I just had the pleasure of watching Micheal Rappaport's documentary Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest and it was awesome.
Tribe laid the foundation for many of the artists that I enjoy listening to today.
They weren't afraid to infuse jazz, a kick ass bass line, and hypnotic smooth lyrics.
They didn't follow the blueprint set forth by everyone else- they designed their own. They were original.
In short- pure hip hop royalty and awesomeness.
I mean their crew The Native Tongues- they dressed different. Sported the asymmetrical haircuts, Afrocentric medallions and loved to mix colors and patterns..okay fashion aside they dropped some of the most memorable lines in hip hop history "bust off on your couch, now you got Seamen furniture"...come on man. Bonita Applebum- that track alone brings smiles across the lips of many faces.
One thing I took away from the rapumentary (my word) was that there are some demons up in that group.
It's like you want them to put music. You want to feel that vibe once more but not at the risk of them sucking. When they were young and in love (with each other) you could tell. The back and forth was complimentary but that's not what you would see today. You would feel the animosity. You would feel, what wasn't being said. You would feel let down like a little kid at Christmas that wanted a G.I. Joe with the kung-fu grip and instead got a knock off Cabbage Patch doll or some Lincoln Logs <---just sad.
So until their demons can be exorcised, I will and can just chill with the Greatest Hits album.
