Initially, I was going to do reviews for every album and then rank them at the end in one article, but I got to The Low End Theory and realized I could do this in a more potent and less time-consuming way. Not too long ago I did an article reviewing the best Vince Staples songs album by album, and I thought of what other artists I love enough to do that for and Tribe immediately came to mind. Tribe is one of, if not the, best rap groups of all time. They were one of the only artists our Dad played in the car that we all would agree on. Hearing “Can I Kick It?” as a little kid altered my brain in a way I didn’t understand until I was older. I knew a lot of older rappers that kids my age didn’t give a single fuck about. While kids were running around rapping Soulja Boy, I was the loser reciting “I Ain’t No Joke” by Eric B. and Rakim. Not even trying to paint myself as a hip-hop purist or anything because most of that older stuff is genuinely terrible. Especially in the 70s-80s, go back and listen to any rap from before Paid In Full and see how long you last before you throw up. But, I was awarded the “Old-School” award at summer camp because of Tribe.

I say all of that to say, don’t kill me for these choices. I am, at this point, 22 years old.

Bonita Applebum from People’s Instinctive Travels… (1990)

This was a somewhat easy choice for me. My memory turned on around 2003-2004 and there are three songs I remember as the first songs I’ve ever heard. “Can I Kick It?“, “Funky Ride“, and “Bonita.” I got an mp3 player around 2007 and this was one of the songs I put on there immediately. The intro sounded like the future, the sample phases around your ears and it feels like you’re getting pulled into a vortex. Q-Tip starts the song off speaking in this hazy, high-pitched voice contemplating why he feels the way he feels about this girl. As he talks he’s interrupted by a sample of [Redacted] by mind your own business, then he says the title and the main sample loop comes in and you’re teleported to the happiest place on earth. Whatever that may be for you, try it real quick, place this song, and close your eyes. Where does it take you? For me, I’m in the backseat of my Dad’s Toyota Tacoma, he’s driving and my big brother is in the passenger seat. It’s golden hour and we’re just driving through the city. We’re all just bobbing our heads listening to every word and element in the song. You can listen to this song anytime, anywhere and it will give you the same feeling every time. It just sounds like a warm hug from a person you’re in love with. It sounds like a sunset and you’re overlooking a green pasture and it’s in the mid-70s. You could wear a jacket if you wanted to, but then you’d miss that breeze hitting your arm. The song is super simple: A sample loop and a drum loop, it’s that simple. Q-Tip has said multiple times that he made this beat when he was 15 years old. Dude, 15. Years. Old. I couldn’t even fathom making something this timeless at 15. The piano, bass, and drums come together to create this sunny and warm feeling during the verses. Then, the guitar comes in on the hook like an audio cherry on top. Tip sounds so smooth over it, too. He’s not doing too much or too little and he speaks to the subject like he’s really trying to bag her. And lyrics like, “Hey, you’re like a hip-hop song you know?” and “38-24-37, you and me, hun, we’re a match made in heaven,” let you know that Tip is talking to a very nice looking girl but in an oddly respectful way for a teenager. The subject matter is innocent enough to be cute and enjoyed by all ages, but still nasty enough that the adults can relate. Well, at least until Q-Tip says “I like to kiss ya where some brothers won’t,” which sort of implies that he eats ass. Which was a dangerous game in the ’90s. People didn’t really start trimming their shit until the early 2000s, so that man is a true trooper if that’s what he means.

Check The Rhime from The Low End Theory (1991)

This one was tougher than I thought it was going to be. I came in expecting to say “Scenario“, but as I was listening to the album I just knew it had to be this one. “Check The Rhime” is the tribe song from this album. Stellar verses from both Tip and Phife over an equally stellar beat. The song starts off with an eight-count loop of the kick drum and Tip grunting in and out of both of your ears, then you’re met with this chaotic symphony of sounds that shouldn’t work, but they do! There are four different samples that make up this section of the beat and while I was listening to them isolated I thought, “How did he hear a beat in all of this?” about eight million times. Especially the section that plays at the beginning. What I love about older producers is that their ears are trained to hear rhythm and melodies in things that (some) modern producers don’t care to hear. Tip and Ali were just built entirely different and mixing that saxophone and those haunting organ chords with those [Don’t worry about the sample] drums. Then, Tip literally slides into the song full of confidence and gusto to introduce one of the best wordsmiths we’ve ever seen, Phife Dawg. Phife sounded like he had something to prove on this one. Phife wasn’t on a lot of the last album, mainly due to him not showing up to the studio, but that wasn’t the case this time around. After a funky introduction, Phife gets right into his trademark braggadocious bag. With lines like “You’d be a fool to reply that Phife is not the man, ’cause you know and I know that you know who I am,” and “I’m just a fly MC who’s five foot three and very brave, On top remaining, no home training ’cause I misbehave,” Phife let you know that he wasn’t one to be played with. Phife sounds like he’s only demonstrating a fraction of his skills here like he’s not trying to steal the shine from the whole group. He’s just trying to keep the groove rocking, while also reminding everyone why he has the mic in his hand in the first place. After the second hook, Phife introduces Q-Tip in a similar way that Tip did earlier. Tip uses his verse to let the kids/listeners know what they’ve learned about the music industry since their first album. Here’s a couple things: 1. To gain respect you have to remain true to yourself, 2. Record companies are not on your side. Over 30 years later and both of those messages still ring true. Tip was 21 when he wrote that, and he’s held on to that same message his whole career. They do all of this over a beautiful Minnie Riperton sample (he’s said that one out loud), too. No joke, I had no idea what this sample was, but I randomly heard it one day and I yelled at the top of my lungs, “OH MY GOD THAT’S TRIBE!” Once again, these kids were making timeless songs that still get those reactions 30 years later.

