Get To Know H.E.R.

If you’ve been following hip hop for the past year or so, no doubt, you know who Blu is. After appearing on a couple of guest features on Exile’s Dirty Science, he and Exile teamed up to rock the 2007 hip hop scene with the absolutely incredible Below The Heavens. Earlier this year Blu did it again by teaming up with fellow rapper Ta’Raach as C.R.A.C., dropping the strange but enjoyable The Piece Talks. And now we have the official release of his work with Mainframe in the form of Johnson and Jonson. Blog frequenters may have had a “copy” of this since last year. That however was a bootleg and what we have on our hands now is the final project. Let’s see how our wonder boy did on this one.

Hits aka Why You Should Care:

1. Blu. This boy just can’t be stopped. In all honesty, he’s not nor will he probably ever be one of the greats. In terms of skill, he’s not even one of the greatest cats out right now (that’ll be Royce, Elzhi, Joe Budden, and Sean Price). And yet, one can’t help but love any track he’s on. It may be his confident swag behind the mic that is entirely apparent as on listens to him. You know he’s comfortable rapping and that transfers over to the overall listening experience. Whatever it is, Blu is one enjoyable dude to listen to.

2. Mainframe. I won’t lie, I was a bit worried to hear an entire album by a producer who I’ve never really heard before. Those worries were put to rest only a couple of tracks in. Dude is nice. He works on a complex multi sample layering level that most low profile producers just don’t do, and the result is some great quality beats that are a whole lot better than what one can usually expect from non big label projects these days.

3. Some good tracks: J and J, Up All Night, Mama Told Me, The Gusto Room, Wow, Spell Check, Long Time Gone, Still Up All Night, A Picture Perfect, The Oath, Hold On John (Hidden Bonus Track)

Strikes aka Reasons You Should Be Wary:

1. Not the biggest complaint but some of the album just felt very chaotic and the sequencing a bit unorganized.

2. I just couldn’t get in to these tracks for whatever reason: Half A Knot, Anything Is Possible

Balls aka Whatever Floats Your Boat:

1. Numerous interludes are found all throughout the album, whether instrumental or spoken. Some of them aren’t bad, some are actually pretty good, and one I really couldn’t understand the point of. If you like interludes, this is all for you.

2. Solid tracks: The Only Way, In The Building, Bout It Bout It

Final Thoughts:

It’s Blu. Right now this dude can make a track about taking a crap and that shit would sound great. So the ultimate question here is how does working with Mainframe stack up to his work with Exile. Well, that’s almost entirely up to you. While both albums are dope, the difference in producers makes a huge difference and that’s where your preference comes in. Below The Heavens sounded like one big, chill contemplative session with bits of unrestrained partying mixed in. Johnson and Jonson on the other hand is one big party with spots of contemplative moments thrown into the mix. Whichever you prefer, I would recommend a pickup, although just for the record, I will personally still bump Below The Heavens a whole lot more than I will this one.

I realize that this album isn’t brand spanking new anymore, especially in the fickle hip hop community of today, in which 50 Cent’s Get Rich Or Die Tryin album is considered old school (fucking Soulja Boy). But since it was released less than a month ago, can we just say it’s a new album review? Yeah? Good.

Anyways, hot off the heels of their spectacular Black Patch War EP, Common Market has dropped their second full length LP. The duo, consisting of MC RA Scion and Producer Sabzi, has a lot of hype (relatively speaking of course) to live up to with this album. Their first album was highly acclaimed, and even though nobody knew about it except for the bloggers (and you if you’ve read my previous write up on them), Common Market earned the respect of the underground hip hop society. Their objectives with this album are simply to avoid the dreaded sophomore curse, beat the expectations that their debut placed on them, and keep the respect that they’ve worked so hard to earn (like it or not, the underground can be just as fickle as the mainstream). Alright, maybe it’s not that simple, but judging from the quality of their 2008 EP, I think they got it in the bag.

