Beats Rhymes And Life - A Tribe Called Quest

Track listing:

1. Phony Rappers
2. Get a Hold
3. Motivators
4. Jam
5. Crew
6. The Pressure
7. 1nce Again f/Tammy Lucas
8. Mind Power
9. The Hop
10. Keeping It Moving
11. Baby Phife’s Return
12. Separate/Together
13. What Really Goes On
14. Word Play
15. Stressed Out f/Faith Evans

This is not ...
...Phife and Ali Shaheed Mohammed should be able to find a few morsels for their ears to chew on for a while.

The group came to prominence in the Hip Hop boom of the early 90’s (hang on - when was Hip Hop not booming?) though they may well have been around a bit before then. Famously friends with the hugely talented De La Soul and Black Sheep (an underrated, lesser-known group), all three to varying degrees shared a philosophy ... more

Track listing:

1. Phony Rappers
2. Get a Hold
3. Motivators
4. Jam
5. Crew
6. The Pressure
7. 1nce Again f/Tammy Lucas
8. Mind Power
9. The Hop
10. Keeping It Moving
11. Baby Phife’s Return
12. Separate/Together
13. What Really Goes On
14. Word Play
15. Stressed Out f/Faith Evans

This is not A Tribe Called Quest’s greatest album, but fans of Q-Tip, Phife and Ali Shaheed Mohammed should be able to find a few morsels for their ears to chew on for a while.

The group came to prominence in the Hip Hop boom of the early 90’s (hang on - when was Hip Hop not booming?) though they may well have been around a bit before then. Famously friends with the hugely talented De La Soul and Black Sheep (an underrated, lesser-known group), all three to varying degrees shared a philosophy for a more intelligent style of Hip Hop.

Conscious lyrics about unusual subjects were the order of the day, and came like a breath of fresh Daisy scented air through the movement. All three groups seemed really push the envelope using this style, With 5 classic albums - by my standards and counting anyway - being produced in the space of a few short years.

(These being: “3 Feet high and rising”, “De la Soul is dead” – De la soul. “A wolf in sheep’s clothing” – Black sheep, “The Low end theory”, “Midnight marauders” – A tribe Called Quest.). If you disagree with this let me know what you think!

You’ll notice perhaps that the album I am reviewing is not on this list. Not only was it released a little later on, but there is a stronger reason for it's omittance. Quite simply it does not cut the mustard. Glimmers of hope poke through and a few tracks - “The Hop”,“Phony Rappers” and “Stressed out” are at the level of the former albums, but this LP never quite achieves the giddy heights of previous records.

Why is this? Well, the production values on this LP were shared between ATCQ. Previously the mixing desk being driven by Shaheed alone. Production values remain tight throughout though, and there is never a real slip up but perhaps a few mistakes were made here regarding the conception of records, too many cooks over this particular broth.

Other Quest tunes often seem to have a jazzy, summery feel about them, and there is a departure from this style on this album. Overall I wouldn’t say though that there is anything wrong with how the songs are built. Perhaps then it’s the lyrical content that lets down this record.

ATCQ seemed at about this time to move a little more towards the more commercial style, this is evident in their later stuff and the solo work of Q-Tip when after group split. It also shows up here. Perhaps it’s just a consequence of living the high roller's lifestyle from the age of 19 that did it.

Anyway this is turning into a bit of a history lesson. Forget it, just suffice to say that there is definite feel of machismo from much of the song’s lyrical content, songs about player-haters (people envious and resentful over success) or the high life and hanging out at clubs drinking champagne etc

All in all it seems to be a combination of the lyrics lacking a bit of weight to them, and the tunes not being quite as catchy as on the earlier ATCQ albums that seem to make this a little substandard. If I were pressed to give it marks out of ten, I’d have to say this is about 6.5 on the scale. Worth buying, at the normal price of about £12 (just) but certainly one to listen to before you part with your hard-earned cash, unless you are obsessed by ATCQ – in which case you probably wouldn’t need this review in the first place.
 

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