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The Low End Theory
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The Low End Theory is the second album by A Tribe Called Quest, released on September 24, 1991 through Jive Records. With the pairing of Q-Tip and Phife Dawg's lyrics, at turns socially charged, abstract and concretely grounded in reality, with groovy jazz samples, the album includes guests Brand Nubian, Diamond D and Leaders of the New School, the original rap group of Busta Rhymes.
beats are widely different from the about-to-explode G funk sound being pioneered on the West Coast, and shares more of an influence with East Coast artists.
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Encyclopedia
The Low End Theory is the second album by A Tribe Called Quest, released on September 24, 1991 through Jive Records. With the pairing of Q-Tip and Phife Dawg's lyrics, at turns socially charged, abstract and concretely grounded in reality, with groovy jazz samples, the album includes guests Brand Nubian, Diamond D and Leaders of the New School, the original rap group of Busta Rhymes.
Overview
The beats are widely different from the about-to-explode G funk sound being pioneered on the West Coast, and shares more of an influence with East Coast artists. With dominant basslines and sampled jazz horn solos, The Low End Theory has a distinctive sound that met the high expectations after their critically acclaimed debut People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. The Low End Theory includes instrumental work from several pioneering musicians, including upright bassist Ron Carter ("Verses from the Abstract").
The Low End Theory ranked #154 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, #32 in Spin magazine's "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s", and was the album of the year for Spex magazine (also #10 on the "100 Albums of the Century"). It also made it onto the unordered The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums by The Source, the "100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century" by Vibe magazine, and "Essential Recordings of the 90s" by Rolling Stone.
The Low End Theory became a watershed album in the history of hip hop music. The album established alternative hip hop as a definable genre, distinguished by aware, often abstract or political lyrics, and a light-hearted sense of humor, along with jazz and other unusual sampling sources. The Low End Theory transformed alternative hip hop, leading the way from the jazzy pioneers like De La Soul towards future artists like Common and The Roots. The song "Scenario" helped break future hip hop star Busta Rhymes into the mainstream, partially as a result of its popular music video on MTV. Some sources, such as Angus Crawford of mvremix.com, say that "Scenario" is the best posse cut ever.
Phife Dawg, who fans thought of as adequate but nothing special on the first album, greatly improved his style on this album. This amazing turn-around is highly respected in hip hop circles. Songs like "Buggin' out" and "Butter" showcased Phife's new confidence.
Topics include the music industry's exploitation of musicians ("Rap Promoter", "Show Business"), music ("Excursions"), date rape ("The Infamous Date Rape"), violence in hip hop ("Vibes and Stuff") and the beauty of jazz ("Jazz (We've Got)").
It was certified platinum by RIAA on February 1, 1995.
In 2006, the album was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 best albums of all time.
When the album was first brought to the studio heads, they hated the album and thought it was not very good at all. People like Barry Weiss (the former president of Jive, now the Chairman of BMG) told them that it would be a commercial and critical failure. However due to the label's faith in Q-Tip and the rest of the group the album was released mostly unchanged and it has since achieved worldwide critical acclaim.
Track listing
All tracks produced by A Tribe Called Quest unless noted.
| # | Title | Performer(s) | Time |
|---|
| 1 | "Excursions" | Q-Tip | 3:53 | | 2 | "Buggin' Out" | Phife Dawg, Q-Tip | 3:38 | | 3 | "Rap Promoter" | Q-Tip | 2:13 | | 4 | "Butter" | Phife Dawg | 3:39 | | 5 | "Verses from the Abstract" | Q-Tip, Ron Carter, Vinia Mojica | 3:59 | | 6 | "Show Business" (co-produced with Skeff Anselm) | Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Lord Jamar, Sadat X, Diamond D | 3:53 | | 7 | "Vibes and Stuff" | Q-Tip, Phife Dawg | 4:18 | | 8 | "The Infamous Date Rape" | Q-Tip, Phife Dawg | 2:54 | | 9 | "Check the Rhime" | Phife Dawg, Q-Tip | 3:36 | | 10 | "Everything Is Fair" (co-produced with Skeff Anselm) | Q-Tip | 2:58 | | 11 | "Jazz (We've Got)" | Q-Tip, Phife Dawg | 4:09 | | 12 | "Skypager" | Q-Tip, Phife Dawg | 2:13 | | 13 | "What?" | Q-Tip | 2:29 | | 14 | "Scenario" | Phife Dawg, Charlie Brown, Dinco D, Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes | 4:10 |
Singles
| Single information |
|---|
"Check the Rhime"
- Released: September 6, 1991
- B-side: "Skypager"
| | "Jazz (We've Got)"Released: November 27, 1991B-side: "Buggin' Out" | | "Scenario"Released: March 13, 1992B-side: "Butter" |
Samples
- "Excursions"
- The Last Poets - "Time"
- The Last Poets - "Tribute to Obabi"
- Shades of Brown - "The Soil I Tilled For You"
- Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers - "A Chant for Bu"
- "Buggin' Out"
- Jack DeJohnette - "Minya's the Mooch"
- Lonnie Smith - "Spinning Wheel"
- Michael Urbaniak - "Ekim"
- "Rap Promoter"
- "Butter"
- Eighties Ladies - "Turned On To You"
- Chuck Jackson - "I Like Everything About You"
- Gary Bartz - "Gentle Smiles"
- Weather Report - "Young and Fine"
- "Verses from The Abstract"
- "Show Business"
- "Vibes and Stuff"
- Grant Green - "Down Here on the Ground"
- "The Infamous Date Rape"
- Jackie Jackson - "Is It Him Or Me?"