Hits aka Why You Should Care:

1. Sabzi’s production on this is nothing short of excellence. From the calm ambiance of tracks such as Weather Vane and Tobacco Road, to the more upbeat urgency found on Gol’ Dust, to the darker sounds of 40 Furrows and Certitude, Sabzi provides the perfect soundscapes for RA Scion to rhyme over. Dude is one of the best in the underground hands down.

2. Guest spots are kept to a minimum so that you get more of what you really want, pure Common Market. The rappers who are featured more than hold their own. On a side note, I’ve heard people say that Geologic is a talentless herb of a rapper. Well I say fuck that. Blue Scholars had one of the best albums last year and he definitely brought his A game on The Crucible.

3. The good songs on this: Trouble Is, Gol’ Dust, Back Home (The Return), 40 Furrows, Winter Takes All, Weather Vane, Nina Sing (ft Funklove), Certitude (ft Chev), The Crucible(ft Geologic), 40 Thieves, Swell, Tobacco Road

Strikes aka Reasons You Should Be Wary

1. The album was slightly boring at times. I mean, I like it and both members of the group did his thing, but something was missing. Kinda like with Finding Forever and Graduation, it just felt too polished.

2. Nothin At All. This track isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s different. Different isn’t always something that deters me from a song, but in this case different means that I’ll likely push the skip button next time around.

Balls aka Whatever Floats Your Boat

1. While Common Market’s debut sounded like one big rhymefest party, this one is more focused and more serious, dealing with issues such as religion and politics. If you’re like me, and actually prefer that stuff sometimes, then great, go buy this now. However, if you’re one of those people who thought that the Roots’ Game Theory sucked because they delved too much into politics and came out with a darker sound, then this may or may not be for you.

2. There’s no knockout tracks. There were good songs, but none of them were holy shit that just kicked the crap out of me and woke me the hell up caliber. On the flipside though, the whole thing was a good consistent listen.

3. The more or less solid tracks: Service, Slow Cure, House, Spits

Final Thoughts:

They overcame the sophomore curse. And I think they’ll manage to keep their respect. However, there’s no way this album lived up to the expectations I’d set for it. Mind you though, my expectations for this album were pretty damn high and even though I think it falls in comparison to their first, it’s still a good album and definitely worth your time, if not your hard earned cash.

So in conjunction with the release of DJ Revolution’s King of the Decks LP, which is out today and should be reviewed by me within the week, Duck Down Records has decided to put out a free mixtape for you, the customer. Of course, this means that they want you to buy some of their albums now and why shouldn’t you? Duck Down Records has slowly become one of my favorite record labels of today with the quality of their releases (The Formula, Shell Shock, The In Crowd) and the way their future projects are shaping up (DIRT, and that proposed KRS/Buckshot collabo album). Here’s the link and the tracklisting.

http://www.duckdown.com/hotline

1) DJ Revolution INTRO & Buckshot Interview

2) 9th Wonder & Buckshot “Brand Nu Day”

3) Buckshot Interview

4) 9th Wonder & Buckshot featuring Mickey Factz “Concrete Jungle”

5) Buckshot Interview

6) Buckshot “WHO GOT THE PROPS 2008″

7) DJ Double O of Kidz In The Hall Interview

8 ) Kidz In The Hall featuring Estelle “Love Hangover” (Video debuted on MTV’s TRL)

9) Naledge of Kidz In the Hall Interview

10) Kidz In The Hall “Driving Down The Block Westcoast Remix”

11) Ruste Juxx Interview

12) Ruste Juxx “Vic Flair”

13) Ruste Juxx “Wipe Off Ya Smile” off INDESTRUCTIBLE in stores October 28th

14) Heltah Skeltah Interview

15) Heltah Skeltah “Everything Is Heltah Skeltah” off D.I.R.T. (DA INCREDIBLE RAP TEAM) IN STORES SEPTEMBER 30th

16) Heltah Skeltah “FUCK THAT RAPPER”

17) DJ Revolution Interview conducted by DJ LOGIC

18) DJ Revolution featuring KRS-ONE “THE DJ” off KING OF THE DECKS IN STORES SEPTEMBER 16th

19) DJ Revolution Interview

20) DJ Revolution featuring Bishop Lamont, Crooked I & Styliztik Jones “Funky Piano” off KING OF THE DECKS IN STORES SEPTEMBER 16th

21) DJ Revolution Outro

In other news, Joe Budden’s Padded Room LP has been pushed back from October 28th to February 24th 2009. However, Joe Budden fans will still get something on October 28th as he’s planning on releasing a digital download intermediate album, Halfway House on that day.

