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- Date Released: July 30, 1996
- Genre: Hip-Hop/R&B
- Style: Rap
- Label: Jive
- Copyright: (P) 1996 Zomba Recording LLC
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We Say...
After three classics, ATCQ left the Native Tongues hip-hop collective behind, adding beat-prodigy Jay Dee to their production team (christened "The Ummah") and Q-Tip's cousin Consequence as a third rapper. Despite the promising title, the crew sounded defensive, the rhymes were sometimes overstuffed, and tracks like "Crew" and "Stressed Out" felt overly-literal. Exhausted and stretched thin, the cracks were beginning to show. Despite this, their sonics remained exquisite: aided by Dilla, the Ummah's work on songs like "1nce Again" and "Get a Hold" marked the beginnings of a blueprint for the rap and neo-soul undergrounds as the millennium neared.
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They Say...
With their fourth album Beats, Rhymes and Life, A Tribe Called Quest manages to be one of the few hip-hop acts to successfully age by pushing both their music and their lyrics into new directions. Stylistically, the record is closest to its immediate predecessor, Midnight Marauders, in the sense that the group's jazz-rap fusion are downplayed and the beat stays surprisingly hard throughout the album. What distinguishes Beats, Rhymes and Life from Marauders is a deeper sense not only of eclectism, but of spirituality and maturity. Shortly before the album was written and recorded, Q-Tip converted to Islam and the religion's ideals are an undercurrent in nearly every track on the album. But what really stands out is Tip's unease with the transience of the youth-oriented hip-hop scene and his own urges to settle down. Unlike most rappers, he confronts these feelings in the music, by writing lyrics and helping to create music that illustrates the contradictions of growing old with hip-hop. And by tackling the issue head-on, A Tribe Called Quest sound fresh and suggest that it is possible to sustain a career in rap as you approach a full decade of recording, after all.
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| 01. |  |
Phony Rappers |
3:35 |
|
| 02. | |
Get A Hold |
3:35 |
|
| 03. | |
Motivators |
3:20 |
|
| 04. | |
The Jam |
4:38 |
|
| 05. | |
Crew |
1:58 |
|
| 06. | |
The Pressure |
3:02 |
|
| 07. | |
1nce Again |
3:49 |
|
| 08. | |
Mind Power |
3:55 |
|
| 09. | |
The Hop |
3:27 |
|
| 10. | |
Keeping It Moving |
3:38 |
|
| 11. | |
Baby Phife's Return |
3:18 |
|
| 12. | |
Separate/Together |
1:38 |
|
| 13. | |
What Really Goes On |
3:23 |
|
| 14. | |
Word Play |
2:59 |
|
| 15. | |
Stressed Out |
4:57 |
|
15 Total Tracks, 51:12 Total Length
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Credits
- A Tribe Called Quest - Main Performer // Tammy Lucas - Performer // Ali Shaheed Muhammad - DJ // Bob Power - Mixing // Q-Tip - Vocals // Tony Smalios - Mixing // Pasemaster Mase - Scratching // Tom Coyne - Mastering // The Ummah - Producer // The Ummah - Mixing // Rashad Smith - Instrumental // Rashad Smith - Producer // Consequence - Vocals // Consequence - Vocals // Phife Dawg - Vocals
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Performers
A Tribe Called Quest featuring Faith Evans // A Tribe Called Quest featuring Tammy Lucas
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