Beats, Rhymes and Life

by A Tribe Called Quest, Steve Swallow, Tammy Lucas, Ali Shaheed Muhammad

Overview

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.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/30/1996
Label:	Jive
UPC:	0012414158727
catalogNumber:	41587
Rank:	19541

Tracks

1. Phony Rappers
2. Get a Hold
3. Motivators
4. Jam
5. Crew
6. The Pressure
7. 1nce Again
8. Mind Power
9. The Hop
10. Keeping It Moving
11. Baby Phife's Return
12. Separate/Together
13. What Really Goes On
14. Word Play
15. Stressed Out

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Tribe Called Quest   Primary Artist
Tammy Lucas   Track Performer
Ali Shaheed Muhammad   DJ
Q-Tip   Vocals
Pasemaster Mase   scratching
Rashad Smith   Instrumental
Consequence   Vocals
Phife Dawg   Vocals

Technical Credits

Steve Swallow   Composer
Ali Shaheed Muhammad   Composer
Faith Evans   Composer
Denis Mills   Composer
Ummah   Producer
Rashad Smith   Producer
Malik Taylor   Composer
Kamaal Fareed   Composer
James Yancey   Composer