God Lives Through from Midnight Marauders (1993)

Okay, this one was beyond tough. A coward would’ve chosen “Electric Relaxation” or “Award Tour” to appease people or “Sucka Nigga” to appear “deep”, but I think when it comes to a core “Tribe” song on this album it’s “God Lives Through.” My favorite Tribe songs are the ones where all 3* members are just flexing on all levels and this song is a prime example of it. First off, this beat? Wow. Q-Tip and Ali just demolished this. That kick punches a hole in your chest, the hi-hat makes your ear dig through the rest of the beat to find other elements and while you’re there you hear the piano twinkle that happens every so often. I love audio easter eggs because you know the beat would’ve been fine without it, but now that it’s there, you can’t take it out. Those horns signify that royalty is upon us and the guitar rounds it all out to provide a very smooth groove for Tip and Phife to assert their dominance over. Phife comes busting out the gate with two of the best opening bars I’ve ever heard, “There’s a million MCs who claim they want some, but see I create sounds that make your ears go numb,” …what? Listen, Phife was always that guy, but the fact that he was 23 and this gifted and skilled with the pen and didn’t rely on saying random noises or nonsense words is a true testament to how serious he was about his craft. Also, there aren’t many songs where Tip washes Phife, but this one has to be top three. Usually, Phife has the verse that blows Tip’s out of the water, but Tip was rapping rapping on this one. Which is wild because Phife is flowing stupid in his verse, but Tip is on a different level of technique. He knew it, too. Before he starts his verse he goes, “Ooh!“, then proceeds to just sing along to the beat for a couple bars before actually rapping. He knew he was about to murder his verse and was like, “Nah, y’all gotta wait for this one.” What a legend. I tried to find the lyric that truly did it for me, but it’s the entire verse. But, the part that made my face scrunch up was when he said, “MCs will give me twenty if I sense that they act funny,” and the beat cuts out then comes back in and the hi-hat and snare sweep your leg, then the kick drum gives you a quick two-piece to the chin!! Yeah, man, this is the one for sure. And they ended the album with this!! I can’t imagine being a kid in ’93 and listening to this for the first time, hearing this, and then the record stops. I would’ve started balling my eyes out.

The Jam from Beats, Rhymes & Life (1996)

This one was hard, not because I couldn’t pick between multiple songs, but because this album ain’t that good. Tribe sounded tired on this one, like they didn’t really want to be there. A lot of the songs sound like Tip is dragging Phife and Consequence (sigh) through the song. The music reflected reality. Phife had moved to Atlanta to pursue sports writing thinking that the group was done, Tip had recently converted to Islam, and he had also brought in Consequence (sigh, again) and J Dilla to add some new energy, but that made Ali and Phife feel like they were getting eschewed out for some newer talent. All that negative energy culminated into a very negative-sounding album. What sucks the most is that Tribe’s first three albums sounded like: “Hey, come hang out with us. You can try and rap with us, but we wouldn’t advise that, but still come through!” They had a very chill and welcoming aura, but Beats, Rhymes & Life sounds like a line in the sand. “Do not come over here under any circumstances, we are too busy to have to worry about you and how much you suck.” The first song, “Phony Rappers” takes aim at rappers who try to battle them and instead of being like “I wouldn’t do that because I’m sick.” they just shit on these kids. It creates this uneasy feeling that continues throughout the entire album. So I flipped a coin, heads “The Jam” and tails “Word Play” and “The Jam” won. What to say about this song…the beat is really nice. Like I said earlier, Dilla was brought in to help with production and this beat is screaming that he made it. This album came out in 1996, this was after the law started cracking down on sample usage and copyright laws, so producers were using fewer and fewer samples to make music. This beat only has one sample and Dilla barely changed anything, but the bassline and the original drums at the end scream Dilla’s own original time signature. Tribe uses the song to tell a story about a kid smoking weed for the first time then going to a party with his friends and it’s just…whatever. I know it’s probably annoying how I’m yadda-yaddaing through this album, but you go back and look at that tracklist and see how many songs you genuinely like from it and get back to me so I can call you a liar to your face.

