Beats, Rhymes and Life
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide |  [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A[3] |
| NME | 7/10[4] |
| Q | [5] |
| Rolling Stone | [6] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [7] |
| The Source | 4/5[8] |
| Spin | 7/10[9] |
Beats, Rhymes and Life is the fourth album of the hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. Released in 1996, it followed three years after the highly regarded and successful Midnight Marauders. This album is a departure from the joyful, positive vibe of the earlier albums and is regarded as the group's darkest album in content. It reached number-one on the Billboard 200 and Top R&B Albums charts.
Background
The album was also the first to feature production work from The Ummah, a group that was composed of Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jay Dee. One topic on this album was the Death Row vs. Bad Boy rivalry. The album frequently features rapper Consequence, Q-Tip's cousin.
It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 1997 and contains a single titled "1nce Again" that was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group the same year.[10] It was certified Platinum by the RIAA on October 27, 1998,[11] even though it was not regarded as highly as the group's first three albums.
The video version of "Stressed Out" has Phife Dawg rhyming on the second verse instead of Consequence. However, Phife's verse does not appear on the album.
In the song "Keeping It Moving," Q-Tip responds to the diss comments made about him on Westside Connection's song "Cross ’Em out and Put a K" by saying that comments made about the West from some time before the album were not intended to diss the west coast and that people should not misinterpret his lyrics.
Somethin for your earhole
So you can clean them shits out
It seems that some don't understand what I'm talkin about
How you get West coast nigga from west coast hater?
I could never diss a whole coast, my time is too greater (true)
Yeah, we from the East, the land of originators
You also from the West, the land of innovators
The only difference of the two is the style of the rap
Plus the musical track, this beef shit is so wack
Let me let y'all brothas know I ain't no West coast disser
Another thing I'm not is a damn ass kisser
So listen to my words as I set things straight
I ain't got no beef, so don't come in my face
Yo, keep it movin'
— Q-Tip, Keeping It Moving
Track listing
- All tracks produced by The Ummah, except track 9 produced by Rashad Smith
| No. | Title | Time | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Phony Rappers" (featuring Consequence) | 3:35 | "Blind Alley" by The Emotions |
| 2 | "Get a Hold" | 3:35 | "The Visit (She Was Here)" by The Cyrkle |
| 3 | "Motivators" (featuring Consequence) | 3:20 | "Sound Pieces" by Michał Urbaniak |
| 4 | "Jam" (featuring Consequence) | 4:38 | "Dirty Old Bossa Nova" by Howard Roberts |
| 5 | "Crew" | 1:58 | "Suburban Family Lament" by Ruth Copeland |
| 6 | "The Pressure" | 3:02 | "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" by Funkadelic |
| 7 | "1nce Again" (featuring Tammy Lucas) | 3:49 | "Untitled" by Cannonball Adderley "I'm Your Pal" by Gary Burton |
| 8 | "Mind Power" (featuring Consequence) | 3:55 | "N.T." by Kool & the Gang "Submission" by Tyrone Washington |
| 9 | "The Hop" | 3:27 | "Soft Spirit" by Henry Franklin "Bumpin' Bus Stop" by Thunder and Lightning |
| 10 | "Keeping It Moving" | 3:38 | "Roadwork" by Howard Roberts |
| 11 | "Baby Phife's Return" (featuring Consequence) | 3:18 | "Midnight Theme" by Manzel "Sam Enchanted Dick (Medley)" by Jack Bruce |
| 12 | "Separate/Together" | 1:38 | "Funky Drummer" by James Brown |
| 13 | "What Really Goes On" | 3:23 | "Make It Funky" by James Brown "Pain" by Ohio Players |
| 14 | "Word Play" (featuring Consequence) | 2:59 | "The Watcher" by Rodney Franklin |
| 15 | "Stressed Out" (featuring Consequence & Faith Evans) | 4:57 |
Album singles
- "1nce Again" - Released: July 1, 1996
- "Stressed Out" - Released: November 11, 1996
Chart positions
Album
| Year | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|
| Billboard 200 | Top R&B/ Hip Hop Albums | |
| 1996 | 1 | 1 |
Singles
| Year | Song | Chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard Hot 100 | Hot R&B/ Hip-Hop Songs |
Hot Rap Tracks | Hot Dance Singles Sales | ||
| 1996 | "Stressed Out" | — | 56 | 15 | 3 |
| 1999 | "1nce Again" | — | — | — | 30 |
See also
References
- ^ Bush, John. "Beats, Rhymes and Life – A Tribe Called Quest". AllMusic. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG: A Tribe Called Quest". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
- ^ Tyehimba, Cheo (August 9, 1996). "Beats, Rhymes and Life". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
- ^ "A Tribe Called Quest: Beats, Rhymes and Life". NME: 51. August 1, 1996.
- ^ "A Tribe Called Quest: Beats, Rhymes and Life". Q (121): 172. October 1996.
- ^ Hardy, Ernest (August 8, 1996). "Beats, Rhymes and Life". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
- ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). "A Tribe Called Quest". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 822. ISBN 0-743-20169-8.
- ^ "A Tribe Called Quest: Beats, Rhymes and Life". The Source (84): 145. September 1996.
- ^ Hermes, Will (September 1996). "A Tribe Called Quest: Beats, Rhymes and Life". Spin. 12 (6): 149–50. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
- ^ Buy.com - Beats Rhymes & Life - Tribe Called Quest - CD
- ^ [1] Archived 2006-11-16 at the Wayback Machine
| Studio albums | |
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| Singles | |
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