With most breakups of my favorite bands, I am sad to hear the news. The breakup of A Tribe Called Quest was possibly the equivalent of The Beatles breaking up for me.
The Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest documentary presents the history of the group from their introduction to the hip hop scene, the recording of their back-to-back-to-back classic albums until the group's demise.
As soon as I learned of AMC screening the documentary, I went to see it at my earliest convenience. Although I knew I would eventually buy the DVD if the opportunity presented itself, there was no way I was going to wait to buy the DVD to see the documentary. If that were the case, this post would not exist now.
As expected, the movie theatre screening Beats Rhymes & Life was not full. Those there surrounding me were there for the same purpose.
I have known Michael Rapaport to be a hip hop head ever since I learned of him as an actor. It was no surprise, but yet was still surprising to learn, that he was at the helm of the A Tribe Called Quest documentary helping to answer and explain what happened to hip hop's wonder group.
I watched how and why the A Tribe Called Quest music of my teens came to be. At some point the nostalgia of the prime A Tribe Called Quest era got to me. The Native Tongues posse footage especially made me remember how much I loved hip hop and how it is inconceivable for those glory days to return. It nearly brought tears to my eyes.
As much as it would have been nice to see the documentary twice in one year, I made no effort to see the screening during CMJ 2011. However, I would have loved to have attended the CMJ party thrown in its honor and featuring The Roots' Questlove. Unfortunately I learned of the party too late and most like me who wanted to go had already done what they could to pack the place.
The Beats Rhymes & Life documentary is a must-see for anyone who likes or loves the group. It is an educational tool for those that want to know what people refer to as the good old days of hip hop. It is informative as it is successful in provoking thought and emotion. One only wonders what could have been but at least the group's legacy is captured on film. I'm thankful to Michael Rapaport and producers for the documentary even if the truth is hard to take.
Playlist:
1. Robert Glasper Experiment - Perservere feat. Snoop Dogg, Lupe Fiasco & Luke James
2. Outkast - Prototype
3. Shad - He Say She Say
4. A Tribe Called Quest - Bonita Applebaum
5. Keith Murray - Get Lifted (Erick Sermon Remix)
6. Theophilus London - Life of a Lover (Remix) feat. Blu & Jesse Boykins III
7. Edo G - Righteous Way
8. Donovan - Get Thy Bearings
9. Rare Earth - Born To Wander
10. Minnie Riperton - Reasons
11. Clarence Carter - Patches
12. Roy Ayers Ubiquity - The Memory
13. Easy Star All Stars - Time (Groove Corporation Remix)
14. Elaquent - The Official
15. J Dilla - Last Donut of the Night
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