A Tribe Called Quest
Lyric guide

What Really Goes On

Read What Really Goes On lyrics by A Tribe Called Quest on LyroVerse, with linked artist context and related song paths.

A Tribe Called Quest visibility7 visits Video on page
person Curated by Ethan Walker LyroVerse team
Reference snapshot

The page facts to cite before the commentary

Use this page for the lyric text, linked artist context, and any LyroVerse editor's note attached to the song. Listener comments remain user-generated and should not be treated as the primary source.

Page type: lyric reference Artist: A Tribe Called Quest Canonical path: /a-tribe-called-quest/what-really-goes-on Related lyric paths: 6 Video embedded: yes
Lyrics

What Really Goes On

The lyric stays readable and compact here; the note and related paths sit nearby so you do not lose the song while looking for context.

chorus:

We got the bump-da-bump-da-bump bump(6X)

We got the bump-da-bump-da-bump bump-da-bump-da-bump

Bump-da-bump-da-bump

Q-Tip:

Yo, we preparin ourselves for this ultimate war

The MCs are really lost and it's at a big cost

We be rhymin at our show thinkin we gettin dough

Movin throught every town off the fumes of...

And accolades of the crowd with our chests out proud

Yo, we bout to pack these joints so that these...sound loud

Some kids be actin stank like a baby pant

It's the rapper Abstract that make the joint get amped

Yo, use your body maker and use your minds, to break true

Yo, we gotta do the do

Son, we livin in a time where mad folks talk (shit)

Representin they crews or they East-West clicks

Let me tell everybody from coast to coast

About the lands we boast, but we don't own jack

How the (fuck) we movin through makin moves like that?

How the (hell) we movin through makin moves like that?

Can you explain that? I doubt that, very highly

We got jewels and Mo and the life is tight rowdy

Everybody lookin (shitty) like a to' down committee

Let's make these institutions, body slam for the smitties

I got girls with plenty tails, smarts and big (titties)

And they all stressin me, yo, really?

What really goes on? (James Brown: I don't know)

chorus:

Q-Tip:

One is for the beat and the two is for the rhyme

Three is for the life, now we on this incline

Never catch this kid stickin forks in swine

Never ran my gibs in nuthin less than a dime

A few of my brothas did that asshole one time

Strivin miss sunrise, sometimes is known as crime

The three twenty-five got that Windex shine

And when I shot skelly, I had my boxes in lines

All I wanna do is live life and be fair

I used to stress girls with long legs and long hair

Now, I want a woman with a spiritual flair

God will never make it too hard for me to bare

I'm hungry like a derelict whose stays in the diluse

Some can count me out, but yo, I doubt that I lose

The Westernized world got our minds confused

You frontin on me, ak, then you don't get bruised

The funny style cats, they be playin games like Chucky

Government officials shoot their same old...

Made of devil agents a.k.a. the devil flunky

Stiff (ass) squares gettin mad cuz we funky

This the crap game, then we got the top rolls

The positive jumps the negative like frogs

Resentin evil vibes, yo, that (shit) is at the morgue

We celebrate laughin down in at the smorgas borg

You still lookin (shitty) like a to' down committee

Let's make this institution, buy the land for the smitties

I got girls with tails, plenty smarts and big (titties)

And they all stressin me...really

chorus:

Quick answers

What this page can answer fast

Who performs "What Really Goes On"?

A Tribe Called Quest performs "What Really Goes On", and this lyric page sits inside the A Tribe Called Quest catalog on LyroVerse.

Are there related songs to explore after "What Really Goes On"?

Yes. The related section below points to Hot Sex and Ego with a short reason for opening each page next.

Where can I find more songs by A Tribe Called Quest?

Use the artist link near the top of the page or the related paths section below to keep moving through A Tribe Called Quest's lyric pages.

Song Room

Interpretations, questions, and corrections for this song

Interpretations, questions, memories, and correction notes live together here. The room stays noindex while the best insights are reviewed.

Open Song Room
0 followers Selected insights only surface after moderation
Listener comments

What people are saying

0 comments
Add a short interpretation or memory

A strong comment here is specific: the phrase you keep hearing, the mood you come back for, or the reason this song stays in rotation.

Sign in to post the first listener note. Reporting stays open to everyone.

No listener comments on What Really Goes On yet.