Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest
Encyclopedia
Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest is a documentary film directed by Michael Rapaport
about an influential and groundbreaking hip hop group from New York City. Having released five gold and platinum selling albums within eight years, A Tribe Called Quest
was one of the most commercially successful and artistically significant musical groups in recent history, and regarded as iconic pioneers of hip hop. The band’s sudden break-up in 1998 shocked the industry and saddened the band's fans.
. As he travels with the band members (Q-Tip, Phife Dawg
, Ali Shaheed Muhammad
and Jarobi White
), Rapaport captures the story of how tenuous their relationship has become; and how their personal differences and unresolved conflicts continue to be a threat to their creative cohesion. When mounting tensions erupt backstage during a show in San Francisco, the viewer gets a behind-the-scenes look at their journey and contributions as a band and what currently is at stake for these long-time friends and collaborators.
New York’s legendary DJ Red Alert
, Native Tongues
members like Monie Love
, The Jungle Brothers, Busta Rhymes
, and De La Soul
speak about the early days of hip hop when young artists discovered the freedom of artistic expression, while rejecting the confines of gangster rap and negative stereotypes. Chronicles of songs like “Scenario” and “Check the Rhime
” paint a vivid picture of growing up in Queens, and how the band’s unique approach to hip hop helped transform and influence the genre for years to come.
In addition to chronicling the past, present and uncertain future of the band, the film includes interviews from the Beastie Boys
, Pharrell
, Mos Def
, Santigold, Monie Love, Pete Rock
, Large Professor
, De La Soul, The Jungle Brothers and Common
, all of whom attribute some combination of love, respect, and inspiration drawn from the legacy of A Tribe Called Quest.
Michael Rapaport
Michael David Rapaport is an American, actor, director and a comedian. He has acted in more than forty films since the early 1990s...
about an influential and groundbreaking hip hop group from New York City. Having released five gold and platinum selling albums within eight years, A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...
was one of the most commercially successful and artistically significant musical groups in recent history, and regarded as iconic pioneers of hip hop. The band’s sudden break-up in 1998 shocked the industry and saddened the band's fans.
Plot
A hard-core fan himself, Rapaport sets out on tour with A Tribe Called Quest in 2008, when the group reunited to perform sold-out concerts across the country, almost ten years after the release of their last album, The Love MovementThe Love Movement
The Love Movement is a 1998 album by hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. It was the group's fifth and final album of original material. Musically, it followed in the same vein as Beats, Rhymes and Life, featuring the smooth, jazzy beats of The Ummah. Critical reaction was mostly positive, for the...
. As he travels with the band members (Q-Tip, Phife Dawg
Phife Dawg
Malik Isaac Taylor , better known by his stage name Phife Dawg, is an American rapper of Trinidadian descent, and a member of the acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest with high school classmates Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad...
, Ali Shaheed Muhammad
Ali Shaheed Muhammad
Ali Shaheed Muhammad is an American hip hop DJ, rapper, producer who enjoyed a great deal of fame as a member of A Tribe Called Quest. With Q-Tip and Phife Dawg, the group released five studio albums from 1990 to 1998....
and Jarobi White
Jarobi White
Jarobi White is an American hip hop artist, and one of the four original members of A Tribe Called Quest.|image =- Career :...
), Rapaport captures the story of how tenuous their relationship has become; and how their personal differences and unresolved conflicts continue to be a threat to their creative cohesion. When mounting tensions erupt backstage during a show in San Francisco, the viewer gets a behind-the-scenes look at their journey and contributions as a band and what currently is at stake for these long-time friends and collaborators.
New York’s legendary DJ Red Alert
DJ Red Alert
DJ Red Alert is a disc jockey on 98.7 Kiss-FM, N.Y.C., and has been recognized as a hip hop pioneer...
, Native Tongues
Native tongues
Native Tongues is a book by the linguist Charles Berlitz.It is a list of words in different languages, etymology and questions with speculations far and wide about words....
members like Monie Love
Monie Love
Simone Riscoe , better known by her stage name Monie Love, is an English emcee and former radio personality in the United States...
, The Jungle Brothers, Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes
Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
, and De La Soul
De La Soul
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
speak about the early days of hip hop when young artists discovered the freedom of artistic expression, while rejecting the confines of gangster rap and negative stereotypes. Chronicles of songs like “Scenario” and “Check the Rhime
Check the Rhime
"Check the Rhime" was the first single from A Tribe Called Quest's second album The Low End Theory. It is one of the group's most famous songs and is well known for lines such as Q-Tip's "Industry rule #4,080: Record company people are shady". The Beastie Boys have a similar lyric in their song "In...
” paint a vivid picture of growing up in Queens, and how the band’s unique approach to hip hop helped transform and influence the genre for years to come.
In addition to chronicling the past, present and uncertain future of the band, the film includes interviews from the Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
, Pharrell
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams , commonly known simply as Pharrell, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, composer, and fashion designer. Williams and Chad Hugo make up the record production duo The Neptunes, producing hip hop and R&B music...
, Mos Def
Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
, Santigold, Monie Love, Pete Rock
Pete Rock
Peter Phillips , better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapper. He rose to prominence in the early 1990s as one half of the critically acclaimed group Pete Rock & CL Smooth...
, Large Professor
Large Professor
Large Professor , also known as Large Pro and Xtra P, is a New York City-based hip hop record producer and emcee. He is also best known as a founding member of the influential underground hip hop group Main Source, and as a frequent collaborator with Nas...
, De La Soul, The Jungle Brothers and Common
Common
Common may refer to:* COMMON, the largest association of users of mid-range IBM computers* Common , a British Thoroughbred racehorse* Common , a part of certain Christian liturgy* Commoner, someone does not hold a title of peerage...
, all of whom attribute some combination of love, respect, and inspiration drawn from the legacy of A Tribe Called Quest.
External links
- VIDEO INTERVIEW - Director Michael Rapaport talks about film at the Tribeca Film Festival