web analytics

Pop Rock Nation

Tag: A Tribe Called Quest

  • The Sunday Seven: Relax Yourself Girl, Please Settle Down

    Hey Folks, I’ve been asking for volunteers to put their iPods on shuffle and let me know what they’re listening to (in totally random fashion, of course), and lo and behold, somebody bit!

    Ladies & Gentlemen, coming straight out of the Jersey suburbs, here’s my boy Kyle, taking over the Sunday Shuffle from me. Kyle is a full-on hip-hop head, although he’s also enjoyed music by everyone from John Mayer to Ben Folds (which means that this is someone who has damn good taste in music similar tastes in music to mine). Take it away, Kyle!!

    Aight, since my iPod lacks a working skip button thanks to a dumb decision I once made to listen to it during a long walk during a rainy vacation day I was thinking about listening via iTunes, but decided I might as well just listen to it through my iHome. There are plenty of times I skip songs just to get to ones I wanna hear, so I am not doing that today.

    “Puppy Chow” – Common: Maybe it’s finally time I try to write a review of “Can I Borrow A Dollar?” (although one of these days I also have to do “One Day It’ll All Make Sense”.) I’m sure as of now there are plenty of people ready and willing to write an essay comprising 24 paragraphs about how and why Common has fallen off (even though I’m worried about his new album too) but I won’t go into detail about that right now, I’ll fight temptation. This song is fun and has a lot of Common’s hard-to-describe old style, but it’s definitely not as memorable as some of my favorite tracks on his debut.

    “Electric Relaxation” – A Tribe Called Quest: I’ve been meaning to pull out my copy of “The Low End Theory” for weeks (although I do think “Midnight Marauders” is better.) My opinion of this song is no different from any other big hip-hop head/Tribe fan, and it also has a classic Phife Dawg punchline, great stories from both emcees (I’m relistening to Q-Tip’s November solo album to see how much I like it) and I accidentally once found out the actual words they say in the chorus. There’s actually been a remake of the song by producer Marco Polo and J*Davey (that I thought wasn’t too good) and I think it’s also been sampled a few times in hip-hop songs as well. Probably the best song on their best album.


    “Mama Had A Baby And It’s Head Popped Off” – Atmosphere    : Not my favorite Atmosphere song (off my favorite Atmosphere album – their debut “Lucy Ford”.) It’s got some interesting lyrics from Slug regarding God and politics, but the beat is just sinister and not something I really like. I don’t know what else to say about this one…wish a better song from them came up here.


    “The Definition” – DJ Jazzy Jeff & Kel Spencer    : The emcee Kel Spencer (ed.: Isn’t Kel Spencer the dude who was on “All That” with Kenan Thompson back in the 90s?) raps over some pianos and DJ scratches here about observing the bad habits and trends perpetuated by wack emcees around him, and how he doesn’t like being overlooked by them. Jeff’s last album, “The Return of the Magnificent” was started off by lesser-known rappers like Kel (that has so far been the only time I’ve heard him) but still was one of 2007’s best, and perfect to listen to during a long-ass road trip (the album concept was that Jeff was forced to listen to the radio during a trip between Philly and Florida because there was no CD changer in his rent-a-car.)

    “Final Frontier” – Blueprint & RJD2    : I want Soul Position to release another album, and I also want to know whether or not it has been confirmed that RJD2 is no longer doing hip-hop producing. This is kind of a tough song to describe thanks to Blueprint’s unusual lyrics, which some people could say are obviously pretentious. Blueprint also needs to release another album – it’s been pushed back for years. He’s done better than this song, but it’s still enjoyable (although the best performance on “Deadringer”, RJ’s first album which this is on, is from Copywrite on “June”…but that’s another story.)

    Final Frontier – RJD2

    “American Dreamin” – Jay-Z: This song is kinda moody. Jay rhymes about trying his hardest in the New York grind he’s detailing, and he sounds good throughout the whole song (even though there are many other tracks I’d rather listen to from “American Gangster”.) Considering Nas and Kanye West dropped great albums I was really anxious about this year, hopefully Jay will next year.

    “Inherited Scars” – Sage Francis: Damn, had to end this on a depressing note. And I’ve been in a decent mood today so far too. He’s an easy artist to play when you want self-pity or are reflecting about your life’s misfortunes, but here he’s kinda vulnerable, talking about a secret his sister told him about a deadly habit of hers and is not sure what to do about the situation. The lyrics are fantastic as is the message, and he details what he’s feeling and what he expects his sister is feeling, hoping for empathy from her side. I’m gonna have to listen to some more happy music soon.

    Inherited Scars – Sage Francis

    There ya go, folks. Thanks Kyle, for sharing at least a portion of your music collection with us. Now that someone has thrown down the gauntlet. Anyone else wanna share? You know where to find me.