Also to prepare for the Termanology album that’s coming out soon, here’s yet another track from it titled Drugs, Crime and Gorillaz, featuring Sheek Louch and Freeway. As an additional treat, I’ve also put up the link for a non LP track bonus track, produced by the man, Pete Rock.

https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=R3ozRkJkR0ZOMUIzZUE9PQ

https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=R3ozRkJkR0ZHa09Ga1E9PQ

Here’s a producer you guys should all know about by now: the underground sensation from Detroit, Black Milk. He’s been responsible for some dope tracks in the past year or so, including the bulk of one of the best albums of the year, The Preface by fellow Detroit resident Elzhi. He’s set to release Tronic, his third solo LP on October 28th, but in the meantime you guys can check out this mixtape I got in my email yesterday, Music From The Color Purple. Haven’t given it a proper listen yet, but check it out anyways.

http://www.zshare.net/download/1848845275da4c78

Next up is a leaked track from Peedi Peedi, who is steadily rising in my eyes as a respectable emcee. So I know before it was announced that his LP would be named Camel Face Hunting Season but it seems that he’s decided to change the name to A Night In The Life. Regardless it should be at least decent. Here’s the track, titled More Towels.

https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=R3ozS3d1dzhwM25IRGc9PQ

Well…seeing as how I’ve been out of it for a good while, there was a lot of hip hop shit to sort through in my email. Some of this stuff you may have seen elsewhere but whatever, I’ll post it up anyways.

First up is a freestyle from the Boot Camp Clik duo Heltah Skeltah. It ain’t really an official track I guess but I’m posting this to remind all ya’ll to look out for D.I.R.T. (Da Incredible Rap Team), which is set to hit stores September 30th.

https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=Smp2Zm1kOW5TSUJjR0E9PQ

Next up is a track of Politics As Usual, the debut album by Termanology. The track’s called Please Don’t Go, and it’s not exactly the best thing I’ve heard  but it’s worth giving it a listen. This track doesn’t change my opinion of how the album is going to turn out by the way. With that lineup of producers and guest emcees only the shittiest rappers would manage to fuck up. And Term is not in any way a shitty rapper. So look out for that, also dropping on the 30th.

https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=SmpzNHA5WkJrUmswTVE9PQ

Last for today is an unreleased track from an album that I really need to write about before the end of 2008, Buckshot and 9th Wonder’s second dope collabo, The Formula. I haven’t had the chance to give this a listen yet, but if it’s anything like the rest of the album was it’ll definitely be worth your time.

http://www.zshare.net/download/180261144480a927/

It’s been a long time, I shouldn’t have left you..without a strong rhyme to step to. Seriously though, apologies all around for the long ass hiatus but I’ve been busy as hell lately with school starting up again and whatnot. But I’m back, and I’ll try not to go on such a dragged out break ever again (no promises though). I’ve also decided to change the format of this whole thing a bit more. I’ll have three categories: hits, balls and strikes. Under hits will be reasons that I believe you should absolutely pick up this album. Strikes are the reasons that may cause you to want to avoid the album in question. Balls are the things that are totally up in the air and are ultimately up to the reader to decided whether it’s a good thing or not.

Anyways, to pick up right where I left off, Beats Rhymes and Life is the fourth album by A Tribe Called Quest and comes a full three years after the bonafide classic of an album, Midnight Marauders. With the Tribe’s first three albums having received the enormous amount of critical acclaim that they did, they had a lot to live upto and most likely felt a lot of pressure throughout the recording sessions. As such, Beats Rhymes and Life sounds a bit darker than all of it’s predecessors. Some other things were changed from the tried and true Tribe formula of the late80s/early90s albums, but I’ll get into that as the review continues.

