best tribe called quest album

too obv

wish it wasn't true, but it is too obv

too obv

― The Reverend, Friday, January 30, 2009 12:40 AM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

midnight marauders

midnight marauders

midnight marauders

― eman, Thursday, January 29, 2009 9:55 PM (20 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

midnight marauders

― sam500, Thursday, January 29, 2009 10:11 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

so obvs

midnight marauders

― eman, Friday, January 30, 2009 12:55 AM (28 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

midnight marauders

― sam500, Friday, January 30, 2009 1:11 AM (12 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

midnight marauders

― eman, Thursday, January 29, 2009 9:55 PM (20 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

midnight marauders

― sam500, Thursday, January 29, 2009 10:11 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

― ☺♑ (joygoat), Friday, January 30, 2009 1:16 AM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

are you kidding? instinctive travels by a landslide!

can I just call this as 60% low end, 30% mm, 10% long-ass title, and a challop or two?

Why did dude even put the last two as options

can I just call this as 60% low end, 30% mm, 10% long-ass title, and a challop or two?

― The Reverend, Friday, January 30, 2009 12:35 AM (30 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

did u read the thread ???

i voted 'low end'

of course the mm fans are going to be more vocal

i'm surprised at this. i thought ..LOW END had a huge fan base. the radio links make it MM for me. it's a pain-in-the-arse on most albums when they do that (hello Basement Jaxx) but it works great there.

eh, I never really notice the interludes on jaxx stuff, but it's pretty annoying on mm

Beats Rhymes and Life as well as love Movement are way underrated. BR&L in particular was a record i couldn't stop playing when it came out. It is dark, dense and world weary though- they had defintiely left the 'Daisy age' behind at this point. I can't decide between this and Low End theory. Love Movement is quite different from the rest of their catalogue sure but turn those songs up and they thump as good as anything. Tribe stuck to their theory and they really did have such grat low ed on all their records.

Didn't J Dilla have a hand in the last two?

love movement.

BRL is the only one that really sucks.

MM is great but I gotta rep for Low End, which might've been the first rap album I ever really loved.

Low End.

went straight through low end yesterday and I'm not quite sure why it got such high marks. beats were kind of weak, even compared to rhymes, beats, and life. lyrically, it's probably the best one, though.

so yeah, marauders.

"I'm a midnight marauder, stick a q-tip in your pussy, that's my low-end theory"

The Low End Theory, easy.

....though "Stephen Biko" is my favorite Tribe song.

"I'm a midnight marauder, stick a q-tip in your pussy, that's my low-end theory"

― "Buri" Al Yankovich (Dom Passantino), Friday, January 30, 2009 10:06 AM (22 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

"i sat on her speakerboxxx, she gave me the love below"

Midnight Marauders > Beats, Rhymes and Life > Low End Theory > People's Instinctive... > Love Movement

BRL is really unfairly maligned. Low End Theory is good but I only really enjoy a few songs from it.

Sometimes I'd swear Midnight Marauders is my favorite album ever.

I'd put people's instinctive higher than low end, even.

bsl's still fourth place for me, though.

low end theory no contest

doesn't hit mm's highs but its consistently good throughout

Hoos OTM

am almost tempted to vote for the first album cuz i used to zone to that but it's low end theory

I voted for the first album, which I've loved since it came out. Plus, shit, "Can I Kick It?"

The world will always say Low End, but really, Low End is uneven. It's just 1991 was teh suck in Hip-Hop, and Low End was extremely needed.

Marauders is the best listen that has also aged well.

And the Beats...Life hates can suck only one testicle. There're some good songs on it. Same for Love Movement.

what are these so-called low points of Low End Theory

It's not low points. Just 1 part 1990, and opne part 19992. Uneven.

WHO FUCKING CARS IT'S GOING TO WIN DUH

Low End gave Hip-Hop direction, frankly. Breaking Atoms, Future w/o a Past, and Don't Sweat the Technique were all a distant 2nd aiding in the 1990-1992 transition.

i'm in the 10% PITATPOR

breaking atoms mad overrated otm

imo rather

"had to be there, blah blah blah"

People need to remember the impact Andre Harrell had on Hip-Hop, and the "keep it real" campaign that immediately followed. Keep it real became mass in 1992. Harrell uprooted shit around 1990 (anyone remember LL's "B-Man" campaign that year?). Low End was instrumental in that transition.

