FTC: A Tribe Called Quest
I know I’m new here and don’t mean to rock the boat too much with bringing up hip hop, but when I think about a record that deserves to be taken from the shelf and dusted off, I always default to A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory. The Low End Theory is quickly coming up on its nineteenth anniversary, which shows two things: 1. I am getting old and 2. This record truly is timeless. The meshing of the larger than life drum loops, the smooth upright bass, and the honey soaked rhymes of Q-Tip and Phife Dawg makes you feel like you are listening to something from the past, present and future. If you will allow me to go a little “get off my lawn” for a moment I feel blessed to have known hip hop when it was at this stage; where groups like The Tribe and De La Soul turned these cold elements into a vital artifact. Pop Matters music editor David Heaton wrote, “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’ll give you four minutes with A Tribe Called Quest’s “Vibes and Stuff”.
Michael-
I think I’m the only other one that’s ever mentioned hip-hop on the site:
https://austintownhall.com/2009/06/04/from-the-closet-deltron-3030/
So yes, good called with Tribe. So many good songs to choose from on Low End Theory. I think I’d have to go with “Jazz (We’ve Got)” if I had to choose. Soundtrack to many-a house party in college.
q tip at H.O.B. in Dallas was one of the better shows i saw in 2008.
Good stuff, and i don’t even really know the catalog. Live band, long set, songs and verses instead of extraneous waving of hands in the ayer.
the Cool Kids opened.
“You know what I really hate about a rap show? You ever been to a rap concert? Too many damn instructions. Everybody got to do something….. Put your hands in the air! ….
Mother-Fucker I paid $38.50. You put your hands in the air. You ain’t gonna work my ass half to death. I came here to enjoy the show, I don’t wanna help out.”
-Steve Harvey