A Tribe Called Quest Documentary Masterfully Crafted, Disastrously Tragic Tale

Last week, the documentary Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest released to select theaters in ATL, so - like clockwork - here's a look at how the film unfolded.

You get more than just a bland VH1's Behind The Music, Google-able content-having look at the hiphop group A Tribe Called Quest. This wasn't a "Where Are They Now?!" flick either. Nor is it a fluffy "I love this group, please, please come back" news-lacking joint either. The documentary is for everyone - from ATCQ lovers to those who are looking at the aforementioned acronym confused - that tells the tragic tale of what the hell happened to the legendary Low End Theory creators.

Finally, a music doc with complementary visuals! Normally, most music documentary makers will give you an interview, old photo montages and concert scenes and a scene from what the artist is doing now with no additional visuals and an aspiration that the audience will be glad to see their artist is relevant again. Beats Rhymes & Life adds so many other visuals that seamlessly travel us through each scene. The way they breathe life into the already animated album covers makes each point visual, and it gives the albums more than just an aural-pleasing factor.

Along with the visuals of the album covers and the seamless transition from interviews to concerts to in-studio action, the score was equally expressive. It didn't just come with the hits from Tribe, and then other traditional hiphop music, but an atypical bebop-sounding score. It was very Ovation Network-like, innovative music that guides the scenes along the rollercoaster of the group's life.

You don't only get to see small peeps of Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi, and this doesn't become the story of the ever-present emergence of Q-Tip. Beat Rhymes & Life shines a light on each member and their exact need in ATCQ. The emergence of Phife Dawg was the biggest part of the movie. I was a bigger fan of Phife over Q-Tip because of his liveliness and honesty. While Tip was smooth and educational, Phife brought a realness and grittiness to the group. The documentary shows how powerful his punchlines were, how he gave the group their edge and how his and Q-Tip's differences ultimately kicks the group's ass. Through Phife's lines, as well as each interview throughout the doc's timeline, you see his perspective on how he felt his work went unappreciated as a member of ATCQ. Then there was how he perceived Q-Tip as being bigger than the group.

When speaking on the part of the breakup, the most eye-opening part of the film was Phife's reference to The Supremes. "I guess Ali is Mary Wilson and I'm Florence Ballard? Yo, get the fuck outta here!" Phife says. Although, as the documentary shows (and I won't go into with much detail), those feelings weren't as present between group members, but throughout their entire heyday there was bad communication between the group. Exhibit A: Phife not being upfront with his diabetes seemed to be the snowball that formed just before it rolled downhill. B: Q-Tip's lack of understanding of the other members' needs seemed like dude was cold. Again, not going into too much detail!

Inadvertently, this documentary shows a high and painful price to make as perfect music as A Tribe Called Quest set out to do. Everyone who claims to know a thing or two about hiphop owns at least two albums by these guys. Anybody who aren't big fans of hiphop respect Tribe for not being misogynistic and violent, and for being themselves yet relative to the average man. Anyone who is originally part of the hiphop generation saw the era that is in the ATCQ documentary, the era (and documentary) they helped build.

I hope this provides a charge to the currently stagnant hiphop culture and capital-controlled rap industry. Yes, the documentary shows there was trouble within the group, but it also showed just how much love, peace and unity there was among everyone who loved ATCQ. Seeing the whole Native Tongues collective form and their journey throughout hiphop's golden era in this documentary brought me to near-tears. You know how when you go to the best restaurant and eat the best dish in the world, just to go back home to your freezer full of Stoffer's? That's how I felt after the movie. Had a great fine-dining experience for brunch with Beats Rhymes & Life, then headed home to my Stouffer's frozen dinner.

Star's Grade: A+

Eli Porter in the building! No, seriously...