Find A Way from The Love Movement (1998)

In contrast to the last one, this one was dumb easy. Tribe sounds so alive and fresh on “Find A Way” like, more alive than they did on the whole last album. It’s the complete opposite of “1nce Again” where they sounded like two guys wearing the two-necked friendship shirt in timeout together. Tip and Phife sound like two guys going their own ways, but still have the spark to come together and make a classic just because they can. First, the beat (once again handled by Dilla) is impeccable. Okay, he took two parts of one sample for the hooks and verses, and when you hear the original song you’re like “…What? How?” The sample for the verses is so hard mushy and jumpy that there’s no other good way to explain how he did it except for “It’s Dilla.” It feels like it should be a copout, but it’s been used time and time again. He took the hook sample and had Phife rhyme over it in the same cadence and made Japanese sound like English background vocals!! He’s an insane genius, dude. The way the drums and bass hit while the samples dance around them makes the whole song for me. The fact that he sampled a song just for the snare and kick? What are we even talking about anymore? And I haven’t even gotten to the verses yet! Like I said, Tip and Phife sound rejuvenated on this one. They were playing around and having fun again. Tip ends his first verse literally panting like a dog, Phife goes “Shiiiiiet!” in the middle of his verse while the bassline and strings coast right alongside him. But in between the fun they have to remind you that they are still A Tribe Called Quest. Phife has the whole sequence from “Speaking of which,” to “End of the day you’re not mad at me,” and Tip has his entire third verse. The four of them beautifully captured what it feels like when you’re infatuated with someone, but they keep playing with your emotions and teasing you. There are moments in this song where they seem exhausted and confused by the mind games. Moments where their voices trail off or they stutter over their words and even moments where they try to gather their thoughts and formulate what to say next. When you break it down, this track is genius on every level. One of the main reasons why it’s one of the best Tribe songs.

Dis Generation from We Got It From Here… (2016)

2016 was a super weird year. I was a freshman in high school and within three weeks the world lost two titans. I learned Phife passed through Instagram I believe and it was weird because no one else around me cared. I was texting my Dad and we were both sad all day, then fast forward three weeks later and Prince dies, too. Tip posted that Tribe had been secretly working on another project for years and it was going to be released later that year and I can’t explain how excited I was for that. I was going to be around for a rollout from my favorite group. That’s a rare phenomenon, too. You can be a fan of a group when they had a certain lineup, then they come out with a new album, but the guitars don’t hit the same. That wasn’t the case with this album. It was the original four back together again! So, I tried to find a song with all three rhymers present, and “Dis Generation” is the best example. By the way, I say three because while they were working on this, Ali had to produce the Luke Cage soundtrack. But, in his absence Tribe delivered one of the best rap albums of the year and cemented their place as some of the elder-statesmen in music. First off, this beat…oh my god. It slaps you in the face with some guitar plucks, strings and percussion all meshing together for this monumental welcoming. Then, it all goes away to let the guitar and claps have room to breathe. The great thing is: it doesn’t sound crazy. Which is one of the things I love about Tip’s production. He forces these sounds to work together and on paper they shouldn’t sound good. Tip, Phife & Jarobi sound so alive on this one like, the battery was put into their backs again. All of them going back and forth with each other breathes even more life into the song because you can tell they were really there. They all just talk about how unfuckwittable they are and what they do in their current lives which includes smoking weed, reading and watching sports. It’s great, plus, Tip co-sign some amazing younger rappers. Earl Sweatshirt, Kendrick Lamar, J.Cole and Joey Badass. Tip has some great co-signs with Kanye, Tyler, Pharrell, Dilla, Mobb Deep, Nas, Megan Thee Stallion and so on and so forth. So, to know that he still has his ears to the ground to see what’s going on and extend his blessings is so awesome.

Tribe is the best group ever, in my opinion of course. You can make arguments for Wu and Kast, but for my money it’s Tribe. They soundtracked my childhood and twenty years later I still listen to at least one Tribe song a day. My intention with these articles is to hopefully put you on to something new! Tribe is kind of inescapable, but you usually just hear the hits. “God Lives Through” is my second favorite Tribe song and that’s a deep album cut! So dig through their catalog, man. You’re going to find yourself getting lost in sonics you never thought were possible and then hit me up so we can nerd out together!

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