The song ends with a snippet of a speech from an uncredited speaker, and I’ve never been sure of its context or purpose. Tip, eloquently provides the moral of the story with one simple line: “Just because you rhyme for a couple of weeks, doesn’t mean that you’ve reached an emcee’s peak.” The Ummah’s colorfully jazzy soundscape compliments the fellas lighthearted content, perfectly. The fellas then get off a second round of venting, with Consequence jumping into the mix.
The first verse consists of Tip “fuckin’ up the head” of a Puerto Rican kid who challenges him to a battle on the train, before Phife puts the “verbal assault” on some chump at the mall who doesn’t think he’s worthy of his occupation. Phony Rappers – The first song on BRL finds Tip, Phife and Cons calling out overzealous inspiring emcees aka phony rappers. Random thought: Is it just me or did the electronic female tour guide on the album cover get thicker since the Midnight Marauders sessions? I’ve always loved this album, but I’ll revisit it with an open mind and see if the harsh criticism it received was justified. Along with its commercial success and accolades, BRL also received mostly positive reviews, but it’s reception on the streets were mixed, as some didn’t like the changes in the group and felt they were getting away from their original sound to chase commercial success.Īs I’m sure you’ve already formulated, this is the third component (along with It Was Written and Stakes Is High) to my summer of ‘96 soundtrack. BRL debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200, would earn a gold plaque two months after its release (and eventually certified platinum) and would be the group’s fourth consecutive album to become certified gold or better (it’s also worth noting that all six of Tribe’s albums have been RIAA certified gold or better). They would also invite Q-Tip’s blood cousin, Consequence (who I first heard back in ‘93, rhyming over “The Chase II” instrumental, which was a B-side joint on the “Oh My God” single, and I immediately thought he sounded like a lisped version of AZ) to rhyme on a handful of the album’s tracks. On the production side, they would add J-Dilla to the fold, as he, Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad would collectively call themselves The Ummah, producing all but one track on BRL. There had been rumblings of possible beef between Phife (who had moved to Atlanta sometime after Midnight Marauders was released) and Tip during the group’s hiatus, but regardless of the rumors, A Tribe Called Quest would return intact in ‘96 to release their fourth album, Beats, Rhymes And Life.įor Beats, Rhymes And Life (which is a great album title, by the way), Tribe would make some notable changes to the team. By July of 1996, it had been almost three years since A Tribe Called Quest had blessed the world with one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all-time (see Midnight Marauders), which was also the back end of arguably, the greatest two consecutive album combo by an artist of any genre (with The Low End Theory being the first half).
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