"After Hours" by A Tribe Called Quest
Jungle Brothers and A Tribe Called Quest went to high school together. Both started rapping in the mid-eighties. They shared classes, they shared a manager (DJ Red Alert), and they shared a worldview informed by their participation in the Universal Zulu Nation. They saw themselves as a tight-knit family and carried this mentality into the formation of the Native Tongues. The Tribe is the third founding member of the collective to be covered on this blog.
The band introduces itself to the listeners after the first track of their debut album. Ali Shaheed Muhammad lays the foundation for the Tribe as "the sound provider" while Q-Tip (Kamaal Ibn John Fareed, formerly Jonathan Davis) fronts the Tribe as the "top of the pyramid". At the top, he acts as the group's creative, intellectual, and spiritual leader and works as the liaison between the Tribe and other mainstream or alternative hip hop acts. Ali and Q-Tip were the first of what was to become A Tribe Called Quest to perform together. The duo sought the addition of another MC, Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor), with whom they occasionally collaborated. The collaboration would become permanent only after they recruited a fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, a close friend of Phife's. In the song, Phife is introduced as Jarobi's "right hand man" while Jarobi (the speaker) introduces himself as "the last but not the least, the least but not the last).
The group held influence over the alternative hip hop movement in the late eighties but did not settle on a record deal until 1989. Despite numerous, rich offers from several big labels, they opted to sign a modest deal with independent rap label (at the time, anyway) Jive Records. Jive impressed the Tribe with their dedication to their artists' longevity and attention to grass roots fan bases. They released their first official single "Bonita Applebum" at the turn of the decade (though a promo single was released in 1989) and released their debut album People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm soon after in April. While De La Soul's debut and Jungle Brother's sophomore album were met with raucous critical and commercial success, A Tribe Called Quest's debut was slower out of the gates. The album's sales opened light but slowly gained momentum to eventually be certified gold. Critically, the reviews came out mixed. Critics felt the album was "undanceable" or commended Instinctive Travels's experimental tendencies while reserving judgement on whether or not the experiments worked or not. The trend is that most people didn't know what to make of the album.
If you listened to this album and the two previous albums on the Musical History Tour, you might assume that all it takes to release a Native Tongues album is jazz samples, non-traditional lyrical content, and an Afrocentric attitude. Although these are honest first reactions, to pigeonhole the albums in such a way is to limit each group's individuality that really allow them and their work to stand out. Ali's DJ work sounds honest and fun and embodies the group's experimental nature, a sonic ride where anything can happen just for the sake of trying it out. Coupling the DJ with the MC, Q-Tip's lyrics share the same quality but provide the rhythm with narrative. Q-Tip tells stories. There's no grandstanding or posturing. Instead, he speaks directly to the listener to teach and entertain.
Here is the discography surrounding A Tribe Called Quest's debut album:
Description of a Fool (1989 promo single)
Bonita Applebum (1990 single)
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
Can I Kick It? (1990 single)
I Left My Wallet in El Segundo (1990 single)
"I Lost My Wallet in El Segundo" by A Tribe Called Quest
If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.
Pass the Headphones!!
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