  • Q-Tip Returns To Maraud Your Eardrums Once More With The Renaissance

    In the 9 years since his solo debut, Amplified, former A Tribe Called Quest frontman Q-Tip has gone through some serious label issues. His planned second album, Kamaal the Abstract, was shelved by Arista Records right before its’ release for being uncommercial, while various other album titles and release dates have come and gone. Tip, meanwhile, has kept himself busy by working as a club DJ, occasionally hosting VH-1 specials, reuniting with his Tribe brethren for a couple of tours, and apparently dating Oscar-nominated actresses (see Kidman, Nicole) and pop divas (Jackson, Janet).

    Finally, The Renaissance, Tip’s long-awaited official sophomore effort, has arrived, and much to my surprise, it’s an excellent effort. After the blatantly club-centric sound of Amplified, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this album, but Q-Tip does an admirable job of keeping the album danceable while maintaining a left-of-center vibe that matches up admirably with some of Tribe’s best work. It’s an album befitting Tip’s status as a hip-hop elder statesman while not sounding “old-school”. Most importantly, Q-Tip remains true to himself, featuring not one concession to modern-day popular hip-hop and not even any guest rappers.

    One thing that makes The Renaissance special is that Tip did most of this album with a live band and produced almost every track on the album himself. The one notable exception is the propulsive Move, a track that’s sure to get people bumrushing the dance floor. Produced by the late J. Dilla, it reconstructs a Jackson 5 Dancing Machine sample until it’s rendered almost unrecognizable.

    More typical of The Renaissance‘s vibe is the first single Gettin’ Up, a sunny love song with an easygoing vibe. In addition to doing all of the rhyming on this album in his signature nasal voice, Tip also sings most of the choruses on this album and has a pretty serviceable singing voice. He won’t blow you away with his emcee skills, but his rapping has always been more about vibe than “oh sh*t, did you hear what he just said??”.

    Other highlights on The Renaissance include Dance on Glass, on which Tip references his own high-water mark Midnight Marauders and then creates a song that would have fit perfectly on that landmark album. The mellow We Fight/Love features Raphael Saadiq on vocals and is more immediate to me than anything on Raphael’s current The Way I See It album. Tip is at his lyrical best here, dedicating a verse to a couple in romantic tumult while his second verse turns political, discussing the conflict of a soldier. Life is Better is Tip’s tribute to hip-hop history. Tip shouts out just about every important rapper over a funk-laced groove and a chorus by Norah Jones, who appears to be channeling her former classmate Erykah Badu on this song. Either that, or I didn’t realize how similar the two sounded until now.

    The Renaissance‘s emotional center is the album’s final track, Shaka. Tip pays tribute to his deceased friends (and his deceased father) without sounding mournful. It’s the type of celebratory send-off that most folks hope they’re sent into the next lifetime with.

    There’s not one bad track on The Renaissance, although one would hope that after 9 years, enough good material would be amassed to make a good album, right? Q-Tip serves us with a pleasant surprise here, making an album that harkens back to the glory days of A Tribe Called Quest (although Phife Dawg’s presence is missed) with a contemporary flair. It’s good enough to wipe the bad taste of Tip’s solo debut out of any listener’s mouth, and goes a long way towards restoring the good name of a hip-hop icon.

  • Friday Throwback – Scenario

    Q-Tip just released a new album and I figured it was time to make an old Tribe record the Throwback.

    I was just 15 years old and heard a track called Check The Rhime. I was floored. I had no idea who A Tribe Called Quest, affectionately now know to me as simply Tribe, was. They were three guys who created this sound of rap music that was very jazzy and soulful. Q-Tip had this helium sounding voice and Phife Dawg called himself the Five Footer. DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad rounded out the group. But it wasn’t until I heard a track called Scenario that I really started to understand the difference between what was good and bad in rap music. The posse cut featured another group called Leaders Of The New School (LONS) and it was just insane. It also made Busta Rhymes and he probably owes his career to it. Scenario made me wish I could rap.

    – Did you know that Bo knows this, and Bo knows that, but Bo don’t know jack, cause Bo can’t rap?
    – Phife knew were he stood as he calls himself, “short, dark, and handsome”.
    – Check out Reggie Noble smiling.
    – Wow, how, now, wow, how, now brown cow?
    – You understand the time frame when the references are Bo Jackson and Arsenio.
    – Spike Lee looks absolutely no different 17 years later, except I’m not sure if he still wears the X hat.
    – Q-Tip is my man but I may never fully forgive him for slobbin’ down Janet Jackson in Poetic Justice. Tupac could get it, but not Q-Tip.
    – I don’t understand anything Busta says, but when you’re most well known for the line, “Rahhh rahhh like the dungeon dragon,” does it even matter?
    – Young Busa Bus had mad charisma and also lacked the extra 100 pounds Busa Bus carries today.
    – “Checkady-choco, the chocolate chicken.” Whenever you have a chocolate chicken, life is good.
    – What’s up with the crazy hand signals Q?

    I know that people say that Midnight Marauders is THE CLASSIC Tribe album. Yes, it’s great. But it doesn’t have Scenario on it. And to me, that’s their signature song and that’s why I can never go against The Low End Theory. Will they ever get back together and record again? Who knows, but even if they don’t, I’ll just throw this track on once a month and be fine.