Beats, Rhyme & Life

Beats, Rhyme & Life ~ One of the misnomers I hate most is the term 'one hit wonder,' mostly because it's rarely true. It's one of the reasons I started the sub-blog here called "Lost Hits of the New Wave," because things were not as we are currently told they were. For instance if I was to mention to you A Tribe Called Quest, most folks, and a great majority who were not around when they were happening will use that term 'one hit wonder' and say they love "Can I Kick It." Just not true.

The truth is however that I came to the Tribe later than most folks. I loved "Can I Kick It" but I also began to notice that every time I heard a song by the group, I dug it. When I realized this, I got into them. As I said, later than most folks, but I love them, and let me assure you, A Tribe Called Quest is no 'one hit wonder.' The documentary Beats, Rhyme & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest directed by actor Michael Rapaport is a testament to that legacy.

Through interviews and of course music the film documents the group's beginnings in Queens and we get to know Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White as they came up and became stars in the hip hop music world. Like a cool extended episode of "Behind the Music," we get the lowdown on why they looked like they did and especially how Q-Tip was sampling before samplers and melded jazz into hip hop. It also takes the group to the end of the road as well.

This documentary is the real thing, it's about friendship, music, culture, and passion - and the evolution that all of it goes through over the years. Check it out, recommended.





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Just a reminder, The Virtual Book Tour for THE HUNGRY HEART STORIES by Fran Metzman is featured today at Marie Gilbert's blog with an interview with the author, and continues tomorrow on Mieke Zamora-Mackay's blog. Don't miss it! For a full list of Blog Tour stops, go here.