What's good everyone? This salute goes to a group widely considered the most influential hip-hop group of all-time. Considering the likes of De La Soul, Wu-Tang, Outkast, and EPMD, that's a monstrous statement, but it has a lot of validity. Bringing forth arguably the greatest trilogy of albums to ever exist in hip-hop, these three Queens natives introduced a jazzy, b-boy like style in the early nineties to where it eventually crossed over to them becoming so universally admired and respected. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and the trio broke up, and the blow was unfathomably more painful with the loss of one its members. This group recorded their final album together as a group while all members were alive and the album was an excellent sendoff to hip-hop globally loved heroes. This is a salute to A Tribe Called Quest and their fifth album, The Love Movement.
In '90, two young emcees from Queens, Q-Tip The Abstract and Phife Dawg got up with fellow Queens native DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammed and b-boy/emcee Jairobi White to comprise A Tribe Called Quest, an Afrocentric, bohemian group that focused on Black empowerment, positivity, the love of hip-hop, and overall just having fun over mostly jazzy production and stylings. Their debut album, People's Instinctive Travels In The Paths Of Rhythm, was nothing less than a joyous musical experience that we hadn't heard quite like anything before. Loved songs such as "Can I kick It", "I Left My Wallet In El Segundo", and the b-boy charms of "Bonita Applebum" helped define the album and was hailed as an immediate classic. If it was even possible, they followed that up with an even better album in The Low End Theory. One of the true landmarks in hip-hop and music overall, this album delved more into jazz samplings, some live instrumentation, and stepped-up lyricism, especially from the "Five Foot Assassin" himself. Honorary member Busta Rhymes hailed it as "the perfect hip-hop album", and it's not an outlandish claim whatsoever. Famous cuts like "Check the Rhime", "Buggin' Out", "Jazz (We Got)", and one of hip-hop's most impactful posse cuts, "Scenario" with Leaders Of the New School, brought this beyond epic album to meteoric acclaimed heights. Just when you thought they couldn't possibly match this brilliance, they reemerge in '93 with Midnight Marauders, a slightly more stripped down, sample-heavy album that was their first taste in more mainstream appeal thanks to cuts like "Award Tour" and "Electric Relaxation". This album officially declared them as hip-hop's most ambitious and ingenious trio. They were simply on fire.
However, tensions within the group were starting to show, and the resulting fourth album, Beats, Rhymes, and Life was delivered. Darker than their previous efforts, it was also the first album that Q-Tip and Ali collaborated with Detroit producer Jay Dee (later known as the legendary J Dilla) to become The Ummah. The production, although darker somewhat, was still a very dope album and one that truthfully doesn't get enough props. Another gold plaque for them was in the midst of this turmoil and continued to show them as one of the game's most important acts. With all the tension and all the volatility, the group decided to call it quits, but not before releasing their fifth and (at the time) final album, The Love Movement.
While it was missing that charm that made their first three albums part of hip-hop immortality, this was still a very pleasing and enjoyable album. Sounding more upbeat than Beats, Rhymes, and Life, this was more of a celebration of what they had accomplished as a group, and was catapulted by the highly infectious first single "Find A Way", which many consider among their best singles. Listening to other cuts like "Like It Like That", "Steppin' It Up" with Busta and Redman, "Give Me" with N.O.R.E., "Pad & Pen", and "4 Moms", you would never think the group was ending and this was their curtain call. No matter what anyone says, this was far from a mediocre project. Although you knew the truth about the group breaking up, when you were listening, it was still an unequivocal Tribe album. Q-Tip sounded as fresh as ever and Phife was still that five foot assassin. The production from The Ummah was consistently solid and went against the commercialism and excess that the late nineties provided, much like similar acts such as Mos Def, Kweli, De La Soul, and Pharoahe Monch during this time period.
We were exalted to the high heavens when the word came out that, just months after the unfortunate death of Phife from Diabetes complications, Tip would reunite with Jairobi and honorary members Busta and Consequence (Ali was doing production and scoring duties for the Netflix movie, Marvel's Luke Cage during this time thus making him unable to contribute) to bring forth their true last album, We Got It From Here...Thank You For Your Service, with a few posthumous verses from the late Phife. The album was an exhilarating return and, although bittersweet, was wonderful to get that old Tribe vibe again, with an updated sound, complete with guests such as Kendrick Lamar, Andre 3000, and Anderson.Paak. However, with The Love Movement, what was originally supposed to be their final album became their second-to-last effort, and the album was fun and very delightful. An album like The Love Movement would be so exciting and needed in today's times, with an emphasis of love, respect, admiration, and celebrations of life without sounding hokey or corny. This was still Tribe. This was still all the way hip-hop. We wouldn't want it or have it any other way. With that, happy twentieth to perhaps the greatest hip-hop group to ever exist and their fifth effort, The Love Movement.
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