My Favorite Group of All-Time

Giving "The Low End-Theory" anything less than 4 stars is like scuffing at Michaelangelos "The Last Judgement" in the Sistine Chapel. I mean, I wonder if people actually got a hold of a chopped and screwed version of this masterwork. The only other reasonable explanation is the manufacturers messed up and placed a Vanilla Ice record inside the album cover. There is a reason why "The Low-End Theory" received the impossible to get 5 mics in the source. They released back to back to back classics in a span of 3-4 years, ranked #154 in Rolling Stones Greatest albums of all-time, ranked #32 in Spins greatest albums of the 1990's, received extreme critical acclaim from every major JAZZ critics poll, and is brought to the forefront as one of the greatest hip hop records ever in any hip hop discussion. Not bad for the worst group ever with foul lyrics and no roots in jazz.

So why the hell is A Tribe Called Quest so popular. In three words, "Beats, Rhymes, Life". This album is a consummate link between the jazz and hip hop generation showing that they originate from the same center, as displayed in the amazing "Excursions". It also displays the growth of a young and hungry Phife Dawg becoming a star lyricist rather than a sidekick in the shadows as exemplified in "Buggin' Out" and "Butter". "Show Business" is one of the greatest songs that attacks major labels which signs acts and crosses them over because they don't have respect for real hip hop. The videos for arguably the three greatest singles on any hip hop record, "Check The Rhime" "Jazz" and "Scenario" were so groundbreakingly fresh that their ideas are still being jacked by video makers todays. Who can forget Busta Rhymes breakthrough performance.

Overall, this album captures everything great about hip hop and what it used to be. I could quote lyrics on this album all day. I could rave about the creative use of sampling and chances Tribe took to risk ridicule or alienation. Tribe is popular because they were able to connect with their fanbase that so many bubblegum critics and so-called artists could never hold a candle to. So grab a Q-Tip and clean your ears out because "The Low-End Theory" is timeless music. As a poetic Q-Tip once said, "I love my young nation" - and it loves him back.