"Can I Kick It?" is a 1990 song by American hip hop group

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

, released as the third single from their debut album, ''

People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm ''People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, released on April 10, 1990 on Jive Records. After forming the Native Tongues collective and collaborating on sever ...

'' (1990). The song, which has a

call and response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...

chorus, was recorded in 1989, when the band members were aged 18-19. The song contains samples of " Walk on the Wild Side" by

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

, " What a Waste" by

Ian Dury and the Blockheads Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

, "Spinning Wheel" by

Dr. Lonnie Smith Lonnie Smith (July 3, 1942 – September 28, 2021), styled Dr. Lonnie Smith, was an American jazz Hammond B3 organist who was a member of the George Benson quartet in the 1960s. He recorded albums with saxophonist Lou Donaldson for Blue Note be ...

, " Dance of the Knights" by

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

and "Sunshower" by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band.

Phife Dawg Malik Izaak Taylor (November 20, 1970March 22, 2016), known professionally as Phife Dawg (or simply Phife), was an American rapper and a member of the group A Tribe Called Quest with Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (and for a short time Jarobi W ...

has stated that, because of the use of the "Walk on the Wild Side" sample, the group did not receive any money from the single, with Lou Reed instead claiming the profits. "Can I Kick It?", considered one of the group's signature songs, appears on the band's 1999 compilation album, '' The Anthology'', with the outro of "

Bonita Applebum "Bonita Applebum" is the second single from A Tribe Called Quest's debut album '' People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm''. The song contains samples of "Daylight" by RAMP, "Memory Band" by Rotary Connection, and "Fool Yourself" by ...

" added to the beginning of the song. In 2012, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' listed the song at number 90 in their ranking of the "100 Best Songs of the 1990s".

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' stated that "inspired use of samples from

's " Walk on the Wild Side" nicely complements Tribe's relaxed and confident rhyming." A reviewer from ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' noted that "the New York rap crew proves their music can be 'double -streetwise'" and described the song as "two-dimensional rap". ''

'' called it a "laidback chant-a-long". Gary Crossing from ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...

'' wrote, "You can't go far wrong with this groovy little shanty. Take a dash of Lou Reed's 'Walk on the Wild Side', a splash of

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads an ...

's ' What A Waste', a sprinkling of rap and a pinch of Seventies

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

to create this masterpiece of contemporary popular music." Caroline Sullivan from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' said that "they've had the sense to nick the bassline from the elderly rock hit "Walk on the Wild Side", and it gives their effort a bit of slinky class."

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Can I Kick It?" was directed by American music video director and video editor

Jim Swaffield Jim Swaffield is an American music video director and video editor. He has worked with A Tribe Called Quest, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince and Coolio. He is also known for working with R. Kelly on ''Trapped in the Closet ''Trapped in the ...

. It features A Tribe Called Quest and various others, including members of

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

, literally kicking the word "it" while rapping on a film set, a park (located under the

Williamsburg Bridge The Williamsburg Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City across the East River connecting the Lower East Side of Manhattan at Delancey Street with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn at Broadway near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway ...

in New York’s Lower East Side), and a construction site. On the film set, they are seen playing with the

tittle A tittle or superscript dot is a small distinguishing mark, such as a diacritic in the form of a dot on a letter (for example, lowercase ''i'' or ''j''). The tittle is an integral part of the glyph of ''i'' and ''j'', but diacritic dots can ap ...

of the "i" in "it". In the park, they are walking around and are flipping on top of the "it". The video also features the participants throwing drumsticks around and landing them on drums. A "flying record player" is featured, to play the Lou Reed sample. Additionally, there is a slightly different beat in the video, but the same lyrics from the album are used.

Impact and legacy

In 2012, ''

'' listed "Can I Kick It?" at number 90 in their ranking of the ''100 Best Songs of the 1990s''. In 2021, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' included it in their list of ''500 Best Songs of All Time'' at No. 292. In 2022, ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' ranked it at number 25 in their list of ''The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s''. The song was featured on the soundtrack to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2, a remaster of the first 2 Tony Hawk games Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2.

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

Popular culture

*In the second verse,

refers to former New York City mayor

David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. He was the first African American to hold the office. Before enterin ...

, the city's first African-American mayor: "Mr. Dinkins, would you please be my mayor?" The song was recorded before Dinkins' was elected to office. *It was used in a

Michelob Ultra Anheuser-Busch, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, is the largest brewing company in the United States, with a market share of 45 percent in 2016. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 20 in othe ...

commercial for the

Super Bowl LV Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Conferen ...

*It was used on the opening scene of the 2021 film ''

Tom & Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series centers on the riva ...

'', featuring pigeons

lip synching Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated thr ...

to the lyrics of the song as they are flying in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. *The song appears in Season 2 of “Last Chance U: Basketball”

References

{{authority control 1989 songs 1990 singles A Tribe Called Quest songs Jive Records singles Music Week number-one dance singles Song recordings produced by Q-Tip (musician) Songs written by Ali Shaheed Muhammad Songs written by Lou Reed Songs about New York City Jazz rap songs