Hits:

1. It’s Tribe. I mean, if you’d read my last three reviews and have gone out and listened to those masterpieces, you should’ve already hunted this shit down and listened to it.

2. Some people are bound to disagree with me on this but fuck it. Tribe’s fourth album was the first to feature production from the super production group The Ummah, which consisted of Ali Shaheed, Q-Tip, and J Dilla. There are a good number of Tribe fans who argue that Jay Dee’s inclusion into the production led to a change in sound that ultimately led to Tribe’s work being of a subpar quality. Fuck that. The beats on this album are actually pretty damn good except maybe the ones for Baby Phife’s Return and Word Play. They’re different, I’ll give them that, but in no way are they subpar. I’ll say it again, The Ummah did not ruin A Tribe Called Quest.

3. This album is really the last time you’ll hear such great chemistry between our two lead rappers as the next album is…well, we’ll get to that when we get to that I guess. But the point here is, appreciate as much of it as you can while it’s there.

4. These are the tracks that I’ve picked out to be good: Phony Rappers, Get A Hold, Motivators, Jam, The Pressure, 1nce Again, Mind Power, The Hop, Keep It Movin, What Really Goes On, Stressed Out. Out of those, The Pressure and What Really Goes On are really the stand out tracks. Seriously, What Really Goes On is a damn monster of a track.

Strikes:

3 words. Lack Of Phife. Since People’s, Phife Dawg has steadily evolved from throwaway sidekick rapper to an integral part of the team. On Midnight Marauders the man was on all but 2 of the tracks (not including the intro) and he ripped it up. I mean, Midnight Marauders has some of the illest shit ever spit by dude and he outshone his partner Tip on a good number of tracks. You would think that this album would make more use of him but on the contrary he’s missing on more than a third of the album. Hell, he only has three more tracks than Consequence who’s not even an official member of the fucking group. As much as I love Tip, I love it even more when the two of them work together. That’s it for strikes really. There were no tracks that really jumped out at me as bad.

Balls:

1. The frequent appearance of Consequence was a puzzler to me. For those who don’t know, Consequence is Q-Tip’s cousin and the average rap fan today probably only knows him because of Kanye West. Anyways, the man is featured on a total of six tracks throughout and led lots of people (including myself) to think that he was soon to be an official member of the Tribe (kinda like Cappa and the Wu). We know now that that didn’t happen, but regardless ‘quence pops up again and again throughout Beats, Rhymes and Life. He’s actually not bad at rapping and holds his own on the tracks, but ultimately his presence is offsetting. Awkward if you will.

2. The sequencing of the tracks, specifically of the first, could’ve been better. Phony Rappers is a good track no doubt, but it sounds strange and really abrupt as a first track. I honestly believe that Pressure, with it’s mini Tribe Called Quest medley intro or 1nce Again, with it’s throwback to Check The Rhime, should’ve been the first track and have helped ease the fans into the newer sound.

3. These are the tracks that I thought were just alright: Crew, Baby Phife’s Return, Separate/Together, Word Play

Final Thoughts:

Beats Rhymes and Life is a seriously underrated album when it comes to A Tribe Called Quest. Most people dismissed it because it didn’t live up to the standards of Midnight Marauders and A Low End Theory, but honestly, nothing is fucking with those two. Besides, this album is pretty darn great in its own right (I would actually place it on par with People’s, which I think is a slightly overrated album) and the edgier, darker sound isn’t as different as a lot of people think and would have probably ended up doing great things for the group if The Love Movement hadn’t happened. Overall, I would recommend that you do yourself a favor and check it out

The newest effort from the GZA comes three years after his DJ Muggs collabo, Grandmasters, and worries me to death. Why you ask? Well, even though the GZA released a motherfucking undeniable classic with his sophomore album Liquid Swords (yes, sophomore…don’t forget that gawd awful Words From The Genius album), his subsequent efforts have been just meh. Well, Grandmasters was pretty good actually, but it was an entire album with no Wu production on it whatsoever. And as if the GZA’s track record isn’t enough to have me worried, there’s the issue of that 50 Cent diss track he released a month ago that’s on this album. The track itself was alright, even if it could’ve been better, but the real problem is that now he has to back that track up some actual quality shit. Or else he’ll look washed up and old and be the next target of stupid ass Soulja Boy youtube clips. I don’t want to see that shit happen in my lifetime.

