Man, I miss Phife Dawg.

I mean, Tip’s first verse is cool, but it kind of meanders. Phife references Dynomutt, his first recorded appearance (on “Buddy” by De La Soul), the TV show “St. Elsewhere”, the Atlanta Braves, the New York Yankees, DC-20s, Superman, Kryptonite and Gregory Peck (not that one)’s reggae hit “Oversize Mampie”. Even though “Award Tour” is kinda just “Check The Rhime” redux, Phife’s verse is what elevates it to 5-star status. And I’m a sucker for pop culture references.

Also, what exactly did Ali Shaheed Muhammad do in Tribe other than DJ on tour? Now that we know Tip actually handled most of the production, Ali’s role seems almost superfluous. Basically, Tribe was just trying to maintain the old school 2 MCs/1 DJ setup.

Holy shit, I have never seen the “Award Tour” video before! That’s a weird realization to make.