In the early 90s, hip hop was beginning to split into two prominent movements, the West coast and East coast. There are a lot of fantastic artists that came out of both of those coasts, and everywhere in between, but I'm here to talk about a group that never really picked sides. A Tribe Called Quest at the time of the The Low End Theory, was comprised of MC's Q-Tip, Phife Dawg and DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad. The group was one of the core founders and members of the Native Tongue Posses, and believed in creating hip hop that was more mental and thought provoking. Sure, a song like "Left My Wallet In El Sugundo" wasn't afraid to be humorous, but you'd never hear them promoting violence or drugs.
Instead, it was all about clever wordplay and a lot of smooth, jazzy beats. TLET also signified a change in Tribe's sound, with more... well, low end frequencies, and more socially conscience lyrics. It was also the first time Phife had a prominent spot on the mic, which may be sole reason why this is my favorite LP of Tribe's.
The track "Buggin Out" is pure lyrical aggression, but not in the same contemporaries like Wu Tang were. While the opener "Excursions" has a bass line that is immediately lovable and is a true highlight of an album that is full of them. Another classic from this LP is the single "Check the Rhyme" which has Q and Phife trading verses about growing up on the east side, and how they got into the rap game.
This LP may be my favorite from this group, and that's saying a lot since Tribe are the band that got me into Hip-Hop in the first place, and I hold their first three albums to be some of the best the genre has to offer. TLET just has the perfect mixture of smooth, jazzy beats and lyrical acuteness that makes Tribe one of the greats.
Finally, I would like to end this review with what I think is the single most obvious reasons this LP is a true classic.... The track "Scenario". If you haven't heard this track then allow me to introduce you...
Busta Rhymes' verse/ 10
This LP may be my favorite from this group, and that's saying a lot since Tribe are the band that got me into Hip-Hop in the first place, and I hold their first three albums to be some of the best the genre has to offer. TLET just has the perfect mixture of smooth, jazzy beats and lyrical acuteness that makes Tribe one of the greats.
Finally, I would like to end this review with what I think is the single most obvious reasons this LP is a true classic.... The track "Scenario". If you haven't heard this track then allow me to introduce you...
Busta Rhymes' verse/ 10
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