Before I start the actual review though, I have to say. That front artwork is gangsta as fuck! Alright that’s all.

The Good:

1. Intromental - As it’s name says it’s just an intro in the form of an instrumental, but I like it. Maybe it’s because there’s no actual words on it besides the occasional “GZA,” but it stays true to what it is and manages to seam to the next track.

2. Pencil (ft Masta Killa and RZA) - This is a pretty great track. All three emcees do their shit right on it and oddly, the beat sounds pretty nice when rhymes are being spit over it, even though it sounds close to ass when it’s playing just by itself. I guess that’s just a compliment to the rapping done on this. On a side note, Masta Killa is all over the Wu lately, I’m really growing to like this guy.

4. Groundbreaking (ft Justice) - The track’s alright, even though I think the second verse is pretty damn annoying. There’s an attempted Madlib/Quasimoto style rhyming going on and it just didn’t do it for me.

5. 7 Pounds - The first couple of seconds of the song made me think that they sampled the same song Lupe did for Daydreams and I started to get worried (not a huge fan of beatjacking in any form). But then the actual Black Milk production hits and it sounds nice.

6. 0% Finance - The menacing guitar driven beat fits GZA’s flow perfectly on this. Even if the beat gets repetetive as hell after a while, it’s a great track.

7. Short Race

10. Columbian Ties - I’m not sure it was the greatest idea to sequence the words “what goes around comes around” right after a diss track, but whatever. The track itself is pretty dope so all is forgiven.

12. Path Of Destruction

13. Cinema (ft Justice) - Everything about this track from the ominous beat, to the GZA’s subdued flow, to the whispered hook is downright creepy (which is what they were going for I’m sure). This track is gonna be the shit that plays in my nightmares.

15. Life Is A Movie (ft RZA, and Khan-Acito) - The second RZA produced track on this album is clearly the better of the two. It makes for a nice strong ending.

The Solid:

3. Alphabets

8. Interlude

9. Paper Plate - I can honestly say that while this track does its job, it’s pretty disappointing. The beat is a sick, creepy beat, but it’s ill suited for a diss track in my humble opinion, and the GZA’s flow sounds weak as hell on it even though his lyrics are for the most part on point. Could’ve been a LOT better.

11. Firehouse (ft Ka) - This Ka guy sucks. It took me a good 20 seconds into his verse before I realized he was actually rapping and not just talking out an intro of some sort. GZA manages to save this track from being horrible though.

14. Intermission

The Bad:

Well, all in all, I must say, I am surprised in the best way possible. It’s been a while since I’ve thought to myself, “damn that new GZA joint is sick,” and it’s a damn welcome feeling. Even though I am disappointed at the lack of Mos Def on this album (he was rumored to be on this), I can’t lie, I like this a lot. It’s a great album and I hope ya’ll don’t sleep on the GZA.

On a side note, I’m gonna be on a week long trip, so during that time, there will be no updates. See you guys when I get back to finish the Tribe discog and to review Vordul Mega and Ice Cube’s new albums.

We’ve now come to the third album in our tour of A Tribe Called Quest, and the third of which is recognized as a bonafide classic. The name for this album, as explained in one of the interludes, is derived from the fact that they listen to most of their music at midnight and that they maraud for ears. People’s and The Low End Theory, while fantastic albums, weren’t exactly unarguable classics in my eyes (most people may disagree), so the point of today’s review is to see if their third “classic” will be able to hold up to those golden standards.

