Disco de A Tribe Called Quest: “Beats, Rhymes and Life”

I believe this was the last true Tribe album. The Love Movement didn't exactly seem like the way they should go out to me. This album reminds me of high school and being down the shore. I can't even explain to you the way I used to zone out to "Get a Hold", an overlooked track on this album. The rhymes are slick, as is to be expected from Q and Phife - and the tracks are all soulful and creatively constructed. 1nce Again was the single off this album and it really captured the Tribe sound as it had developed over time.

A solid effort from one of the greatest hip hop groups of all time.

A Tribe Called Quest's (Q-Tip, Phife, Ali Shaheed Muhammad) fourth album was "Beats, Rhymes & Life" (1996). Following the release of three albums I consider classics ATCQ dropped this solid fifteen-track release after a three-year hiatus. Jay Dee (R.I.P.) teamed up with Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhamammad for "The Ummah" and helped with production on this release. My favourite track on this one is "Stressed Out", ATCQ and Faith Evans collaborate for an outstanding track. Faith Evans really impressed me on this cut, her soulful singing is excellent. Backed by some sick production ATCQ shine on cuts like "Jam", "1nce Again" and "What Really Goes On". Overall their is a notable change in production (more hard, less upbeat) and lyrics, less Jazz oriented cuts (the type I love), and more serious lyrics in my opinion. I don't consider "Beats, Rhymes & Life" to be among ATCQ's best work, it does however have some memorable moments, and some impressive production, which makes it a keeper for any big ATCQ fan. A Tribe Called Quest 1988-1998.

I would have given this album 2 1/2 stars in 1996, and been happy about it. I remember it vividly. It was July, and I was jonesing for the Quest to follow up to their masterpiece "Midnight Marauders" released a little less than three years earlier. I stepped into the store on cloud 9, and returned home as quickly as I could to pop this in......and what I got was about an hour of disappointment. I just wasn't prepared for this kind of shift. This album was nowhere near as beautiful as any of their previous work. I held them to such a high standard, that anything less than astonishment was unacceptable. This was a dense, nuanced album, that showed that the mid 90's Quest was not the early 90's Quest. It's bass heavy, linear production resembles some of the things to come a few years later from second wave alterna-rap juggernauts, The Roots, and Common.

This may not be their best, but it's still an excellent album. The wordplay between Phife, and Q-Tip was still almost telepathic, and while the feel of easiness was gone, song to song was not a difficult listen. There was also extremely pure reminders of why Quest was so loved in the first place (ie "The Jam", and "1nce Again") Those songs rank among the best of anything in their catalog. Songs like: "Phony Rappers"(an excellent battle rap) "Get A Hold", "Motivators", "What Really Goes On, and "Word Play" represent some of the best work in their post-peak period. This album also showcases some of the best work of The Ummah production unit, which consisted of Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and Jay-Dee.

The album closes with "Stressed Out" a surprising collaboration with Faith Evans that doesn't elate or disappoint (the album version would later be outdone by an excellent maxi featuring remixes by Bjork, and so on). What's so surprising, is that so many artists used this album as a semi-blueprint, slightly tweaking it's formulas, and applying them to their sound. "Beats, Rhymes, and Life" almost had the same impact on late 90's hip hop as "The Low End Theory" had on early 90's hip hop, which really says something about this record. The truth is, this record should probably have been released 3 years later minus a song or two. This record's successor "The Love Movement" was a direct reaction to the reception this record was given. The ironic thing is, it's predecessor holds up better 10 years out.

Tribe is probably one of my favorite groups, because they got rhymes that are on beat, can be understood easily( I still like nonsense freestyle, but Tribe is different), their beats and tracks always sound cool, and even though popular worldwide, they aren't being overplayed by the radio. I try to stay away from mainstream, simply because I know there's got be more real hip-hop than what the media is putting out. Anyways, this album one of the best of the five, even though they have matured in beats and rhymes. Forget the bad reviews because you know the Tribe is always good. Practically all the songs on this CD are tight. The best tracks are 'Phony Rappers','Motivators', 'Baby Phife's Return', 'Jam','1nce Again'(the best beat on the whole CD), and 'Stressed Out'. I would have given the CD 4 1/2 stars, because the only problem is that the CD is too short(51 min.). Otherwise, this CD's pretty tight. Also, if you don't have any of Tribe's LP's, try to get Midnight Marauders first(the best Tribe Album!)

I've been told from many sources that this album and the love movement were produced nearly 98% percent by Dilla. With another 2% of it overseen and executive produced by Tip and Ali. It Makes perfect sense because it sounds nothing like the first 3 albums. And if you know your production at all, this sounds like 100% Dilla, and if you can't hear him, I judge your knowledge of rap production. The drums are unmistakable, and the background ambience and detail is exactly the sounds that he utilized to re-define hip hop in the late 90's and early 00's. Listen to this, then to Commons LWFC, His tracks with the roots, and his other stones throw productions. Unmistakeable if you ask me, and the sooner you figure this out, the sooner you realize how much of a genius Tip was for discovering this cat and giving him the full creative power to do what he does best, and how much of a time capsule this album really is. BTW, did I mention the rhymes are incredible?