Part 6: The Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest
Where to start with A Tribe Called Quest? One of the most influential hip hop collectives of all time, claiming a back catalogue chock full of certified classic albums. If you’ve never heard the name before you will probably be familiar with their early, Lou Reed sampling, “Can I Kick It?” or at the very least, heard of founding member, Q-Tip. After a little deliberation, for MTDTB I’ve chosen the 1991 sophmore album, The Low End Theory.
Featuring 14 tracks from Q-Tip, Phife Dawg and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (founding member Jarobi left to be a successful chef), The Low End Theory builds on the success of the Tribe’s debut LP, People’s Instinctive Travels and Paths of Rhythm, while adding a slightly more gritty edge to the familiar funk laced, boom-bap production. Personal favourites Butter and Jazz show what the Tribe are about; clever story telling about city life that goes hand in hand with soaring jazz samples and kicking beats. Final track, Scenario, breaks the mould and is a hard hitting New York posse cut, featuring some of the best back and forths recorded on wax, between the Tribe and Leaders of the New School. The last word is left to LONS member, a young Busta Rhymes, who wraps things up with a trademark energetic verse.
The cover art features a red and green figure who went on to appear on the following two albums, Midnight Marauders and Beats, Rhymes & Life, becoming synonymous with A Tribe Called Quest’s Native Tongue outlook. The figure also graced various single and compilation artwork and will probably be seen a lot more again due to the upcoming release of Michael Rapaports new documentary about ATCQ entitled Beats, Rhymes & Life.