The Midnight Marauders Tour Guide, serves as the album’s intro and introduces the album to us as a sort of program that we are being led through. This woman will show up time and again after tracks, much in the same way Jarobi did on People’s except fortunately for us, these interludes are actually pretty interesting and most importantly, they’re short. As soon as the introduction is done, the
album jumps right into the Steve Biko (Stir It Up), the horns come in, and my headstarts bobbing. Phife and Tip trade verse after verse after verse and I’m effectively convinced that this is a great first actual song. The next song, Award Tour, features Trugoy of the fellow Native Tongue members De La Soul, and is one hell of a track. At first, I was sort of disappointed that Trugoy only got to do the hook on this, but soon I realized this track just fucking rocks either way. This makes it even more surprising that 8 Million Stories, the Phife solo track, holds its own despite being sequenced after it. The next track up is Sucka Nigga, in which Q-Tip discusses how he doesn’t like it when people use the word as a term of endearment (although he did so himself at Rock The Bells). I actually like this song a lot, although it really didn’t need to be a Tip solo joint, considering that he spits the same damn verse twice. Midnight  is yet another Tip solo venture (which really makes me wish they had a Phife verse on the last track) and it continues the trend of quality found thus far. However, I do skip it from time to time, not because it’s a bad track, but because usually I can’t wait for the next four tracks.

The next four tracks on this album are what I consider to be it’s centerpiece. It’s four excellent songs that just blew my mind the first time I heard them. First up is We Can Get Down, which is infectious as hell. However, this track pales in comparison to what comes next, because up next is Electrical Relaxation, which I’m totally convinced is one of the greatest tracks released in any genre ever. Seriously, if you’ve never listened to any Tribe song in your life, do yourself a favor and youtube this shit now. Anyways, following my personal favorite Tribe song of all time is no small task but Clap Your Hands is a great track that does the job correct. The beat changes up in subtle ways throughout the verses and the hook, and it’s really one hell of a listen. The next track features Busta Rhymes but don’t expect any of the ridiculousness that was found on Scenario. On Oh My God, Busta’s role has been reduced to simply the hook (probably to avoid any show stealing), but I have to say, there couldn’t have been a better choice for the job. Phife drops some of the best lines of his career and overall the song is pure unadulterated quality hip hop.

Keep It Rollin is a track that really suffers from the sequencing. It’s a good track, but it’s nowhere near as good as the four monsters that preceed it and because of that, for the longest time, I’ve skipped it. However, one day I had my iPod on shuffle when this song came on, and that day I decided to actually give it a proper listen and I realized that it was actually a great song, complete with a Large Pro guest appearance. The next song, The Chase Pt II, however would probably sound average pretty much wherever you sequence it. I think it’s just an alright song, and even though your interlude will tell you that it’s the end of the Midnight Marauders program, it’s not the last track and thank God for that. Or else we never would’ve got Lyrics To Go, which is a testament to great producing. That high note that you’re hearing in the background all throughout is actually a vocal sample from Inside My Love. It’s haunting and creates the perfect soundscape. The last track is God Lives Through and it samples Oh My God’s chorus, but that’s really the only thing it has in common with that song. Well, other than the fact that both songs are superb. God Lives Through is a monstrous track that ends the whole album well with 1 sick verse each from Phife and Tip.

The Good: Steve Biko, Award Tour, 8 Million Problems, Sucka Nigga, Midnight, We Can Get Down, Electrical Relaxation, Clap Your Hands, Oh My God, Keep It Rollin, Lyrics To Go, God Lives Through

The Solid: Midnight Marauders Tour Guide, The Chase Pt II

The Bad: N/A

While The Low End Theory was a practice in minimalism, Midnight Marauders is a whole new different beast, as the production on this is simply in your face, kick ass, high energy jazz. I honestly have no qualms with labeling this album as a no brainer classic. It is without a doubt one of the greatest hip hop albums I’ve ever heard and probably will ever hear in my life and you should be halfway out your door on your way to the nearest Best Buy to pick this up by the time you finish reading this sentence.

My A Tribe Called Quest Discography Ranking Thus Far

1. Midnight Marauders
2. The Low End Theory
3. People’s Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm

Note: From this point on, I’ve decided to stop giving out number scores, since they really are very ambiguous and arbitrary. I’ll just give you my final thoughts of whether this album is worth your time or not, and my ranking of the album in question compared with other albums from the same artist’s or group’s discography I’ve reviewed previously.

