A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory 2LP

While most of the players in the jazz-rap movement never quite escaped the pasted-on qualities of their vintage samples, with "The Low End Theory", A Tribe Called Quest created one of the closest and most brilliant fusions of jazz atmosphere and hip-hop attitude ever recorded.

The rapping by Q-Tip and Phife Dawg could be the smoothest of any rap record ever heard; the pair are so in tune with each other, they sound like flip sides of the same personality, fluidly trading off on rhymes, with the former earning his nickname (the Abstract) and Phife concerning himself with the more concrete issues of being young, gifted and black. The trio also takes on the rap game with a pair of hard-hitting tracks: Rap Promoter and Show Business, the latter a lyrical soundclash with Q-Tip and Phife plus Brand Nubian's Diamond D, Lord Jamar and Sadat X. The woman problem gets investigated as well, on two realistic yet sensitive tracks, Butter and The Infamous Date Rape.

The productions behind these tracks aren't quite skeletal, but they're certainly not complex. Instead, Tribe weaves little more than a stand-up bass (sampled or, on one track, jazz luminary Ron Carter) and crisp, live-sounding drum programs with a few deftly placed samples or electric keyboards. It's a tribute to their unerring production sense that, with just those few tools, Tribe produced one of the best hip-hop albums in history, a record that sounds better with each listen.

"The Low End Theory" is an unqualified success, the perfect marriage of intelligent, flowing raps to nuanced, groove-centred productions.

Tracklist:

1. Excursions
2. Buggin' Out
3. Rap Promoter
4. Butter
5. Verses from The Abstract [feat. Vinia Mojica and Ron Carter]
6. Show Business [feat. Diamond D, Lord Jamar and Sadat X]
7. Vibes and Stuff
8. The Infamous Date Rape
9. Check the Rhime
10. Everything Is Fair
11. Jazz (We've Got)
12. Skypager
13. What?
14. Scenario [feat. Busta Rhymes, Charlie Brown and Dinco D]

About this product: this reissue is pressed on 2x black vinyl.