A (Tribe Called) Quest for Answers

"I run with Shaheed and that brother Abstract"
- Phife Dawg from "Award Tour" off Midnight Marauders

If you're like me...and lotta you are...you practically worshipped this 3 (sometimes 4) member rap group from Linden Boulevard in the borough of Queens, New York. One of the first groups to to turn down the volume a little bit on the usual constant posturing in hip-hop and propel it's faculty for thought provoking subject matter ass provoking sounds/beats. I was so taken by this rap group that the very first rhyme I ever spit on a studio recorded song w/ my first rap group, Tha 4DThievz, belonged to someone else entirely. Not for nothin', i did give him credit for the line:

"Like Q-Tip/ 'Kids recognize, kids memorize me'/ All natural like organic chemistry..."
-Postell from "Recognize" by Tha 4DTheivz

I won't go to far into this cause, basically, if you weren't amongst us: the many/few true blue tribal questers, this really may not appeal to you. But, if you are like me, then you will appreciate this to no end. It will begin to answer all the questions that were unanswerable (mostly because they didn't want to answer them) by the time 1998 rolled around (which of course was the year 'The Love Movement', Tribes last record, was released). By the way...I have to add that 'The Love Movement' has largely been regarded as their least cohesive record and ranks last amongst the Tribes crowning achievments (and there were innumerous). And I wouldn't disagree with them. However, at the same time, I secretly LOVE that record. Whatever sound they were going for, that absolutely knowone else was at that time, they nailed it! Of course, it's no 'Low End Theory' or 'Midnight Marauders'. But it's not trying to be. These guys followed the unofficial musical doctrine of Miles Davis: Lust it. Love it. Leave it. But, I actually really love that record ('Movement') and I know of at least one other head that feels the same as I do.

J.A.Q...get@me!

Anyway...a man who views hip-hop after my own heart...my ace, B-Side (S.P.P.) put me onto this. It comes from the xm radio show Juan Epstein (cause it's a Pureto Rican and a Jew) w/ Peter Rosenburg and Cipha Sounds.

Juan Epstein
http://www.rosenbergradio.com/2008/08/25/juan-epstein-q-tip-fire/

It begins to answer a lot of the quanderies that any child of early thru mid ninties hip-hop would have about ATCQ. And from none other than Jonathan Davis aka Kamaal Fareed aka The Abstract Poetic aka Q-Tip (the 'Q' is for Queens) himself!!!

If you don't already know about it...BE ABOUT IT!