Phife Dawg, one of the members of the classic rap group A Tribe Called Quest, died on Tuesday. Some of us have just had to be sad at our desks all day, listening to Midnight Marauders over and over. But others of us have been able to pay homage to the man in a more public forum.
At least that’s what traffic reporter Mark Arum and anchor Fred Blankenship did in a broadcast on Atlanta television on Wednesday. It’s impressive, really—the two of them bounce back and forth, talking about traffic to another reporter named Mark McKay—who’s out of the studio reporting from the field—using lyrics from A Tribe Called Quest tracks.
Brian Ach/Invision/AP
A few highlights:
“We’re on an award tour with Mark McKay, my man, going each and every place with traffic tracker two in his hand,” Arum says, quoting “Award Tour” as the camera pans in on a close-up of the highways.
“Are things ludicrously speedy or infectious with the slo mo?” Arum asks McKay (they were, McKay tells him, in fact infectious with the slo mo).
“Mark McKay’s track record is longer than a DC20 aircraft,” Arum says.
“You on point, Mark?” Asks Blankenship, transitioning to a new song, “Check the Rhyme.”
“Oh, we’re on point, Mark,” Arum replies.
“Mark McKay, do that, do that, do, do, that, that, that,” Arum rhymes.
Arum then ends the whole thing with a nod to “Oh My God,” saying, “One for the trouble, two for the base, you know the style, Mark McKay.”
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