People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm

Push It Along

A Tribe Called Quest

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

End

235

Internal

149

Multi

324

Slant

Chain

Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight

[Verse 2: Phife Dawg]

Put one up for the Phifer,^✦ it's time to decipher

The ills of the world make the situation^✦ lighter

The clock is always tickin',^✦ the systems should be kickin'^✦

Like Tip said in "Ham and Eggs", I eat chicken,^✦ chicken,^✦ chicken^✦

Should I release the lever,^✦ the lever^✦ of the clever^✦

Embellish on the funk as we start to endeavor?

The rawest^✦ of the rap, filling up the gap

With the smash of a hand and a little toe tap

[Verse 3: Q-Tip]

The boom, the bip, the boom-bip

Indicates to the brothers^✦ that we be on the flip tip

Phonies start to crumble, funky^✦ rhythm rumbles

Through the dance-hall, but my anthem^✦ is humble

It's the nitty-gritty,^✦ my time is itty-bitty^✦

So I kick the slash for the gipper^✦ and the witty^✦

This ain't trial and error,^✦ more like tribin'^✦ era^✦

Constantly rude as some sort of tribal^✦ terror^✦

The street can't depart^✦ from the bloody^✦ heart

Repair the wear and tear, don't stop 'fore it starts

Won't be gone for long, listen^✦ to the song

If you can't pull it, all ya gotta^✦ do is—

[Chorus: A Tribe Called Quest]

Push it along,^✦ push it along^✦

Push it along,^✦ yeah, push it along^✦

Push it along,^✦ push it along^✦

Push it along,^✦ yeah, push it along^✦

Push it along,^✦ push it along^✦

Push it along,^✦ yeah, push it along^✦

Push it along,^✦ push it along^✦

Push it along,^✦ yeah, push it along^✦

[Verse 4: Q-Tip]

Marching off the project, we hope that you will subject

It's good to be an object^✦ and never^✦ ever^✦ reject^✦

The tribe who meanders with drunken propaganda

Keep it in boom and never^✦ will we slander

Per diem should be handed,^✦ don't let me demand^✦ it

Money^✦ gives^✦ a nudge to the poet star bandit

Control it, then recluse it, follow,^✦ you won't lose it

Mysterious is the tribe for we choose it

Although^✦ she's flippin' crazy,^✦ give my love to Gracie

God, could you help 'cause this Quest is crazy^✦ spacey?^✦

The pigs are wearin'^✦ blue, and in a year or two

We'll be goin' up the creek in a great big canoe

What we gonna^✦ do, save me and my brothers?^✦

Hop inside^✦ the bed and pull over^✦ the covers

Never^✦ will we do that and we ain't trying to rule rap

We just want a slab of the ham, don't you know, Black?

This society of fake reality^✦

Are nothin'^✦ but a peg of informality^✦

While I sing my song, sing it all day long

If you can't pull it, all ya gotta^✦ do is—

[Chorus: A Tribe Called Quest]

Push it along,^✦ push it along^✦

Push it along,^✦ yeah, push it along^✦

Push it along,^✦ push it along^✦

Push it along,^✦ yeah, push it along^✦

Push it along,^✦ push it along^✦

Push it along,^✦ yeah, push it along^✦

Push it along,^✦ push it along^✦

Push it along,^✦ yeah, push it along^✦

[Outro: Jarobi White, Q-Tip, All]

(Hahaha)^✦

Yeah

Alright,^✦ yeah

Ah, here we go, yeah

Here we are

In People’s Instinctive Travels (Word?) through the paths of funk and rhythm

Yeah, alright^✦

But firstly,^✦ I'm gonna^✦ introduce my tribe (Hey hey)

A Tribe Called^✦ Quest (Word?)

