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

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday MorningAcclaimed director and massive ATCQ fan Michael Rapaport delves into the origins and history of A Tribe Called Quest, one of the most pioneering, influential hip hop groups to emerge since rap burst onto the mainstream with Rapper's Delight in the late 70s/early 80s. Rapaport charts how the groups evolvement started when they met up as friends, to mix beats in their spare time, and how they tried to just be simple entertainment, in contrast to some of the more inflamatory, anti-authoritarian hip hop groups that went before them (as well as explaining the origins of their odd name) before catching up with them on their 2008 reunion tour, where member Phife Dawg has made a comeback after treatment for diabetes.There doesn't seem to be an awful lot of variety in music these days, with everything pretty interchangeable from everything else, and a lot of new stuff not having the confidence to break away from what went before it and trying to branch out on it's own. So it's a shame that a lot of this samey music does contain a strong hip hop flavour to it, since we have a film here that tries to tell the story of a group from a time when rap was coming into it's own as an art form and spreading it's wings and flying in the charts. There was a genuine, truthful message either way to it, whether they be ardent political statements or just spreading a message of chilling out and getting down.It's clear Rapaport's a fan, and there is a genuine air of passion and depth about his subjects. But, as is clear in any group of friends, they were obviously some conflicting personalities and, while they managed to work together as a group, tensions could and did inevitably combust back stage. While neither Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammed or Jarobi White exactly gave off a Tupac Shakur vibe about them, it's clear their 'street attitude' was still there and they weren't afraid to throw the f word around liberally. Still, ATCQ were hardly a group that especially glamourized the nastier things in life, while not exactly spreading a message of peace, just distracting the youth from getting into trouble with their funky, jammy beats.As a suburban white kid (but quite a big fan) there are some aspects of the culture groups like ATCQ represented that will probably always be anathema to me, but that's not to say it's hard to see why groups like them became as successful as they did or grew the fan base they did. ****

I've always been a hip hop fan and was always interested in A Tribe Called Quest. Before watching it, I knew a couple of their songs, but not enough. I was hoping to leave the movie theater ending up a huge Quest fan. Unfortunately, this didn't happen immediately, because the documentary didn't focus on the music as much as I would have liked it to. This movie did inspire me to do some research and about 3 weeks later, I have learned pretty much everything about A Tribe Called Quest. I was surprised about how much drama and how many problems behind the scenes they had. Phife Dawg (the 2nd MC of A Tribe Called Quest) suffers from diabetes and Q-Tip (the leader of A Tribe Called Quest) "took the gym teacher approach with Phife" and that eventually broke the group up. Q-Tip would push Phife into working-out and eating right, but Phife couldn't get over his food/sugar addictions and he resented Q-Tip for this. This resentment eventually escalates to the point where they could not and should not stay as a group. If their no love, they should split up. Unfortunately, Ali (a 3rd member of Quest) was stuck in the middle of these arguments and just watch friendships end. The story has an upsetting ending, but I now understand why the group has broken up. A Tribe Called Quest was really a revolutionary group for hip hop and they made incredible music. Their are also a lot of interviews from producers and other hip hop artists/groups like: Common, De La Soul, Mos Def, and more. The documentary also has a cool part where Q-Tip uses vinyl 2 turntables to create the beat for Can I Kick It? (their most popular song). I was very impressed with Q-Tip's creativity and intelligence.

First off, a big thank you to Michael Rapaport for doing this. And he truly directed a wonderful documentary. I grew up on a tribe called quest, however, I am an African,living in Africa and those were the days before the Internet, so I really never heard any news surrounding the group. This documentary fills in all these gaps for me, finally made me understand what made ATCQ tick and such a brilliant hip-hop group. The director really did a great job balancing the views from both protagonists, Q-tip and Phife. Q-tip really comes across as a musical genius and Phife as the real funky diabetic (never understood this until watching this movie) and I had never heard Ali Shaheed speak, but I was hanging on to every word of his. I think M. Rapaport should have given Ali more time. And Jarobi, the y. Nice dude, from the documentary I'd wish, he had not left the group when he did, he fitted in just like anybody else.Finally, the live shows were amazing. I wish I had had the opportunity to attend just one of them, anyway, if ATCQ ever come to Accra, Ghana, I'll be the first in line to buy tickets.Great documentary, great story-telling from the director, highly recommended to any music lover out there.

If you haven't heard of A Tribe Called Quest where the heck have you been for the last twenty years arguably one of the most respected and commercially successful groups in hip hop's rich history the band were composed of Q-Tip (Kamaal Ibn John Fareed), Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor), DJ Producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White. The group have been widely lauded as the saviours of hip hop along with the other members of the Native Tongues Posse which comprised of a group of like minded individuals who talked, walked and rhymed with the same attitude. Quests was the most commercially successful group from this self proclaimed troupe and have influenced many of hip hop's most prevalent artists of today which include Kanye West & Common. The tale of their meteoric rise to the forefront of hip hop had never chronicled until actor, director and self confessed fan Michael Rapaport picked up a camera and filmed the group's headlining of the Rock the Bells concerts across America in 2008. It's the footage behind the scenes however and the account of the group's inception that gives an insight into the groups break up in 1998.This movie is a testament to a group that changed the parameters of hip hop for a whole generation, not concerned with the gangster rap of the period a Tribe Called Quest like their Native Tongues associates were more interested in the eclectic music and intellectual styled lyrics. The movie has interviews with some of the other members of the Native Tongues movement and many other notable hip hop artists including the Beastie Boys and Common who give credence to the music that Tribe produced. The camera gives an unnerving and sometimes brutally honest look into the lives of the young men from New York who made up the group. The last true American art from after jazz, hip hop with its turntables as instruments is an analogy for America its mesh of cultures and beliefs, creeds and colours which brought about a collective superiority unrivalled in any other music form. I cannot speak with enough enthusiasm about how great this movie is as a documentation of a nostalgic time within hip hop when it was still new, fresh and effervescent. A time when four guys from the New York boroughs came together and created something truly amazing that has, and most likely will stand the test of time. Bittersweet in many parts but filled with a vibrant energy that encompassed everything that was and remains still true to the tribe and everything they stood for.....real innovative, engaging and thought provocative hip hop that defined a generation and spurned a new talented group of hip hop artists and producers that occupy the mainstream today.I cannot speak with enough enthusiasm about how great this movie is as a documentation of the story behind the genius that was a Tribe Called Quest and Rapaport has excellently captured the lives and troubles of real people fraught with human frailties and insecurities like you and me. There is so much drama here that all is needed at times is for Rapaport to simply point the camera and shoot and like a confessional the group members and the people in their lives outpour their feelings. This thereby humanises their tale so that it resonates with every single one of us. Some of the groups most profound thoughts and feelings are captured for the first time which makes this movie simply riveting from start to finish and with the foot tapping soundtrack from the group's back catalogue the movie is like a chronicle of not just the groups fantastic rise but also a generation crying out for music of worth. One of the most memorable lines of the movie comes from Phife Dawg who states "the way hip hop is going right now I could do with it or without it" this sentiment is echoed as the story unfolds and we reminisce on a time when we were growing up and life was simpler than it is right now. Perhaps that is its appeal it has something for us all and in its most ardent revelations it almost shakes the foundations of hip hop. If I haven't suitably summed up the need for you to see this movie then perhaps my highest rating yet will encourage you 4 ½ out of 5 this movie is a must see, not just for lovers of A Tribe Called Quest & hip hop......but for anyone concerned with the inner machinations of a musical groups highs and lows. Beats, Rhymes and Life is due a release later in the year and when it gets a date I'll be the first to give you the heads up.