Moving right along, we reach A Tribe Called Quest’s second album, The Low End Theory. The album takes a slightly darker production than Tribe’s debut album and finds Tribe one member named Jarobi short. Just as well because by this time our black horse Phife Dawg had finally given up dreams of playing professional sports and had stepped his rap game way the fuck up. As such, although Q-Tip was still rightfully the main driving force of the rapping, Phife was actually featured on more than a mere three tracks making Low End Theory seem more like a group album than the Q-Tip solo People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm had been.

The Low End Theory upon it’s release, was hailed as a classic. Hell, it still is hailed as a classic. You go to any respected hip hop circle and drop the name and heads go crazy. It’s on a whole bunch of “best of lists” including Rolling Stones’ (yes the same Rolling Stones that shitted on Tribe’s last album) The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and their Top 25 Hiphop albums. And of course it received the perfect score of 5 mics from the Source Magazine (mind you this was back when The Source was still respected. Before they started giving out 5 mics to Lil Kim of all people.) So, when it’s all said and done, does the album live up to it’s reputation? Well, that’s what we’re about to find out.

Well, there’s no crying baby intro on this album, as Excursions comes on and Tip rhymes over a sick bass line. A great track and a great start to this album. Then, a Tribe classic, Buggin Out, kicks in and Phife spits a verse that’s heads above any of the three verses he put out on People’s. The progress Phife makes over the span of the first three albums is actually pretty amazing. Guess that’s what happens when you spend all your time in a studio with hip hop legends. But more on the song. Another minimalist beat but that’s not a complaint. In fact, the beat works very well and the two emcees do it more than enough justice. Afterwards is Rap Promoter, which is a decent enough song to keep things moving.

The next song, Butter, may come as somewhat of a surprise because it’s a Phife Dawg solo track. Tip is found nowhere on this track except on the hook, and what’s even more surprising the first time around is that it’s actually a pretty good song. A lot of people seem to regard Phife as just that other emcee, but in actuality he had some sick verses throughout his career, and on the next album has some of my favorites from Tribe. Anyways, the next track is a Q-Tip solo as apparent from the name, Verses From The Abstract, and it should come as no surprise. Show Business which features Sadat X and Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian and producer/rapper Diamond D sounds out of place as hell on this minimalist album, but the energy brought onto the track makes it so good that I don’t care. Another thing I find myself not caring about much is the next track, Vibes and Stuff. It’s always been the one track that I never could bring myself to fully listen to and I don’t plan to change that any time soon.

The Infamous Date Rape has a strange subject but the song comes off alright enough (remember Ham N Eggs?). It’s at least good enough to warrant a couple of listens although you may find yourself skipping it on later listens. The next song, Check The Rhime introduced the infamous Industry Rule #4080 (record company people are shaddyyyy) and also got me hooked onto Tribe in the first place. Tip and Phife tag team and trade rhymes with each other and it all results in one kick ass song. Everything Is Fair is another alright song, but it doesn’t really stand out next to the rest of the album (although to be fair this is a pretty damn good album). At least the next track is great. Apparently Pete Rock produced the original beat for Jazz (We’ve Got), and honestly I don’t know if that’s true or not. All I know is you’re going to love this song.

Skypager is another song that isn’t horrible, but I just don’t really have the urge to listen to. Probably because the next track, What, is a lot better. It’s a strange song, to be sure, but it’s quite enjoyable and addicting. Still, no track could prepare for our final song, Scenario. Just when you thought that Check The Rhime would be safe as far as best song on this album goes, this monster of a posse cut comes out of nowhere and absolutely rips things up. Seriously, from the first verse (which just happens to be one of my favorite Phife verses ever) all the way to the last, Busta’s legendary lyrical outburst, this song kicks so much ass, it’s unbelievable. It’s an excellent finish to the whole thing.

