Beats, Rhymes and Life

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This article is about the 1996 A Tribe Called Quest album. For the 2004 Outlandish album, see Beats, Rhymes & Life.
Beats, Rhymes and Life
Beats, Rhymes and Life cover
Studio album by A Tribe Called Quest
Released July 30, 1996
Recorded Battery Studios, New York, New York
Genre Alternative hip hop
Length 51:18
Label Jive
Producer The Ummah, Rashad Smith
Professional reviews
A Tribe Called Quest chronology
Midnight Marauders
(1993)		 Beats, Rhymes and Life
(1996)		 The Love Movement
(1998)


Beats, Rhymes and Life is the fourth album of hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. Released in 1996, it followed three years after the highly regarded and successful Midnight Marauders. This album is a departure from the joyful, positive vibe of the earlier albums and is regarded as the groups darkest album in content

Contents

[edit] Background

The album was also the first to feature production work from The Ummah, which was composed of Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jay Dee. One topic on this album was the Death Row vs. Bad Boy rivalry. This album also features Consequence frequently on the album, which made many fans think he was a new member.

It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 1997 and contains a song, "1nce Again", which was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1997.[1] It was certified platinum by RIAA on October 27, 1998.[2] Even though it received negative reviews, ten years later it is considered a classic among tribe fans.[citation needed]

The video version for Stressed Out has Phife Dawg rapping the 2nd verse instead of Consequence. However, Phife's verses does not appear on the album.

In the song "Keep It Moving", Q-Tip responds the diss comments made about him from Westside Connection's song "Cross Em Out And Put A K", by saying that comments made about the West from some time before the album were not inteded to diss the west coast and that people should not misinterpret his lyrics.

"Somethin for your earhole,
so you can clean them shits out

It seems that some don't understand what I'm talkin about
How you get West coast nigga, from West coast hater?
I could never dis a whole coast, my time is too greater(true)
Yeah, we from the East, the land of originators
You also from the West, the land of innovators
The only difference of the two is the style of the rap
Plus the musical track, this beef shit is so wack
Let me let y'all brothas know I ain't no West coast disser
Another thing I'm not is a damn ass kisser
So listen to my words as I set things straight
I ain't got no beef, so don't come in my face
Yo, keep it movin"

Q-Tip Keep It Movin

[edit] Track listing

# Title Producer(s) Performer(s) Time
1 "Phony Rappers" The Ummah Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Consequence 3:35
2 "Get a Hold" The Ummah (Jay Dee) Q-Tip 3:35
3 "Motivators" The Ummah Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Consequence 3:20
4 "Jam" The Ummah Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Consequence 4:38
5 "Crew" The Ummah Q-Tip 1:58
6 "The Pressure" The Ummah Q-Tip, Phife Dawg 3:02
7 "1nce Again" The Ummah (Jay Dee) Phife Dawg, Q-Tip, Tammy Lucas 3:49
8 "Mind Power" The Ummah Q-Tip, Consequence, Phife Dawg 3:55
9 "The Hop" Rashad Smith Q-Tip, Phife Dawg 3:27
10 "Keeping It Moving" The Ummah (Jay Dee) Q-Tip 3:38
11 "Baby Phife's Return" The Ummah (Q-Tip) Phife Dawg 3:18
12 "Separate/Together" The Ummah Q-Tip 1:38
13 "What Really Goes On" The Ummah Q-Tip 3:23
14 "Word Play" The Ummah (Jay Dee) Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Consequence 2:59
15 "Stressed Out" The Ummah (Jay Dee) Q-Tip, Consequence, Faith Evans 4:57

[edit] Samples Used

Source: Rap Sample FAQ[3]

  • "Phoney Rappers"
    • "Blind Alley" by The Emotions (from the 1971 album "Untouched")
  • "Get a Hold"
    • "The Visit" by The Cyrkle (from the 1967 album "Neon")
  • "Motivators"
  • "The Pressure"
    • "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" by Funkadelic (from the 1975 album "Let's Take it to the Stage")
  • "1nce Again"
  • "Mind Power"
  • "The Hop"
    • "Bumpin' Bus Stop" by Thunder and Lightning (1975)
    • "Soft Spirit" by Henry Franklin (from the 1974 album "The Skipper at Home")
  • "Keeping It Moving"
    • "Roadwork" by The Howard Roberts Quartet (from the 1971 album "Antelope Freeway")
  • "Separate/Together"
  • "What Really Goes On"
    • "Make It Funky" by James Brown (from the 1972 album "There it Is")
    • "Pain" by Ohio Players (from the 1971 album "Pain)
  • "Word Play"
    • "The Watcher" by Rodney Franklin (from the 1980 album "You'll Never Know")
  • "Stressed Out"
    • "Good Love" by Anita Baker (from the 1988 album "Giving You the Best That I Got")
  • "Jam"
    • "Dirty Old Bossa Nova" by The Howard Roberts Quartet (from the 1963 album "H.R. Is A Dirty Guitar Player")

[edit] Album singles

[edit] Chart positions

[edit] Album

Year Chart positions
Billboard 200 Top R&B/
Hip Hop Albums
1996 1 1

[edit] Singles

Year Song Chart positions
Billboard Hot 100 Hot R&B/
Hip-Hop Songs		 Hot Rap Tracks Hot Dance Singles Sales
1996 "Stressed Out" — 56 15 3
1999 "1nce Again" — — — 30

[edit] References

  1. ^ Buy.com - Beats Rhymes & Life - Tribe Called Quest - CD
  2. ^ http://www.riaa.com/gp/database/default.asp
  3. ^ http://the-breaks.com
Preceded by
It Was Written by Nas		 Billboard 200 number-one album
August 17 - August 23, 1996		 Succeeded by
No Code by Pearl Jam
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A Tribe Called Quest
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