Let me hear my Tribe Called^✦ Questers^✦ make some noise (Ah)

Yeah, alright^✦

Firstly,^✦ the foundation,^✦ the sound provider^✦ (Sound provider)^✦

Ali^✦ (Ali)^✦ Shaheed^✦ (Shaheed)^✦ Muhammad, yeah, alright,^✦ alright^✦

(Word booty,^✦ word booty)^✦ Yeah

(Word booty,^✦ word booty)^✦ And my right hand man

(Word booty,^✦ word booty)^✦ (Word booty,^✦ word booty)^✦

The one they call (Hahahaha), yeah, Phife, Phife Dawg, yeah, yeah

(Word booty,^✦ word booty)^✦ Yo

(Word booty,^✦ word booty)^✦ (Word booty,^✦ word booty)^✦

The top of the pyramid, the leader,^✦ Q-Tip (Ah), yeah, Q-Tip, yeah

(Word booty,^✦ word booty)^✦ And last but not least

(Word booty,^✦ word booty)^✦ Least but not last

(Word booty,^✦ word booty)^✦

The mystic man himself, me, Jarobi^✦ (Ah)

Yeah, alright,^✦ yeah (Yo)

What's up? (Get to the titles)^✦

Alright^✦ man, the titles?^✦ (Yeah)

Okay^✦ (Hah), yo, I’m walking (Word?), down a long winding^✦ road

(Long winding^✦ road) Yeah, with my questers^✦ (Uh-huh)

In my way, there’s^✦ a boulder (Word?)

Yeah, but you know what I had to do? (What you had to do?)

What I had to do? (What you had to do?)

I had to push it along^✦ (Push it along)^✦

Yeah (Push it along,^✦ push it along)^✦

(Keep it rollin')^✦ Keep it rollin'?^✦

Keep it rollin'^✦

You know, we're back at the studio,^✦ alright,^✦ yeah

And, and a friend of mine asked^✦ me about^✦ the Luck of Lucien^✦

Word, yeah (Ah)

Technical Breakdown

8.0

Multisyllabic Rhymes9.5

Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)

Internal Rhymes9.5

Rhymes within a line (data-driven)

Wordplay / Double Entendres6.5

Clever language, metaphors, punchlines

Cadence / Rhythm8.5

Flow variation and timing (data-driven)

Vocabulary Complexity6.0

Range and depth of words used (data-driven)

Delivery / Breath Control7.5

Performance and control

Computed Score8.00

Production

— Q-Tip, A Tribe Called Quest, Ali Shaheed Muhammad

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Critic Analysis

RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™

The verse prioritizes rhythmic fluidity and jazz-influenced cadence over complex lyrical density, serving as a foundational example of the 'alternative' boom-bap aesthetic which prioritized vocal texture as an instrument.

9.5

Multisyllabic

9.5

Internal Rhymes

8.5

Cadence / Flow

Vocabulary

6.5

Wordplay

7.5

Delivery

Onomatopoeic rhythm mappingInternal slant-rhyme chainsSyncopated flow switchesRhythmic enjambment

Rhyme Architecture: A highly sophisticated web of multi-syllabic end-rhymes (decipher/lighter, tickin'/kickin', lever/clever/endeavor) supplemented by frequent internal rhyming that bridges the gaps between the bar's stress points.

Verified Doubles & Entendres

"time to decipher / The ills of the world"

① The literal act of decoding complex situations or problems.② A play on the artist's persona as an interpreter of cultural 'ills' or societal discord.

"tribin' era"

① A reference to the group's name, A Tribe Called Quest.② A pun on the phonetic similarity to 'trial and error', framing their emergence as a shift in hip-hop's historical period.

Exceptional rhythmic pocket and adherence to the beat

Inventive use of phonetic sounds (the boom-bip sequence) to reinforce the groove

Strong structural cohesion between the two performers

Innovative, era-defining vocabulary choices for the early 90s

Limited metaphorical complexity compared to later lyricist-centric movements

Some lines prioritize phonetic compatibility over deep topical progression

Relies on self-referential call-backs rather than sustained narrative arcs

Push It Along

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

Technical Breakdown

Production

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