Can I kick it?

[stillmatic]

Where are the A Tribe Called Quest fans up in here?

This week marks 21 year anniversary of their debut album 'People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm'. Afrocentric, jazzy, conscious and soulful classic music.

The original 'cool kids' of hip hop, they changed the game, and 20 years later opened the lane up for the likes of Lupe Fiasco and Kid Cudi. Hip hop's original breath of fresh air.

A Tribe Called Quest hall of famers. Q-Tip one of the greatest. Queens!

[stillmatic]

I might as well tell the story of how I feel in love with the Tribe.

When I was still a kid in 90's growing up in NYC, and when we fell in love with hip hop we would of course listen to Nas, Tupac, Mobb Deep, Biggie, the Wu, Hov, GangStarr, EPMD etc. This is the type of music that would get us talking. And of course, moms hated it, they just heard a little bit of it, and didn't like the message, the slang, pretty much everything about it.

My mom would always be listening to music at the time which I thought was boring (and now I listen to ALL the time) like Billie Holiday, Curtis Mayfield, Sam Cooke, Bob Marley, Otis Redding etc. But she did listen to a bit of hip hop too, like Afrika Bambaataa, De La Soul, and mostly A Tribe Called Quest. She would always talk about Q-Tip, and I'd always this shit playing non-stop when I was at home. So of course, like any kid who would hear their parents music, I'd just dislike it because...I had to.

Then one day Flex had Q-Tip on hot97, and he played 'Bonita Applebum'...and I was hooked. It was just so fresh and cool, nothing like what was on the air at the time. It was such a breath of fresh air when you just wanted to kick back, chill and relax. Then word got around that Q-Tip was seeing Angie Martinez, and his legend couldn't be greater to me, he was THE man, I mean it was Angie!! Ever since, ATCQ has been my shit.

[N.W.A.]

Much love for the Tribe. Pioneers of the game, making the transition from old school to new school. Q-Tip has one of the more overlooked minds in hip hop.

[Slim Fiasco]

One of the greatest Hip-Hop groups. They had a perfect 3 albums run with their first releases. Favorite song is Award Tour, and album - The Low End Theory. Boom Bap at its finest!

[Hiphopdane]

Q-tip is one of the very few legendary producers of the 90's that has only gotten better. I'm really looking forward to hearing his Zulu album which according to himself should be the best stuff he has ever done. Normally I don't really trust a rapper when he says stuff like that but as I said, Q-tip has only gotten better and better Phife is my favourite rapper of the group, a shame he hasn't released a great solo album.

ATCQ is along with Naughty by nature of the most underrated groups there has ever been. The vibe of their music is so original and cool it's not even funny.

I love rapping along to those lines:

"I'm not your average MC with the Joe Schmoe flow
If you don't know me by now, you'll never know
Steppin on my critics, beatin on my foes
The plan is to stay focused, only then I can go
Straight from the heart, I represent hip hop
I be three albums deep, but I don't wanna go pop
Too many candy rappers seem to be at the top
Too much candy is no good, so now I'm closin the shop."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSolff0pVM8

[KillahBee]

I'm all that and then some
short, dark and handsome
I'll bust a nut inside your eye - to show you where I come from

Tribe are the shit

The amount of Layers in Tip's production on the first 3 Tribe albums, despite the lack of engineering equipment that we have today, is astounding
Tip and Phife (who is damn underrated, imo) are two of the most easy-going, smoothest emcees of the 90s

It still boggles my mind to think that Midnight Marauders, 36 Chambers and Enta Da Stage where released within 2 weeks of eachother, with the former2 being released on the same day
Classic NY shit

BTW, another great post by Stillmatic

[FreeSpeech]

The fans want the feeling of A Tribe Called Quest
But all they got left is this guy called West


I'm listening to Midnight Marauders right now, what in your opinions is the best album? I've listened to ATCQ, but not thouroughly...

[Slim Fiasco]

^Low End Theory followed by MM.

[GladHeAteHerr]

Only album I've really checked out is Low End theory but count me as a fan.

[stillmatic]

My favorite is probably Low End Theory, I mean it definetely changed the way hip hop was. It's damn near flawless.

But I love People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm a lot too, it contains my favorite Tribe songs. Bonita Applebum is just so fucking cool and mellow.