The Good: Excursions, Buggin’ Out, Rap Promoter, Butter, Verses From The Abstract, Show Business, Check The Rhime, Jazz (We’ve Got), What, Scenario

The Solid: The Infamous Date Rape, Everything Is Fair, Skypager

The Bad: Vibes and Stuff

Strangely enough, The Low End Theory doesn’t sound anywhere near as good as I remember it to be and there is a surprising amount of average material on it. Still, it’s not too much (it’s only a surprising amount because it’s freaking TLET) and some of the good tracks are so good, that you’ll find yourself not giving a fuck. It has it’s share of rough spots but compared with most of the album, it’s really pretty negligible and while it’s an overrated classic in my eyes, there’s a reason and that reason is that the album is excellent. Pick it up as soon as you can.

My A Tribe Called Quest Discography Ranking Thus Far

1. The Low End Theory
2. People’s Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm

Honestly I was never really a huge fan of Slum Village, not even of Fantastic Vol 2. Blasphemy I know, but while it was chill beyond no other album ever created, sometimes it was way too chill and I ended up zoned out a lot. Anyways, Elzhi wasn’t even an official member of Slum Village at that time so let’s move on. While I never really got too deep into Slum Village as a group, I do consider myself something of an Elzhi fan and I played the shit out of Europass earlier this year. So along with his great pre CD release, and the fact that the majority of The Preface is supposedly produced by Black Milk (slightly overrated, but with good reason), I’m almost 100% certain that this is going to be a good album. Then again, that’s what I felt about the RZA’s album earlier this year, so we’ll see.

The Good:

2. The Leak (ft Ayah) - After a solid intro, this track really kicks things off. Honestly, I’m all for leaving intros off albums if they add nothing to the overall album and just starting albums with actual songs.

3. Guessing Game - There’s so much going on in the production that it’s amazing that Elzhi’s rhymes manage to stay the focus of the whole thing. Great track if I’ve ever heard one.

4. Motown 25 (ft Royce Da 5′9″) - Yeah, you’ve probably heard it before on Europass. Who cares? This track is hot as fuck. I would’ve been mad if they left this off. The beat provided by Black Milk is banging, Elzhi comes correct, and Royce tears shit up. Royce is one of the most underappreciated emcees of all time.

5. Brag Swag - Three excellent tracks in a row. So far this album is shaping up very nicely.

6. Colors

8. D.E.M.O.N.S. 

9. Save Ya (ft T3) - It’s a nice collabo with fellow Slum Village member T3. You’ve probably heard it already on Europass, but this version’s actually a bit different.

11. Transitional Joint - The beat gives this song a great chill vibe to it. Not the chill vibe that puts you to sleep but that chill vibe you want to kick back and drink a beer with your friends to.

12. Talking In My Sleep 

13. The Science (ft Fes Roc) - The production is kept pretty minimal without absolutely sucking ass, which allows for a completely rhyme centered track, just the way I like it.

14. Hands Up 

15. What I Write - Sick track. It’s probably the best track since Brag Swag.

16. Growing Up (ft AB) - The singing on the hook meshes with the beat very nicely, and makes for one hell of a closing track.

The Solid:

1. Intro (The Preface) - It’s a decent intro but honestly doesn’t stand out in any way, shape or form.

7. Fire remix (ft Black Milk, Guilty Simpson, Fatt Father, Danny Brown, and Fat Ray) - The hit trees hard like George of the Jungle line had me laughing for a bit, but overall I’m not feeling this track as much as I did the tracks before.

10. Yeah (ft Phat Kat) 

The Bad:

Final Score: 9.5/9.0

So I was wrong about The Preface. It’s not a good album, it’s fucking fire. Seriously, Elzhi comes off a lot harder on this than on any other Slum Village track I’ve heard and it really pays off. Motown 25 is still the best song and the fact that it was included on Europass is alright with me. It’s an excellent album and it’s may even be slightly better than the Reks’ album I was going nuts over last month. Pick this shit up.

On a separate but related note, Black Milk is still not an excellent producer in my eyes, but the potential is most definitely there and is slowly being realized.