- Cannonball Adderley - "The Steam Drill"
- Les McCann - "North Carolina"
- "Check the Rhime"
- "Everything is Fair"
- Bobby Byrd - "Hot Pants... I'm Coming, I'm Coming, I'm Coming"
- Funkadelic - "Let's Take It To The People"
- Harlem Underground Band - "Ain't No Sunshine"
- Willis Jackson - "Ain't No Sunshine"
- "Jazz (We've Got)"
- Five Stairsteps - "Don't Change Your Love"
- Sly & the Family Stone - "Sing a Simple Song"
- Freddie Hubbard - "Red Clay"
- Lucky Thompson - "Green Dolphin Street"
- Mountain - "Long Red"
- "What?"
- Paul Humphrey - "Uncle Willie's Dream"
- "Scenario"
- Emotions - "Blind Alley"
- Kool and the Gang - "Give It Up"
- Kool and the Gang - "Soul Vibrations"
- Ohio Players - "Ecstasy"
- Brother Jack McDuff - "Oblighetto"
- Jimi Hendrix - "Little Miss Lover"
In Popular Culture
The album is referenced throughout Kidz in the Hall's 2008 song "Drivin' Down the Block (Low End Theory)," which states, "Drivin' down the block/Low End theory tape's in/Playing number six/'Show Business' is my shit."
Charts
Album
| Charts (1991) | Peak
position |
|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 45 | | U.S. Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums | 13 | |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions |
|---|
| Billboard Hot 100 | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | Hot Rap Singles | Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales |
|---|
| 1991 | "Check the Rhime" | — | 59 | 1 | 28 | | 1992 | "Jazz (We've Got)" | — | — | 19 | — | | "Scenario" | 57 | 42 | 6 | 34 | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Accolades
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|
| The Arizona Republic | U.S. | 8 Albums That VH1 Missed | 2001 | * | | BigO | Singapore | The 100 Best Albums from 1975 to 1995 | 1995 | 78 | | Blender Magazine | U.S. | The 100 Greatest American Albums of All Time | 2002 | 53 | | Dance de Lux | Spain | The 25 Best Hip-Hop Records | 2001 | 10 | | Ego Trip | U.S. | Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980-98 | 1999 | 2 | | Fast 'n' Bulbous | U.S. | The 500 Best Albums Since 1965 | | 407 | | Juice | Australia | The 100 (+34) Greatest Albums of the 90s | 1999 | 61 | | Kitsap Sun | U.S. | Top 200 Albums of the Last 40 Years | 2005 | 151 | | LostAtSea | U.S. | 90 Albums of the 90's | 2000 | 72 | | Mojo | U.K. | The Mojo Collection, Third Edition | 2003 | * | | Music Underwater | U.S. | Top 100 Albums 1990-2003 | 2004 | 53 | | Paul Morley | UK | Words and Music, 5 x 100 Greatest Albums of All Time | 2003 | * | | Pitchfork Media | U.S. | Top 100 Favorite Records of the 1990s | 2003 | 56 | | Robert Dimery | U.S. | 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die | 2005 | * | | Rock de Lux | Spain | The 150 Best Albums from the 90s | 2000 | 128 | Rolling Stone
(guest article by
Chris Rock) | USA | Top 25 Hip- Hop Albums | 2005 | 9 | | Rolling Stone | U.S. | The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time | 2003 | 154 | | Rolling Stone | U.S. | The Essential Recordings of the 90's | 1999 | * | | Spex | Germany | The 100 Albums of the Century | 1999 | 10 | | Spin | U.S. | 100 Alternative Albums | 1995 | 87 | | Spin | U.S. | Top 100 (+5) Albums of the Last 20 Years | 2005 | 38 | | Spin | U.S. | Top 90 Albums of the 90's | 1999 | 32 | | Stereophile | U.S. | Top 40 (+94) Essential Albums | 2002 | * | | The Source | U.S. | The Source 100 best Hip-Hop Albums of All Time | 1998 | * | | TIME | U.S. | The All-TIME 100 Albums | 2006 | * | | Vibe | U.S. | 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century | 1999 | * | | Vibe | U.S. | 51 Albums Representing a Generation, a Sound and a Movement | 2004 | * | | Zundfunk | Germany | The Best Albums of the 90's | 2000 | 16 |
- An asterisk (*) designates lists which are unordered.
Personnel
Main group members
Other musicians
Technical contributors
- Skeff Anselm – producer
- Pete Christensen, Eric Gast, Rod Hui, Gerard Julien, Jim Kvoriac, Tim Latham, Anthony Saunders, Christopher Shaw, Marc Singleton, Jamey Staub, Dan Wood – engineers
- Tom Coyne – mastering
- Joe Grant – photography
- Bob Power – engineer, mixing
- Zombart JK – design
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