Around 20 years ago, I came across a song that would become the cornerstone of my love for Hip Hop. Called “Check The Rhyme”, it blended jazz and the relatively young art of hip hop in such a way that was quite different from the N.W.A’s, the LL Cool J’s, and Ice Cubes that ruled the scene. A Tribe Called Quest holds that instant soothing 90′s nostalgia that hip hop fans of all types could hold on to. Before breaking up in 1998, they released 3 of the most iconic and remembered albums in hip hop history. Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammed, Phife Dawg, and Jarobi could do little wrong in my musical eyes and when they broke up, it was a sad day for all of hip hop.
One of the greatest hip hop albums ever…
Actor and filmmaker Michael Rappaport is a fan and a friend of the crew and documented the reunion in 2008 during the Rock The Bells tour that featured many of their old collective called the Native Tongues. The tension experienced then during the tour led to a unique look into what destroyed the magical vybe that the group had back in the day. Beats, Rhymes, and Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest is a documentary of what brought them together, what brought they’re magic to life, and what tore that magic apart.
The movie begins essentially where the reunion ends, with Q-Tip asking if Phife, Ali, and Jarobi said that was the last time that Tribe performs. Rappaport tells them that they did. Watching the expression in Q-Tip’s emotionally exhausted face says it all before the movie even really begins. From that point on, you are left with a sense of wondering how things could have gotten so bad that a crew of childhood friends would still hold such anger after so many years. Michael then proceeds to weave the tale in a manner that works as a documentary should. Interviews with all of the groups members reveal their memories and feelings for the genesis of the group on through the conception of their legendary discography.
One of the more appealing moments of that process was the role of Jarobi who essentially pulled them all together. Waiting for pickup games at the Saint Albans park, Jarobi and Phife Dawg would freestyle and beatbox. Shortly after, Phife introduced Jarobi to Q-Tip who was a close friend of his from church. Later on, the three would meet up with producer and DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammed and the group (then just called Quest) was formed. Somewhere in the midst of it all, Q-Tip explains Jarobi to be “the spirit of A Tribe Called Quest”. Somehow, that doesn’t really define his role in layman’s terms but I took this to mean that he was the glue. His light hearted nature and closeness to Phife is what pulled them together and gave them their early identity and even when he left after the first album.
As the movie continues, the classic tracks are played like “Excursions”, “Check The Rhyme”, “Buggin Out” and the head nod is inescapable as always. Rappaport gets an interesting amount of other hip hop elitists like Pharrel Williams (of N.E.R.D. and the Neptunes), Common, Black Thought (of The Roots), and De La Soul to comment on the effect that Tribe’s music had on them as people and artists. It was heart warming to see that artists of this calibur had such high praise for the innovative sound that Tribe had.
One scene in particular stuck with me that featured Busta Rhymes. As he came to visit Tribe on one occassion while the film crew was documenting, he spoke on how he was in tears listening to an old Tribe classic in the car. It was clear at that moment that Busta missed the creativity, love, and passion that hip hop had back then. I’m sure many hip hop heads today would say the same.
Rappaport finally manages to pull this documentary into some kind of form as he centers in on how many describe what Q-Tip brought to the group and what Phife brought. Q-tip was smooth and had a unique and quirky appeal. Phife brought that “rough neck” street wise flair that kept the group from being too soft. Their contrast in flows unfortunately had a similar difference in personalities as well. As the movie went on, the interviews with Phife detailed his life long battle with Type 1 diabetes and intense passion for sports. Though he loves hip hop, sports is his first love. With Q-Tip, music dominates his all and his perfectionist mentality made him an unofficial leader of the group especially in the studio. It was quite clear that as the movie progressed, Phife became more and more aggrevated. Eventually, this led to a documented verbal fight between Phife and Q-Tip while at the 2008 Rock The Bells event. With friends and other acts there to witness and intervene, the scene was certainly one that will tear at the heart of any Tribe fan.
Rappaport attempts to try to coax explainations from Q-Tip, Phife, and others yet never gets a clear answer as to why the beef remains after all those years. The movie still manages to show the love that they all have for each other though. Never quite so bitter that they can’t exist in the same room, things wrap up on a good note that leaves hope for the legendary crew to come together one day.
Beats, Rhymes, & Life is a welcome look into one of the most loved groups in all of hip hop. Rappaport may not shock the world from a hard core fan’s perspective, but casual fans of Tribe will be fascinated with the insight into Tribe’s internal strife. Either way you look at it, this film is a requirement in any hip hop lover’s movie library.
