By the fall of 1991, rap music had a considerable number of
classic albums under its belt. Classic
in the sense that said albums yielded multiple hits and contained far more good
songs than bad. Yet, the relatively
young musical genre didn’t yet have anything in the way of a definitive long
player, something that was an unmitigated, cohesive masterpiece from start to
finish. An album that perfectly fused
two seemingly disparate forms of music together without sacrificing the core
fundamentals of the younger and lesser regarded one. One might’ve thought that such an innovation would
come by way of Hip-Hop’s heavy hitters of the day. Instead, it would come to being as a sophomore
effort from relative second stringers.
The Native Tongues collective were considered to be the
artistic vanguard of east coast rap during the golden age of Hip-Hop. They brought a sensibility that was
considerably less stereotypical and threatening than that of their
contemporaries, many of whom reveled in crack era chic or black militant posturing. The Native Tongue movement was started in
earnest by the Jungle Brothers, whose afrocentricity informed everything that
came thereafter. The abstract stylings
of De La Soul gave the movement a bit of mainstream notoriety. A Tribe Called Quest were the newest
additions to the collective, but would go on to emerge as its most popular and
endearing by far.
The group released their Jive/RCA debut People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm in 1990. It was undeniably strong, delivering
standards such as the playfully sexual “Bonita Applebum,” and the catchy “Can I
Kick It?” The album left a mark, but The
Tribe had yet to emerge from beneath the shadow of their Native Tongue Brethren.
Mere eccentricity wouldn’t be enough to
make them stand out, since the Jungle Brothers and De La already had that in spades. It seemed that while nodding their heads,
fans were wondering just what made these four guys from Queens any different from
the other guys in their respective clique.
Their second album, The Low End
Theory, would emphatically answer that question.
In the early 1990’s, rappers began serious experimentation
with Jazz fusion. Many of these early
efforts were way too obvious in their attempts.
The Low End Theory took a
different approach. It was both
restrained and selective in regards to how it applied Jazz elements into its
overall mix. As the title suggested, the
bottom heavy foundations of east coast boom bap still remained the primary
focus. Yet, the choice of samples
created a groove that was seductively warm and intimate without sacrificing
grit or street appeal. This was achieved
by making many of the songs veritable sample collages. Each track strategically interpolated
different elements from a number of preexisting compositions.
The album is perhaps best remembered for group members Q-Tip
and Phife Dawg achieving a magical equilibrium with each other. Their back and forth was impeccable. The lead single “Check the Rhime” was a good
example of their symbiosis, and offered a great preview of the group’s new
found direction. In fact, Each
successive single showed a rap group that was growing by leaps and bounds,
perfecting their craft with each step. "Jazz
(We've Got)" was a trippy and intoxicating offering that was also
deceptively simple in its composition.
It’s hollow, murky sound somehow proved filling. Last but certainly not least was "Scenario,"
a raucous posse cut that fiercely redefined just what that phrase meant. It was the first of Busta Rhymes trademark
lyrical finishing moves, and he undoubtedly scored a fatality on his first time
out.
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