You Really Need to See ATCQ’s “Beats, Rhymes & Life” - Now (Movie Review)

There is no qualifier needed to describe A Tribe Called Quest. If you grew up listening to all things considered backpacker with a hint of social change and diminutive diabetic raps then you knew Phife Dawg, Q-Tip and Ali Shaeed Muhammad (and yes Jarobi) were Gods sent from the Planet of Low End Theories. For a career that spanned five albums as a group and a number of works solo, their lasting impact may be for a specific block between 1989 & 1993 in which the group debuted, avoided the sophomore slump and arguably released their best work.

It’s the time spent after that in which Michael Rappaport’s documentary "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest" focuses more on the inner turmoil between the group, notably between its two rhymers of Phife & Q-Tip instead of answering certain questions more in-depth, such as why the hell was there so much Consequence involvement on Beats, Rhymes & Life, why the group utilized J Dilla so much on said album and why Phife called The Love Movement, “The Last Movement”.



Rappaport’s decisions behind the lens canonize the group’s impact in terms of album creation and their growth from Queens kids who knew one another growing up to arguably one of the best groups in the history of the genre. There’s spotlights on Phife’s growth from People’s Instinctive Travels to The Low End Theory, his love of sports (and reminding people how & why his sports allusions were and still are top notch) how Q-Tip chose that Lonnie Smith record and in specific the creation of “Can I Kick It” which will make every crate digger come to the point of climax, the true meaning of “Bonita Applebum” courtesy of an archived Angie Martinez interview, why Jarobi left and how Chris Lighty essentially had to steal records from Q-Tip in order for there to actually be Tribe albums. Rappaport spares very little in making sure the audience is aware of who these guys are as men and how quirky they are period. If Tribe came out in this particular era of digitalized fads where geek rap is du juor then they would obviously hold the swag title.

Through its comedy, the film also makes certain to try and create the question of who really was the leader in the group (the answer is no one since obviously Q-Tip couldn’t carry the Tribe flag by his lonesome and Phife would have never stepped it up lyrically since he played around plenty before their debut album) and who is the film’s villain. Most will sneer at the moment during the Rock The Bells show in Los Angeles where Tip basically asks Phife to step it up, knowing his comrade was at this point going through kidney failure. The two of them who are more like brothers than members inside of a group nearly come to blows offstage. Yet in another scene where the group is getting ready to tour Japan (of course Tip hounds a record clerk for some new dusty vinyls to collect), both he & Phife begin rehearsing dance steps, seemingly forgetting the fact that they nearly fought after a performance.

Ultimately, Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels Of A Tribe Called Quest effectively does what Rappaport intended for it to be, a visual man crush towards a group he idolized while doing films such as Zebrahead and more. It makes you wax nostalgic over the day Midnight Marauders joined Wu-Tang Clan’s 36 Chambers on the shelves in 1993 and even gives you a glimmer of hope by using one last show card that is useful trivia: “They (ATCQ) still have one album remaining on their original Jive Records contract”. A narrative that opens the door for more docs in hip-hop, hopefully none that gush more than opening the doors to the truth.

(If I had to give it a DJ Booth style rating, it'd be a 4 spins out of 5)