Disco de A Tribe Called Quest: “Midnight Marauders”

First things first; Midnight Marauders is an impeccable Masterpiece that contributed to the growing brilliance of one of the best years in HipHop (1993). Now, over the years it has become evident to me that A Tribe Called Quest's work is constantly being compared! WHY?. It is always debated as to whether "Low End Theory" is better than "People's instinctive travels & the paths of rhythm" or indeed "Midnight Marauders", but this ignorant question is not possible to answer since each tribe album offers something different each time, ensuring each fan to have their personal favourite. So GET OFF THAT ISH!. Now personally, Midnight Marauders I believe is ATCQ's most diverse and satisfying album they ever put out, purely down to the fact that each track offers its own unique sound that ensures any hiphop fan will find their "favourite track" will be constantly changing. Incase you are not familiar with ATCQ's music, it is mainly made up of an East Coast, jazzy/conscious ,laid back vibe not really ideal for fans of Gangsta rap of hard-hitting drum patterns that occupied the majority of 1993-1994. Q-tip posesses one of the most laid back voices in hiphop, so if you're looking for a rugged/dark album, sorry you will not find it here. Similarly, you will not find one weak track on this album, every track can be listened to somewhere, sometime resulting in an amazingly consistent album that can be played from track 1-15 leaving you wanting to hit the rewind button. "Electric Relaxation" is considered to be one of the best Hiphop songs of all time, let alone the Tribe's best and is worth the price of the album alone. "Steve Biko" sets the album off nicely, with addictive horns accompanied by Q Tip's and Phife's catchy flows its a sure thing. Then, leading on to replayable classics like "Award Tour", "8 Million Stories" and "Oh My God" you will find yourself constantly being suprised with greatness. "Keep it Rollin'" produced by and featuing Large Professor is nothing short of amazing, as would be expectable from a line up so mind-blowing. All in All, Midnight Marauders is not just for Hiphop Fans, fans of any genre (especially jazz/funk/soul) will find this album to be amongst their favourites as Tribe Called quest incorporate a variety of different sounds/instruments into their music. Give this a listen, and come on a journey into one of the best hiphop albums in history. You will find you may have stumbled across a personal favourite. PEACE

Lyrics - 10/10

Beats - 10/10

Replay Value - 10/10

Style - 10/10

X Factor - 10/10 Nothing less than amazing

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Midnight Marauders is the followup to A Tribe Called Quest's hip-hop masterpiece The Low End Theory. Rather than playing it safe and making another mostly upbeat release, Midnight Marauders takes the act in a darker direction with more emphasis on bass lines and jazz horns. Q-Tip and Phife Dawg continue to trade lines flawlessly on the excellent tracks "Electric Relaxation", "Steve Biko (Stir It Up)", and "Award Tour." Deep funky bass lines are upfront with the rhymes on "Sucka Nigga", "Keep It Rollin'", and "Oh My God" which features Busta Rhymes. Although "Oh My God" doesn't hit as hard as "Scenario", their previous collaboration with Busta, it's still a strong track. Even when the duo decides to go solo as Phife and Q-Tip do on the brooding "8 Million Stories" and "Midnight" respectively, the results are just as impressive. Other great tracks include "Clap Your Hands", "Lyrics To Go", and "God Lives Through." Their raps continue to be among the best in the genre. I mean who else, except maybe the Beastie Boys, could include people from completely different walks of life such as Mr. Belvedere, Robert DeNiro, Vinny Testaverde, and Rollo Lawson in their rhymes? Although there is extensive sampling used throughout, it's from mostly obscure tracks that only a die-hard old school R&B fan would pick up on. This is a refreshing change from other popular rappers at the time, most notably rappers Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, where all you have to do is pick up a best of Parliament album to see where they got their ideas. All told, while this isn't an all out classic like The Low End Theory, it's still a great album that should be a part of every hip-hop fan's collection. Highly recommended.

one of my all time favorite rap albums. the beats are effortlessly funky, jazzy, and hardcore. they have a warm, mesmerising style that perfectly suits phife and q tips dynamic rhymes. true classic.

Quite simply the best hip hop alblum I have ever heard. This is what made me start listening to hip hop and rap.

This was an album that I went thru multiple packs of batteries to keep it playing in my walkman back in '93-94 time. I can honestly say that every track on this album has its own presence that at some point of time- made me love each and every song. The chemistry with ATCQ was unmatched at that time and can never be overlooked. My top picks from this classic are: "Electric Relaxation", "Oh My God", "8 Million Stories", "God Lives Through", "Keep It Rollin'" and "Lyrics To Go". This is ATCQ's best work to me out of their 5 album releases. Buy it now!!!!