When asked why the LONS/Tribe collab, they were both like, "we're doing the same thing and moving in the same direction in this time, but we really don't know each other." Extra P of course, taught by Paul C (who I'm nearly 100% convinced developed the 45rpm+8 SP1200 formula that became industry standard until the MPC60II took root), and Extra P went on to produce a little for Eric B & Rakim and Tribe within that short span.

Onyx, YBT, Flavor Unit, etc followed immediately in their wake.

nah fuck that breaking atoms is dope & i was 8 when that shit dropped

granted i have a shitty copy prob but all the beats sound tinny as shit

Sorry dudes. I'll shut up. Just that this thread hits home since Front Door was today's jam, and I got to thinking about how this was a weird time in Hip-Hop (2nd only to how weird 1985 was).

but even like vs. critical beatdown i don't think breaking atoms stands up but dudes talk about it in hushed tones and shit

i also dont get it at all when folks say theres low points on 'low end theory' or its inconsistent -- note im not responding to pappawheelie's criticism here since his is making a different point, that its inconsistent in the way the chronic is (all the songs are great some are more dated than others) -- maybe this is too much 'chiefing while listening to bob marley'-type criticism but i cant think of a record i can put on w/ such a consistent vibe & song-for-song pound-for-pound quality like low end

like, im more likely to put midnite marauders tracks on a mixtape for somebody, but im more likely to put on LET and just zone from beginning to end

Personal top

1- People's instinctive
2- M.M
3- Beats Rhymes
4- Low End
5- Love

Other than the few classic Low End tracks I've always preferred BR&L over Low End even for all the bullshit and bad stuff that obviously surrounds it, and not ignoring the fact that the album was a disappointment, and all the other stuff that was wrong with it (consequence).

But Dilla's production on Beats Rhymes and Life was so damn NICE. The togetherness of the group was shot but it didn't imo make it a bad album.

People's instinctive as 1 because it is their best beats wise to me, Low End was a bit of a down turn in creativity in many ways. MM brought it back up.

ha

Interesting in the doc they said they felt maybe Low End wasn't creative or weird enough compared to debut during recording, but then people loved it more than the first. RIP chris lighty. Only thing missing out the doc as far i could tell was omission of Qtip conversion to Islam around time of MM release. From an interview on Rap City I remember from the time, that whole thing seemed to cause a big schism with Phife, not wanting to convert, and Tip being his insensitive, pushy self on the whole situation with Phife. Tip didn't come off so well in the doc but probably a lot better than reality. Not that he's bad, just aloof and controlling, but at the same time he's genuine in being all about the group and each other, yet also selfish and insensitive. I think that's why that doc is so interesting to watch, even for non-fans, the nonmonochromatic personalities of people and relationships that in this case both made the group so great but also meant it was impossible for it to last.

everything prob wldve gone smoother if they had a more accurate name like q-tip featuring phife

HIP HOP FACTS ‏@OnlyHipHopFacts 50m50 minutes ago
On this day in 1993, A Tribe Called Quest released their third album Midnight Marauders.

Nah, these are the best albums.

We Got It from Here… really is very durable. Might even be my most played 'new' album of recent years.

to me, midnight marauders feels so much better than the low end theory...but i guess i wasn't there at the time

kinda agree w Alfred's rankings - the comeback album is a stunning achievement, I can't think of any other act that pulled off something like that

a lot of comeback albums are good but they're sort of pushed into a more elevated classic album position just because the quality is surprising vs other comebacks, but WGIFH is the genuine article.

can't think of a better one

agreed (yet I still find myself skipping some tracks, which I don't do with Low End or MM really)

yeah it's great but not better than MM

As much as I love WGIFH…, the usual consensus still stands imho.

kinda agree w Alfred's rankings - the comeback album is a stunning achievement, I can't think of any other act that pulled off something like that

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, January 22, 2019 10:44 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

a lot of comeback albums are good but they're sort of pushed into a more elevated classic album position just because the quality is surprising vs other comebacks, but WGIFH is the genuine article.

― omar little, Tuesday, January 22, 2019 11:04 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Mission of Burma is the closest

“Bonita Applebum” presages nothing except perhaps a Brand Nubian track.

I don't get this? is there a BN track that flips that sample?

I still think BR&L is underrated, mostly cos I guess I'm one of two people on this board who stan for Consequence, but yeah, it's a much darker piece. "Stressed Out" is a heavy jam though.

