Yankees
Claiming to have more hit songs than the famous baseball teams, the Braves and the Yankees.

Living mad phat like an over sized Bam-bi
Using slang to describe living well, like the animated character Bambi who is large and well-fed.

The wackest crews try to dis, it makes me laugh
Saying that mediocre or bad music groups may criticize them, but he doesn't take their criticism seriously and even finds it funny.

When my track record's longer than a DC-20 aircraft
Comparing his impressive track record to a long aircraft.

So, next time that you think you want something here
Sending a warning to anyone who may try to challenge their success.

Make something deffer, take that garbage to St. Elsewhere
Encouraging others to be original and creative in their own way, and warning them to take their bad music elsewhere.