It's 1990 and gangsta rap has all but taken over our genre. NWA pretty much ran and controlled the way hip-hop was viewed throughout America. Seemingly out of the blue, A Tribe Called Quest burst into the rap game talking about losing their wallets, the potential dangers of eating ham and eggs, and basically anything that didn't involve killing people. You have to have this in your mind if you want to appreciate this album.
After moderate success from The Jungle Brothers and De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest was the first Native Tongues group to gain national attention and have an impact on hip-hop. At the time, the group consisted of five members: rapper phife dawg, rapper/producer Q-tip, DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammed,and Jerobi. To my knowledge, all Jerobi did was show up at the recording sessions and make jokes to lighten the mood when Q-Tip was yelling at Phife Dawg. He left the group after their debut to follow his true calling: culinary school.
When the album dropped, critical reviews were polar opposite. The source, which was still respectable at the time, graced the tribe with the coveted 5-star rating. On the other hand, Rolling stones called it "the least danceable rap record ever." The majority of reviewers complained about the group trying to do too much. Honestly, at this time period no one really wanted to hear positive rapping. None of these reviews really mattered though, as the album went on to sell over half a million copies.
The majority of the production is taken care of by Q-tip, who is an absolute genius. Tip was able to take hip-hop and jazz and combine them to form a megagenre. All the instrumentals still sound great today and are a real highlight of the album. If you ever get bored, wikipedia any tribe album and appreciate the ridiculous amount of samples used in each song.
So will the album still hold up in 2013? There's only one way to find out.
1. Push It Along
Starts off with a weird, unneeded birth scene, but i'll let it slide. Both rappers introduce themselves over the q-tip beat. The song is good but it doesn't serve any real purpose other than introducing the rappers. The track is followed by a skit of Jerobi talking to an audience, that seems to take up twenty minutes. This is a continuing theme throughout the album that I highly advise you to skip.
2. Luck of Lucien
This is a personal favorite of mine. Q-tip tells the story of a french guy named Lucien that's made his way to America. The great beat is complemented by Q-tips perfect flow and storytelling.
3. After Hours
Not the most memorable song, but it kind of describes the tribe: just a bunch of friend making music and trying to have a good time.
4. Footprints
This is the best tip sounds on the the entire album. This is also my favorite instrumental on the album, so the track is just great.
5. I Left My Wallet In El Segundo
Stop what you're doing and go to youtube and watch the video made for this song. If it's not your favorite video you're wrong. The tracks develops Q-tip's storytelling, as he smoothly recalls his trip to El Segundo, where he loses something(I'll leave it up to you to figure out what he left).
6. Pubic Enemy
Yes, this is in fact a song about pubic lice, which was apparently an actual issue at this time period. Lyrics aside, Ali Shaheed Muhammeds instrumental is terrific.
7. Bonita Applebum
Plain and simple, A Tribe Called Quest wouldn't be a thing without this track. Released as a single, the tribe gave America a reason to care about them. Even as radio-friendly it was, any tribe fan will love this.
8. Can I Kick It
Another famous song here, "Can I Kick It" is even better than the previous track. All the extra samples and instruments thrown into this are really incredible. If you've got some time, just listen to the instrumental, it'll make you really appreciate the track.
9. Youthful Expressions
This track of the misfortune of following two of the tribes most famous songs. That doesn't mean this is a bad song at all, and its actually grown on me a bit. Tip's a little overshadowed by one of the better beats on the album. If you don't remember this track, give it another listen. It's kind of a hidden gem in their catalogue.
10. Rhythm (Devoted to the Art of Moving Butts)
This is a perfect example of the tribe trying to do too much. Not sure what they were going for but the results are an unmemorable, boring track that effectively ends the momentum created by the first half of the album.
11. Mr. Muhammad
Back in 1990, it was absolutely mandatory to include a track dedicated to your DJ, preferably towards the back half of the album. So, that about explains why this appears on the album. Nothin crazy here but phife does make his third appearance.
12. Ham & Eggs
Despite being a favorite of @TechJevans, this is just ridiculous. Tip and phife rhyme about their abstinence from ham and eggs because they're high in cholesterol. At the end you might be saying to yourself, "hey, for a track about vegetarianism, this isn't half bad." The tribe makes sure you don't stay happy for long, as they throw in a long ass Jerobi skit.
13. Go Ahead In The Rain
As "Ham & Eggs" was winding down, I was already writing the title of "Description of a Fool", and then this comes on. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this gem of a track. The combination of the beat and tips flow are as good as ever. This was just great.
14. Description of a Fool
So apparently this was actually released as the first single in 1989. In case you don't realize, this sounds nothing like "Bonita Applebum" or "Can I Kick It?". Thats probably because no one really likes this song and I just happen to agree. The track is listed as around five and a half minutes long, but I promise this instrumental lasts for another twenty minutes after the song end. I get the message they're trying to send, but I just wasn't feeling this.
Rating: 4/5
Ok, the tribe may have tried a little too hard on some of the tracks, but I'll never punish someone for being ambitious. If you've never listened to anything from this era, be prepared for an adventure because this is like nothing you've ever heard. With that being said, this is a very good album that could have been rated at 4.5 but falls short because of the latter half of the album. Also for all you huge Phife Dawg fans out there (I've never actually meet one but I'm sure they're out there somewhere), this is mostly the Q-tip show. Phife only appears around four time and sounds nowhere as good has he does on the later albums. I highly recommend you listen to this at least once. If you're bored with the current output of music, this will be a great refresher.