Notes From Your BooksellerContinuing our celebration of 50 Years of Hip Hop, the 1991 groundbreaking second album by A Tribe Called Quest is an essential addition to any music fan's collection. With poetic lyrics and incredible instrumentals, The Low End Theory set itself apart from other hip hop albums of the time. "Scenario," the final track on the album, introduced a soon-to-be legend Busta Rhymes to the masses and is the perfect ending to a perfect album.
While most of the players in the
jazz-rap movement never quite escaped the pasted-on qualities of their vintage samples, with
The Low End Theory,
A Tribe Called Quest created one of the closest and most brilliant fusions of
jazz atmosphere and
hip-hop attitude ever recorded. The rapping by
Q-Tip and
Phife Dawg could be the smoothest of any
rap record ever heard; the pair are so in tune with each other, they sound like flip sides of the same personality, fluidly trading off on rhymes, with the former earning his nickname (the Abstract) and
Phife concerning himself with the more concrete issues of being young, gifted, and black. The trio also takes on the
rap game with a pair of hard-hitting tracks:
"Rap Promoter" and
"Show Business," the latter a lyrical soundclash with
Q-Tip and
Phife plus
Brand Nubian's
Diamond D,
Lord Jamar, and
Sadat X. The woman problem gets investigated as well, on two realistic yet sensitive tracks,
"Butter" and
"The Infamous Date Rape." The productions behind these tracks aren't quite skeletal, but they're certainly not complex. Instead,
Tribe weaves little more than a stand-up bass (sampled or, on one track, jazz luminary
Ron Carter) and crisp, live-sounding drum programs with a few deftly placed samples or electric keyboards. It's a tribute to their unerring production sense that, with just those few tools,
Tribe produced one of the best
hip-hop albums in history, a record that sounds better with each listen.
The Low End Theory is an unqualified success, the perfect marriage of intelligent, flowing
raps to nuanced, groove-centered productions. ~ John Bush
![Strange Days [180 Gram Vinyl]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0081227986513_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Strange Days [180 Gram Vinyl]")
![Acoustic Hits [2LP]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0081227935252_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Acoustic Hits [2LP]")
![Riot! [FBR 25th Anniversary Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0075678645679_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Riot! [FBR 25th Anniversary Edition]")
![Greatest Hits [Warner Bros.]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0093624854517_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Greatest Hits [Warner Bros.]")
![Kill Bill, Vol. 1 [Original Soundtrack]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0093624857013_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Kill Bill, Vol. 1 [Original Soundtrack]")
![Portrait in Jazz [LP]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0025218108812_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Portrait in Jazz [LP]")
![The Best of Sam Cooke [RCA]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0190758749310_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "The Best of Sam Cooke [RCA]")