For Frank151, I covered the documentary screening of Eli Porter at Apache Cafe. It was only the first half, but it was a good first half, as we got the whole dissection of the YouTube video where Eli Porter diiid it. Here's an excerpt of my coverage:

Yes, there was the comedy factor with appearances from Andy Milonakis and drunken Chamblee High classmates of Eli, but it also included constructive analysis from journalists Dallas Penn and Jay Smooth on nearly every aspect of what happened in that video. The film dissected everything that was going on in the Twilight Zone-looking YouTube video - from the powerful Eli punchline "I did it," to the odd stuff going on in the back (the heart that pops up around Eli after his turn, Marv-O's adventurous hands, Envy's possibly pre-written battle raps, and much more) - the audience sat in awe as they found out the details of the video.

A Rant on Lauryn Hill

This rant is brought to you by Fusetv and the video I posted on Tumblr. One of my favorite music journalist Toure got to sit down with Lauryn Hill, talking about her absence and her return to the industry.


And the rant begins...

I look up to this woman for reasons other than her music - it's because she is the perfect example of a strong, Black woman, and she showed that in her absence. When Questlove said in My Mic Sounds Nice that her 10-year absence is the movements tsunami, and Russell Simmons started a statement with "the tragedy of Lauryn Hill began when...", I was heated because that was just so stingy for them to say that (which also goes without saying that hiphop is indeed a stingy culture), and no one really cared to say what she did was probably the best thing for hiphop. Think about it - she blew the hell up! Fast! And we all know what happens to artists who are instantly enveloped in the spotlight (i.e. Kanye West, Destiny's Child/Beyonce, etc), they turn into pop and can no longer find themselves or their true sound. Better stated - their sound is dictated by the dollar. I personally was glad that she left because (this is me being honest) she felt uncomfortable with the music she was putting out, and didn't want to do it, so she left. Good for her.


Whether or not her craft touched you in a way that made you upset she left, don't forget she's a human being too and has needs that will go before your needs because she's that amazing (POW!). Why is she amazing? Because she started a whole other movement just by being herself, and didn't even know it (because she was definitely the anchor and pioneer for the neo-soul movement).


Also, and I will NEVER consider this a crutch or really want to validate this as a reason, but she's a woman/mother. She got knocked up so she had to take care of them. Why on earth should the world ridicule her for that? Why should hiphop, of all maternally-oriented cultures, ridicule her for that?


I care about the person first, then the artist, then their music (in that order), just as everyone else should. And the fact that she has evolved and is doing HER OWN THING makes me even more proud of her. I hope her next album will represent her, I no longer care if it "sounds good"!


If I went to Rock The Bells (which I didn't have to because half of the footage is uploaded on everyone's site who did attend the concerts), I would have applauded Lauryn for her additions and changes to her famous hits. Now, although it is a tour that is designed to be reminiscent of hiphop's past, one can't just discount an artist for putting their own spin on their music to better express themselves on stage. So what she put a higher tempo on her songs off Miseducation? She was experimenting, that shouldn't put her on everyone's shit list!


Speaking of her artistry, people who had a problem with her Unplugged sessions need to take a seat! Those numbers, if you heard them correctly, were symbolic of things she was going through. Why belittle her for that? If you were pissed about the misinterpretations of your miseducation, then you would respond in the same way. Unfortunately, the world we live in would react in the same fashion most of you guys did to her. Go us! (I guess)


I hope she releases an album that makes everyone eat their words. Literally. New York Times would eat their paper, people who tweeted hateful things about her would eat their computers or BlackBerrys, and the folks who talked trash about her return will receive the "I told you so" song and dance.


I feel the need to celebrate early, excuse me:

Rant over.

Last Week on Tumblr...

For those that may not know, this blog has a sidekick!

When I'm not posting reviews, commentaries, and such, I am posting small music tidbits on Tumblr, titled Bubble Gum Pop Rap Lite. Almost anything has been posted on this site, from neat music articles to singles from great artists. Every week I'll give you a taste of what I've come across on the radio, in the news, and online. Enjoy!


