Get To Know H.E.R.

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