I have been listening to the album for the past few days. I find myself choosing to listen to it when I am doing some sort of housework or laundry. The mellow mood of the album makes it easy to listen to.
To get a better understanding of The Low End Theory, I decided to look into the origins of A Tribe Called Quest. It turns out they are from Queens, like myself, which automatically gives them points in my book. The hip-hop group formed in 1988 (www.allmusic.com),and is made up of Q-Tip, Phife Dawg aka Phife Diggy (Malik Taylor), and DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad. They are held high in the hip hop community, as I knew, and a number of their songs are seen as classics.
This is the legendary groups sophomore album, following People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths to Rhythm. The album got mixed reviews from critics. They were different from other hip-hop artists at the time. They were more uplifting and playful than most of the hardcore hip-hop artists in the late ’80s. The album had more success following the releases of the singles like “Bonita Applebum” and “Can I Kick it?”.
A sophomore album can sometimes be a nerve racking thing. You are trying to prove to a fan base that you may not have won over already, that you are consistent. “‘Sophomore jinx?’ What the fuck is that, I’m going to make The Low End Theory,” was Q-Tip’s response to the notion. Q-Tip actually saw N.W.A’s album Straight Outta Compton (1988) as an inspiration for the record, despite them being polar opposites. The group never questioned their own credibility.
The laid-back feel of the record was actually intentional. The fusion of jazz and hip-hop wasn’t as clear to me as it probably was at the time. One of the songs was even entitled “Jazz (We’ve Got)”. Fusions like this had never been done before, as opposed to now, when musical genres are constantly fused together. The members of A Tribe Called Quest were pioneers in this respect. Minimalism is definitely a theme from jazz, only using the sound to cords, drums and a heavy baseline.
When you think about it, there is a link between jazz and hip-hop. Jazz, like hip-hop, is something ingrained into African American culture. Jazz and hip hop both brought people together. Jazz also shares the idea of improvisation being a key factor, meaning that the genres are flexible to changes. The biggest similarity between the genres both were sensations that started in one city, and spread globally like wildfire.
I am learning to appreciate the album more than I did initially. I have to think about the time frame and the state of mind the people were in. I tend to jump to conclusions and judge things without giving them fair trial.
Album Rating: 4.5/5
theeminimum 