Posted July 31st: I rant about switching lives with people who run clubs, mainly because I stood outside a club for an hour just to see an art exhibit that night. The art was great, and was actually worth standing in 90+ degree weather, but sheesh! (yeah, still mad)


Posted July 30th: found Rah Digga's album cover for her latest project Classic, Uffie's thoughts on fellow "hip-hopper" and swagger-jacker Ke$ha, and news on the record store documentary I Need That Record! being released to major DVD sellers including Netflix.


Posted July 29th: I put my MP3 player on shuffle and comment on the first 10 songs that come up. Plus, the new video for Chromeo's "Don't Turn The Lights On" and some tunes to back up my Black rocker rant, The Five One's "DC Sleeps."


Posted July 28th: One of my favorite chill records Zero 7 "In The Waiting Line" and Zach Galifianakis (omg, I spelled his name right again) does a remake to Anita Baker classic "You Bring Me Joy".


Posted July 27th: Psychologists finally catch up with the mind of musicians and write this "wonderful discovery" on the Rock 'n' Roll lifestyle. I dubbed it Rock 'n' Roll Psychology 101 - class is in session. I guess. Also a very cinematic video to The Roots "The Fire" off their new album How I Got Over.


Posted July 26th: After reading an article from the New York Times, I find this music video by one of the sissy bounce artists, Sissy Nobby called "Beat It Out The Frame", and yes, it goes there!

A Rant on Rock and Race: Can I Be A Black Rocker?

Earlier today I was watching Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll, a documentary on the concert in Fox Theater celebrating Chuck Berry's 60th birthday. In that documentary there was a segment featuring Little Richard and Chuck Berry (of course) talking about how their beginning journey in music was misunderstood. According to the radio stations and DJs back then, their music (and any other Black musician that wasn't carrying a sax or trumpet) was NOT Rock music, but R&B. In this documentary, however, Little Richard and Chuck Berry made it quite clear that they had nothing to do with calling their music R&B and wanted everything to do with being associated with Rock 'n' Roll.

Now I'm not a big fan of sub-genres (and really genres, period), so to hear such legendary musicians make that anti-distinction of their music made me proud of my viewpoint on music. Music is music. Everybody has a right to be rockers, just as everybody has a right to rap - no matter the color, gender, sexual preference. Unfortunately, we live in a world that doesn't see things the same way. Although R&B (rhythm and blues) fits for a typical Black musician, that doesn't mean all Black people want to be known as R&B singers. Just because a white person can play the guitar it doesn't mean they should be immediately ostracized from R&B.

With that said, I look at Afro-Punk a little bit different from other sub-genres and subcultures. I see the movement in "making Rock Black again" and I see it holding a significance to the Rock community as a whole - more than I see it being significant to the Black community. Not to downplay its presence in that community (and to make this piece specifically about Black music), but I think Afro-Punk is exactly what Rock needs, not because of its heavy political content, but because it shows that Rock is not, or ever was, only for white people to master. I'm not saying only white people listen to Rock music in general, but there has always been a problem in the music industry when a Black musician does something other than rap or sing. They are immediately isolated from both the Black community and the Rock community, the general Punk culture included. It's like you can't be Black and a rocker!

Here's a joint by Brittany Bosco called "Ragdoll". Now would you call this song, and this artist, Rock, R&B, or is this even necessary because she's Black?



There are plenty of Rock musicians that get little to no mainstream radio time mainly because they fail to fit in the Black music box. Take Ben Harper for example, who has been in the Rock game for nearly twenty years. It is next to impossible to hear him on ANY station, and their reason (at least one station I talked to about him) was that "he doesn't fit the type of Rock music we play." When I listen to him I hear the exact same Rock music they play. Maybe I'm wrong, and if so, help a sister out:



All I'm saying is that it's hard to be Black, a Rock musician, AND a Black Rock musician. It is next to impossible to merge the two in the kind of musical society we live in today, and that really applies to all music genres - hiphop, country, etc. The bottom line is as a [insert race here] person you have to choose between doing [insert race here] music and consider "being down" with the group, or you decide to step outside if your "chosen" musical genre and leave [insert race here].