Beats, Rhymes and Life
| Beats, Rhymes and Life | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by A Tribe Called Quest | ||||
| Released | July 30, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 1995–1996; Battery Studios, New York, New York | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 51:18 | |||
| Label |
Jive/BMG Records 01241-41587 | |||
| Producer |
The Ummah Rashad Smith | |||
| A Tribe Called Quest chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau |  [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A [3] |
| NME | (7/10) [4] |
| Q | [4] |
| Rolling Stone | [5] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [6] |
| The Source | [7] |
| Spin | (7/10) [4] |
| Yahoo! Music | (favorable) [8] |
Beats, Rhymes and Life is the fourth album of the 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 group's darkest album in content. It reached number-one on the Billboard 200 and Top R&B Albums charts.
Background
The album was also the first to feature production work from the Ummah, a group that 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, cousin of rapper Q-Tip, frequently on the album.
It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 1997 and contains a single titled "1nce Again" that was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group the same year.[9] It was certified platinum by the RIAA on October 27, 1998,[10] even though it was not regarded as highly as the group's first three albums.
The video version of "Stressed Out" has Phife Dawg rhyming on the second verse instead of Consequence. However, Phife's verse does not appear on the album.
In the song "Keeping It Moving," Q-Tip responds to the diss comments made about him on 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 intended to diss the west coast and that people should not misinterpret his lyrics.
| “ | Somethin for your earhole So you can clean them shits out |
” |
| —Q-Tip, Keeping It Moving | ||
Track listing
Sample source: Rap Sample FAQ[11]
| No. | Title | Time | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Phony Rappers (Feat. Consequence)" | 3:35 | "Blind Alley" by The Emotions (From the 1971 album "Untouched") |
| 2 | "Get a Hold" | 3:35 | "The Visit (She Was Here)" by The Cyrkle (From the 1967 album "Neon") |
| 3 | "Motivators (Feat. Consequence)" | 3:20 | "Sound Pieces" by Michal Urbaniak (From the 1973 album "The Beginning") |
| 4 | "Jam (Feat. Consequence)" | 4:38 | "Dirty Old Bossa Nova" by Howard Roberts (From the 1963 album "H.R. Is A Dirty Guitar Player") |
| 5 | "Crew" | 1:58 | |
| 6 | "The Pressure" | 3:02 | "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" by Funkadelic (From the 1975 album "Let's Take it to the Stage") |
| 7 | "1nce Again (Feat. Tammy Lucas)" | 3:49 | "Untitled" by Cannonball Adderley (From the 1971 album "Black Messiah")
"I'm Your Pal" by Gary Burton (From the 1967 album "A Genuine Tong Funeral") |
| 8 | "Mind Power (Feat. Consequence)" | 3:55 | "N.T." by Kool & The Gang (From the 1972 album "Live at P.J.'s") |
| 9 | "The Hop" | 3:27 | "Bumpin' Bus Stop" by Thunder and Lightning
"Soft Spirit" by Henry Franklin (From the 1974 album "The Skipper at Home") |
| 10 | "Keeping It Moving" | 3:38 | "Roadwork" by Howard Roberts (From the 1971 album "Antelope Freeway") |
| 11 | "Baby Phife's Return (Feat. Consequence)" | 3:18 | |
| 12 | "Separate/Together" | 1:38 | "Funky Drummer" by James Brown (From the 1986 album "In the Jungle Groove") |
| 13 | "What Really Goes On" | 3:23 | "Make It Funky" by James Brown (From the 1972 album "There it Is")
"Pain" by Ohio Players (From the 1971 album "Pain) |
| 14 | "Word Play (Feat. Consequence)" | 2:59 | "The Watcher" by Rodney Franklin (from the 1980 album "You'll Never Know") |
| 15 | "Stressed Out (Feat. Consequence & Faith Evans)" | 4:57 | "Good Love" by Anita Baker (From the 1988 album "Giving You the Best That I Got") |
Album singles
- "1nce Again" - Released: July 1, 1996
- "Stressed Out" - Released: November 11, 1996
Chart positions
Album
| Year | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|
| Billboard 200 | Top R&B/ Hip Hop Albums | |
| 1996 | 1 | 1 |
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 |
See also
- List of number-one albums of 1996 (U.S.)
- List of number-one R&B albums of 1996 (U.S.)
References
- ↑ Allmusic review
- ↑ Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
- ↑ Entertainment Weekly review
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Album reviews at CD Universe
- ↑ Rolling Stone review
- ↑ Rolling Stone Album Guide
- ↑ The Source review
- ↑ Yahoo! Music review
- ↑ Buy.com - Beats Rhymes & Life - Tribe Called Quest - CD
- ↑
- ↑ The Breaks, AKA The (Rap) Sample FAQ)
| Preceded by It Was Written by Nas |
Billboard 200 number-one album August 17–23, 1996 |
Succeeded by Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette |
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