837 A Tribe Called Quest - People’s Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm (1990)

 837 A Tribe Called Quest - People’s Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm (1990)

Studio Album - Hip-Hop


About the Act:

A Tribe Called Quest was an American Hip Hop group from Queens, New York, and existed from 1985-1998 with some reunions since. They were regarded as one of the influential groups in "Alternative Hip Hop" in the 90s, and have had 6 studio albums, 5 of which were in their first incarnation.


About the Album:

This was the group's first album and heavily features front-man, producer and rapper Q-Tip.


My History with this Album:

I have a vague feeling I have heard it before, but cannot really place that feeling.


Review:

I don't know if it was inevitable, I don't think so, but something odd has happened. I listened to a rap album, twice, and enjoyed it. I really did. So far, this is the best rap album I have heard. I think.

There are many contributory factors for this I think, and not just because I have come out of a glut of 60s soul. Let's dig into this a bit. 

Music. So, like most of the hip hop albums I have encountered, there are no actual instrumental musicians involved, but a plethora of samples, some musical, some sound effects, some speech. Firstly, I would say they are used well, secondly and most important, they are mostly cool grooves from Funk or similar sources. Combined with the beats, they form good grooves. Now, what makes a groove good, in my taste, I'm not sure, but I got a feet-tapping feeling from most of the tracks, and this is probably the most important thing that swayed me. I actually enjoyed it musically. The production is good, and clean, and nicely varied, and there are a few samples from things I recognise, like "Take A Walk on the Wild Side".

The rapping: well as I have said often, I am no expert on rap styles, but Q-tip in particular has a style I appreciate. It is laid back and quite chilled, with a slightly sardonic, tongue-in-cheek feel, but not bitter with it. Many years ago, somebody lent me a rap album by a British group, I think, that was similar in style to this, and I enjoyed that too. There may be ab element of familiarity to this, in that although I'm not generally a fan of rap, I do enjoy some Acid Jazz, some of which is rappy, which I think has often had a similar rap style to this.

The content. It is such a relief to find some rap that I could actually play in front of my kids for the most part. Swearing is rare, there is nothing about killing and gangs, there is some about sex, but more witty than explicit, and there is a track about a French guy, a track about food, a track about working for your dreams, a track about not being a fool, and the story track "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo". And others. There are some I am less sure what they are about, and that's fine. The lyrics are mostly understandable by me, and are well-written, witty, measured. This is rap I can respect.

So, all in all, a good package. It's great to find an enjoyable rap album, it makes me hope there might be more. 


7.2/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3kV0i1qqudjf0PGawJ4jck

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmzP977za2bKOlWs4BsiAFpCtkmnWWMiH

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Instinctive_Travels_and_the_Paths_of_Rhythm



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