"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, "Jagger the Dagger" by Eugene McDaniels and "Fool Yourself" by Little Feat. Rolling Stone featured "Bonita Applebum" on their list of 20 essential songs from the group.

Background

The original version of "Bonita Applebum", made in 1985, was one of A Tribe Called Quest's first demos. A few years later, the song was remade and included on the People's Instinctive Travels album. Initially, Q-Tip used a conventional rap delivery for the song, but after reading a Miles Davis interview about "space" (rests), he decided to adopt the technique by changing the beat and using a conversational delivery.

Music video

The music video, directed by Charles Stone III, opens with Q-Tip reciting the intro by asking Bonita questions, followed by little stick figure cartoon characters who see Bonita and chase after her. The group is seen walking and dancing. Q-Tip starts the first verse at a party. However, the group stops because a kid catches a baseball they were going to be hit with. The group stops again because they see a man playing a piano. Soon the kid who was playing baseball is seen dancing, and Q-Tip is behind a violet curtain trying to impress Bonita. The group is wearing helmets while cassette tapes are dropped on them, and the video ends with the group at the party with other people dancing.

Remixes

A popular "Why remix" was made, which heavily sampled the song "Why" by Carly Simon. Another remix was made in 1993, with a new beat and new lyrics. There is also a third remix titled "Bonita Applebum (Hootie Mix)" that samples The Isley Brothers' "Between the Sheets" and also has new lyrics. It was briefly featured in the film Poetic Justice, which coincidentally stars Q-Tip. In 2015, Pharrell Williams remixed the song for the 25th anniversary reissue of the debut album.

Samples

References in other songs

Charts