Beats, Rhymes and Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest (2011)

Directed by: Michael Rapaport | 97 minutes | music, documentary

‘The most intelligent and artistic rap group of the nineties’, is what John Bush of the prestigious ‘All Music Guide’ calls A Tribe Called Quest. The New York collective, which was formed in the mid-1980s and released five successful albums between 1990 and 1998, distinguished themselves not only with their jazzy sound and witty lyrics, but also with the socially conscious messages in their music. They omitted aggressive political statements, such as those made by Public Enemy; their tone was positive. They also sang with respect about women, as can be heard in the single ‘Bonita Applebum’, from the first album ‘People’s Instinctive Travels and the Path of Rhythm’ from 1990. A Tribe Called Quest thus formed an alternative company in the hip-hop world dominated by macho behavior (yes, even then). With their colorful outfits and artistic artwork, they dared to be different. It earned the foursome a lot of respect.

In the documentary ‘Beats, Rhymes and Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest’ (2011) – by actor Michael Rapaport (‘True Romance’, 1993), making his directorial debut – Q-Tip looks , Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White return to their stint on A Tribe Called Quest. They talk about their childhood in Queens (Q-Tip and Phife have known each other since they were two years old) and growing up in the seventies and eighties. “I secretly watched ‘Soul Train’,” recalls Phife, who grew up in a strict church community. In high school they met Ali Shaheed Muhammad, with whom they started making music. Jarobi White, a friend of Phife, joined the group and thanks to The Jungle Brothers, a hip-hop collective that attended the same school, they came up with the name A Tribe Called Quest. Thanks to the same group, their EPs ended up with the influential DJ Red Alert, after which the ball started rolling. Rapaport knows how to create a very authentic atmosphere, like going back with the boys to the late eighties, when it all started for them. As soon as Q-Tip talks about his inspiration (his parents’ record collection), his eyes start to shine: the youthful enthusiasm drips from it.

After the first album, Jarobi left the company; he’d decided he’d rather be in the kitchen. A Tribe Called Quest continued as a trio, after which two outright classics were launched with the albums ‘The Low End Theory’ (1991) and ‘Midnight Marauders’ (1993). It is in those years that A Tribe Called Quest reaches its creative peak. The music from that period also influenced later generations of hip-hoppers, we learn from the conversations Rapaport had with DJs, rappers and other stakeholders. A Tribe Called Quest had (and still has) good ties with colleagues such as Beasty Boys, De La Soul and Run DMC and they were happy to participate in the documentary. After ‘Midnight Marauders’ things started to rumble within the group. Phife was found to have type 1 diabetes, which is not really compatible with his sugar addiction. In addition, there was friction because control freak Q-Tip wanted to leave his mark on the new record too much. When ‘Beats, Rhymes and Life’ was released in 1996, the downward spiral had clearly set in, although this album, the darker one than its predecessors, also managed to captivate the critics. At the time of ‘The Love Movement’ (1998) the group was on the brink of death. Not long after the release of that album, Q-Tip gave up.

Rapaport has a strong sense of how crucial the synergy between Q-Tip and Phife is to the group’s success. When that interaction is there, wonderful things happen on stage and in the studio. When the chemistry is gone, the two clash enormously. The more balanced and calm Ali Shaheed is somewhere in between, trying to keep the peace. Rapaport captured intriguing footage during a reunion tour in 2008. Phife agreed to the tour because of hospital bills that kept piling up. His illness grips him so much that all it takes is something to happen and he explodes. And let Q-Tip make the wrong comment. Rarely has a love-hate relationship been portrayed more aptly; Rapaport is on top of it. Anyone who sees them like this would think that things will never work out between the two of them.

Beats, Rhymes and Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest could have become a standard music documentary made by an avid fan who used to play the group’s records gray. Well, Rapaport, who put a lot of love into his film, will undoubtedly have done so. What makes his film so strong is that he also closely observes the decline of the collective and does so in a dynamic way. Due to his modest attitude, the protagonists in the conflict dare to be candid, which produces intriguing images. The mutual tensions are palpable. This excellently made music documentary is not to be missed, especially for hip-hop lovers from the very beginning!