Tribe Called Quest - Beats Rhymes & Life

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Music reviews of Beats Rhymes & Life

Music Review: Say Word
Rating: 4 Stars

1. Phony Rappers (3:35) - A sweet track about Q-Tip and Phife throwing it down on the streets for a few nonbelievers. The clever rhymes and a thick, fuzzy bassline provide for an excellent opener.

2. Get A Hold (3:56) - This is a dark, bassed out track that's not as good as Phony Rappers. I could take or leave this one.

3. Motivators (3:20) - A great song. Phife describes it much better than I ever could- "This hear groove was made for vintage freestylin'/feelin like I'm chillin' on the Caribbean Islands."

4. Jam (4:38) - This is one of my favorite tracks of the album. It's the perfect song to put on when you're done with school or work for the week and you just want to bust out for the weekend. Good stuff.

5. Crew (1:58) - Greatly divergent from Jam, Crew is a frustrated song laced with a dark, cloudy organ and a diatribe from Tip.

6. The Pressure (3:02) - Yet another gloomy song, but it's much better than Crew. There is some kickin' scratching/sampling in the beginning that pumps me up.

7. 1nce Again (3:49) - A smooth number with some nice female vocals and a wicked bassline.

8. Mind Power (3:55) - Tip sums this one up perfectly in the opening seconds of the song..."Mmmmm, so funky."

9. The Hop (3:27) - The Hop is a flowing, jazzy song with a catchy refrain that will make you do the hop.

10. Keeping It Moving (3:38) - This is my other favorite of the album. This track is ridiculously tight. There's some fine jazz guitar along with spectacular rhymes that will be stuck in your head for weeks.

11. Baby Phife's Return (3:18) - This one is all Phifey and he throws down as usual, but the beat is pretty weird and dissonant. Not bad.

12. Seperate/Together (1:38) - A short song featuring Tip, a nice beat and some wacky organ sounds.

13. What Really Goes On (3:23) - Some nice horns and rhymes, but there's something missing in What Really Goes On. It sounds pretty half-hearted to me.

14. Word Play - Nice word play with a dizzy, late-night love groove. Good tune.

15. Stressed Out - I don't like this song. I think Faith Evans' appearance is unnecessary and the groove isn't really tight at all. In my opinion, this is a poor closer.

My descriptions en masse may not appear to make this record worthy of 4 stars, but The Tribe has many intangibles that are difficult to describe, and, as with every other Tribe album, the rhymes are all on point. For A Tribe Called Quest fans and hip-hop fans in general, this is a worthy purchase.

Description of Beats Rhymes & Life

Blues CDs

• Music > Styles
• Jazz
• Pop
• R&B
• Rap & Hip-Hop