"Check the Rhime" (A Tribe Called Quest)

"Check the Rhime" from 1991's The Low End Theory was my first introduction to A Tribe Called Quest, even though the group already had several singles and an album, 1990's People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, under its belt.
I was in 8th grade when "Check the Rhime" dropped—a time when the likes of Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer were still being crammed down our throats (you couldn't turn on MTV without seeing the latter's gaudy, unintentionally hilarious "2 Legit 2 Quit" video every 20 minutes).  The whole pop-rap craze was really off-putting to me, especially when I knew there were groups out there (who didn't have Saturday morning cartoon shows) making intelligent hip-hop that acknowledged the genre's roots in blues, jazz, and funk.
Anyway, in the midst of all the "2L2Q"-ing, here was a group out of Queens with this unflashy video, where no one was wearing parachute pants or flashing lame hand gestures.  They traded rhymes like crews from the early 80s, only with flows that were so much smoother and more cerebral.  Plus, the backing track was funky.  It didn't surprise me at all when I found out they were compatriots of De La Soul and Jungle Brothers.
Incidentally, my favorite verse of the song is still Q-Tip's quip at the very end of the track:
Proper.  What you say, Hammer?  Proper.
Rap is not pop, if you call it that, then stop.