I feel like maybe Marauders is the easier gateway if you didn't listen to these sequentially when they came out (as I didn't), but Low End Theory just has way more quotables to me, not to mention the jazz fusion is better and those bass lines, ka-damn.

but....that's no knock on Marauders, which is just consistent start to finish. like Alfred said upthread, "Steve Biko" is my fav from MM - actually heard it blasting out of someone's car in the parking lot of a Pizzeria Uno once, knew who it was (cos I knew Phife from Shaq's albums lol), and next day bought Low End Theory (I had no idea which one Biko was on, so I just bought at random).

man, the one time I saw them live, shoulda seen the place go nuts when they launched right into "Buggin' Out", first song.

otm on all fronts, i reckon-

br+l is severely underrated, mm is overrated (but still v classic), and let cannot be topped.

rad you got to see them!

yeah, I about flipped when I saw the announcement and think I bought tix the second they went on sale.

And now theur last album competes.

i need to spend more time with it. absolutely loved the few listens I had, but had a series of concerts around that time so spent most of that month listening to those bands back to back.

imo what people on this thread keep bringing up about low end theory is it's weakness. sure you can "put on LET and just zone from beginning to end" (as deej put it) but that's because it all sounds like one song. by about halfway through i always feel like i'm being suffocated by walking upright bass lines

iirc i voted for midnight marauders but also prefer people's instinctive travels to low end theory. it's not as consistently good as mm imo but it's got all of my favorite tribe tracks ("footprints", "after hours", "rhythm")

award tour!

I skip around so damn much with People's.

i'd rank their catalogue as follows:

1. low end theory
2. beats, rhymes, + life
3. people's instinctive travels and the paths of rhythm
4. midnight marauders
5. we got it from here
6. the love movement

that said, they're all 5 mics, except the last two (which are still stupidly consistent).

xp "electric relaxtion" is probably my favorite from mm but that whole stretch from "award tour" through "oh my god" is incredible

yep

and I never hear anyone praise "The Chase Pt. II."

The Low End Theory
Midnight Marauders
We Got It From Here
Beats
People's Instinctive
The Love Movement

Midnight Marauders was the first one I bought, and the one I've listened to the most, and I still think about lines from it almost every day, so it's impossible for me not to think of it as the best

I love LES as an of a piece LP, but MM has some strong standalone cuts.

(Then there’s the rest.)

I’m only really familiar with LET and MM. prefer the former by a long shot. I also saw them live on the MM tour

"scenario">>>>>>>anything on midnight marauders

People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm deserved more than six votes.

LET
People's
MM
Thank U 4 Yr Service
Beats Rhymes
The Love Movement

They're all at least solid, the top 4 full of genius and brilliance, the bottom two still swimming in substance and joy. That remix album that followed People's was fab as well.

I do love People's so much, miss the boho black hippie vibes they evolved away from

I might be chalopping here but I might be We Got it From Here over MM

I got no beef with anyone claiming the last album's their best.

The Love Movement could indeed be their least great LP, but I prefer "Find a Way" to nearly all their singles

That single's a candidate for the Worst Album With One of the Act's Greatest Songs thread.

Have always loved 4 Moms off The Love Movement.

that's the thing with love movement- it's very hit and miss, but the highlights hang *easily* with their best material. it was a controp for many years (at least in hiphop circles) to even concede that "find a way" was a solid jam. moral of the story: alfred otm, snobbery is stupid.

That remix album that followed People's was fab as well.

― his cartoon heart expands, then he relaxes by smoking crack (stevie), Wednesday, January 4, 2023 3:44 AM

otm some of thise fucken mixes are just...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8cbzERFuBo

...god DAMN!

I mean that one's fab, but seguing Carly Simon's Why into the Why Remix of Bonita has been my "blow minds at various mid-life get-togethers with friends that I'm DJing at" secret weapon for at least a decade or so now. Tore the roof off my partner's 40th, our best friend's 40th, our civil partnership late last year...

😃

“Riding on the train with no dough…sucks”

I put LET on in the car when I went to pick up dad from his swallow study, and mom started dancing in the car to "Show Business"

It’s probably my favorite album to walk around or take the subway with. Definitely gives me some swagger. “I never half step cause I’m not a half stepper…”

Industry rule number four thousand and eighty
Record company people are shadyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTJsgb9jqfZ/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Q TIP 4 EVA

He’s always been so effortlessly cool