I was super fortunate to be invited to a private screening of Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest documentary last night. Good looks to Bahr Brown for the invitation. I will say right off the bat due to the negative internet feedback the doc has been receiving also the double thumbs down that Q-Tip has been campaigning towards the movie and the shitty trailer that was leaked over four months ago, I did not walk into the theatre with the most positive vibe. I was expecting 90min. of bickering and fighting with the end result being the villainization of Q-Tip(somebody has to be the bad guy...right?)
I was completely wrong kids. The movie is a fair view of four friends that organically came together to form one of the most influential hip hop groups of my time. Truth is that Tribe is without a doubt the baby and brainchild of Q-Tip. By far the creator and organizer. As always with great power comes great responsibility. Does Q-Tip come off as an asshole in the
movie? Fuck yeah he does...but that comes with the territory. Being around creatives since I was 13 it is typical behavior to be a control freak, moody fuck and yes...asshole at times. That being said, Tip I feel media wise pertaining to Tribe has always played it cool and never to my knowledge taken credit for the sound and vibe. The movie explains that he produced all three first Tribe albums but always put Tribe first and never himself. It was about the whole crew getting shine because at the end of the day Tribe is Tip's creation but could have never done it alone. Without Phife, Ali and Jarobi there is no Tribe and there is no Q-Tip. I don't want to give too much of the movie away, you just have to go. If you are a half self respected Tribe Called Quest fan...cough up the 12 beans and check the movie out when it drops. Below are the Tribe tracks that help mold, shape and completely fuck my mind up. Queens is in the house...represent...represent...sent...sent...
Holy shit I remember it like yesterday hearing all these songs for the first time and feeling like nothing in the world could fuck with me...thank you for the memories now and in the future...
