Where it all began. These guys are the reason I invented this blog. A Tribe Called Quest are definitely a contender for the founders of alternative hip-hop. Members Q-Tip, Brother Ali & Phife Dawg were among the first to incorporate a new jazz swing in their records. The group along with De La Soul were the co-founders of the 'Native Tongue Posse', a group of artists with the similar jazzy style. They were also tied to the 'Universal Zulu Nation', founded by AfrikaBambaata.
The pioneers of this genre, coming from Queens, would soon release People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. As you can tell, i named my blog after this album as it was the first major release of the genre and is still said to have kick started the genres popularity in the underground sector at the time. Along with funky bass grooves, casual jazz samples and overall fusion of two styles, The Tribe were guaranteed a following as they style was unheard of. You had your Roger Troutman's & of course Grandmaster and the Furious 5 back in the day who messed around with funk, yet jazz samples were never incorporated into hip-hop. The style would later influence Guru who released two albums by the name of Jazzmatazz-A Fusion of hip-hop and live jazz.
The fresh laid back beats which were to come from the Tribe were instantly regarded as underground classics by they're followers. Accompanied by soulful & unrestrained vocals, the tracks were guaranteed to blow up. Already having hits in 'Can I Kick It?' & 'Bonita Applebum', success on their second album The Low End Theory was to follow. Pop Matters music editor stated the following on the album; "Anything really worth writing about is nearly indescribable; that's the conundrum of writing about music. Any 30-second snippet of The Low End Theory will go further to convince of the album's greatness than anything I can write. I could easily write an entire book on this one album and still feel like I've hardly said anything. Still, I could do worse things with my time than try to capture even an iota of the enthusiasm I feel each time Iplay this album. The Low End Theory is a remarkable experience, as aesthetically and emotionally rewarding as any work of music I can think of." -Dave Heaton
It just kept on coming with Midnight Marauders & Beats, Rhymes and Life, bringing classic tracks such as 'Award Tour' to life. Their last album The Love Moment was the signal of their split. They went on solo ventures yet were never as recognised alone as they were together, although Q-Tip had some very successful solo album releases. Il finish my post by stating that I want Tribe Called Quest to do a world tour more than anything. I would love to see the boys from Queens kick it one last time. Il leave you with a few of my favourite Tribe tracks. Pay attention to their subtle use of jazzy snippets, cuts & funky bassgrooves. peace.
Jazz (We've Got)-A Tribe Called Quest
Relax Yourself-A Tribe Called Quest
Bonita Applebum-A Tribe Called Quest
Check The Rhyme-A Tribe Called Quest
Buddy (12" Remix)-A Tribe Called Quest ft. De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, Queen Latifa & Moonie Love
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