Album: The Low End Theory
Artist: A Tribe Called Quest
Artist: A Tribe Called Quest
Born: Queens, New York
Released: September 1991
Genre: Hip Hop
Run DMC and Public Enemy may have been more revolutionary, but A Tribe Called Quest have always been my favourite hip hop group. Their first album showed their desire to tackle real issues, from public health (Public Enemy) to voting (Youthful Expression), while also putting out great singles like the mad Mexican road trip, I Left My Wallet In El Segundo, and the brilliant reworking of Lou Reed's Walk On The Wild Side, Can I Kick It? Tribe's first album didn't have the same success as that of their Native Tongues peers, notably De La Soul's 3 Feet High & Rising, but with follow-up The Low End Theory the group got its just rewards commercially and critically. Q-Tip was always the main creative force, but this album sees his high school friends Phife Dawg and Ali Muhammad step up their involvement. The fun, inventive wordplay between Q-Tip and Phife is just one reason why this is one of my most prized hip hop albums. I also like the fusion of jazz and rap, something that has its precursors in songs like Gil Scott-Heron's The Bottle, but here in the Tribe's hands it takes on a radical new form. They recruited jazz legend, Ron Carter, to play double bass on Verses From The Abstract, while one of the brilliant singles that the group released in 1991 -- Jazz (We've Got) -- features a sample of Green Dolphin Street by jazz saxophonist, Eli "Lucky" Thompson. Jazz (We've Got) is also one of the best representations of the Tribe's chilled, Afrocentric philosophy ("For we put hip hop on a brand new twist ... with a whole heap of mystic").
Phife is particularly impressive on Jazz (We've Got), with his freestyling ("competition them might come sideways") that reveals his Carribbean roots and love of Shabba Ranks. Tribe are dismissive of musical fads such as new jack swing, made famous by the likes of Bobby Brown, New Kids On The Block and Jodeci (I confess susceptibility to this musical fad in my early teens). Other contemporary references on the album include several to comedian Arsenio Hall, whose performance in Coming To America, alongside Eddie Murphy, was very memorable. Tribe raised their profile by performing on Arsenio's talk show. Q-Tip admits his indebtedness to Afrika Bambaata on Vibes and Stuff, while also referencing the band's roots in Queens, New York and paying tribute to hip hop peers who had died from illness (MC Trouble) or violence (Scott La Rock). Afrika Bambaata were a huge influence on Q-Tip and instrumental in setting up the meeting between Tribe and De La Soul that kickstarted the Native Tongues movement. One thing that makes The Low End Theory such an enjoyable listen is the spare production (often just minimal beats and keyboards over jazz samples) which, compared to the more intense sound of Public Enemy, allows the quality of the lyrics to shine. The opening two tracks, Excursions and Buggin' Out, make for a high-quality start to the album, while other highlights are Verses From The Abstract, Check The Rhime and Scenario, which announces the insane rapping style of Busta Rhymes to the world. Having revisited many of my most cherished hip hop albums in recent months, The Low End Theory remains the most essential of them all.
Run DMC and Public Enemy may have been more revolutionary, but A Tribe Called Quest have always been my favourite hip hop group. Their first album showed their desire to tackle real issues, from public health (Public Enemy) to voting (Youthful Expression), while also putting out great singles like the mad Mexican road trip, I Left My Wallet In El Segundo, and the brilliant reworking of Lou Reed's Walk On The Wild Side, Can I Kick It? Tribe's first album didn't have the same success as that of their Native Tongues peers, notably De La Soul's 3 Feet High & Rising, but with follow-up The Low End Theory the group got its just rewards commercially and critically. Q-Tip was always the main creative force, but this album sees his high school friends Phife Dawg and Ali Muhammad step up their involvement. The fun, inventive wordplay between Q-Tip and Phife is just one reason why this is one of my most prized hip hop albums. I also like the fusion of jazz and rap, something that has its precursors in songs like Gil Scott-Heron's The Bottle, but here in the Tribe's hands it takes on a radical new form. They recruited jazz legend, Ron Carter, to play double bass on Verses From The Abstract, while one of the brilliant singles that the group released in 1991 -- Jazz (We've Got) -- features a sample of Green Dolphin Street by jazz saxophonist, Eli "Lucky" Thompson. Jazz (We've Got) is also one of the best representations of the Tribe's chilled, Afrocentric philosophy ("For we put hip hop on a brand new twist ... with a whole heap of mystic").
Phife is particularly impressive on Jazz (We've Got), with his freestyling ("competition them might come sideways") that reveals his Carribbean roots and love of Shabba Ranks. Tribe are dismissive of musical fads such as new jack swing, made famous by the likes of Bobby Brown, New Kids On The Block and Jodeci (I confess susceptibility to this musical fad in my early teens). Other contemporary references on the album include several to comedian Arsenio Hall, whose performance in Coming To America, alongside Eddie Murphy, was very memorable. Tribe raised their profile by performing on Arsenio's talk show. Q-Tip admits his indebtedness to Afrika Bambaata on Vibes and Stuff, while also referencing the band's roots in Queens, New York and paying tribute to hip hop peers who had died from illness (MC Trouble) or violence (Scott La Rock). Afrika Bambaata were a huge influence on Q-Tip and instrumental in setting up the meeting between Tribe and De La Soul that kickstarted the Native Tongues movement. One thing that makes The Low End Theory such an enjoyable listen is the spare production (often just minimal beats and keyboards over jazz samples) which, compared to the more intense sound of Public Enemy, allows the quality of the lyrics to shine. The opening two tracks, Excursions and Buggin' Out, make for a high-quality start to the album, while other highlights are Verses From The Abstract, Check The Rhime and Scenario, which announces the insane rapping style of Busta Rhymes to the world. Having revisited many of my most cherished hip hop albums in recent months, The Low End Theory remains the most essential of them all.
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