A cleverly crafted album that contains both an air of laid-back coolness and dynamism, the group’s polylithic sound defined their place in the rich history of 90s hip hop and rap. A Tribe Called Quest’s third studio album released by Jive Studios remains a highly-streamed album thirty years on and is continuing to gain popularity: this really affirms their timeless sound. Natalie Howarth discusses the history of this notorious album by the pioneers of alternative hip hop.
Tribe are arguably the most artistic rap group of the 90s as we see the regular fusion of alternative rap, hip hop and jazz in their songs. It is their signature style that inspired the likes of Outkast’s André 3000, Kanye (who gave himself the nickname “A Guy Called West”), Pharrell Williams, The Roots’ Questlove, Pusha T and more. The seminal collective have undeniably set precedents for alternative hip hop and the scene that we know and love! Their preceding album The Low End Theory, as equally commercially successful as Midnight Marauders, helped to establish the “second golden age” of hip hop, a scene dominated by New York musicians that distinguished the innovation and diversity of the hip hop persuasion. This movement is marked by modes of experimentation and sampling: think Beastie Boys, Run-D.M.C., Salt-N-Pepa, Queen Latifah, all artists who came into the periphery of mainstream hip hop.
Positioned at the forefront of pushing the hip hop scene of the 90s into the mainstream, A Tribe called Quest were part of the Native Tongues collective, a group that consisted of the likes of the De La Soul, Jungle Brothers and many other like-minded artists whose abstract, political-fuelled lyricism addressed many issues of living in the modern age, race and sex. I think Midnight Marauders captures the group’s authentic and era-defining sound that is raw and also polished.
The album was produced predominantly in Phife Dawg’s grandmother’s basement, an unconventional production place yet was an evidently effective space to produce a hugely successful album: Large Professor told Billboard that the creative process “wasn’t forced in any way”: I think this is my favourite trivia about the album! The first track, Midnight Marauders Tour Guide, acts as a preamble to the entire album sampling Cal Tjader’s Aquarius, a classic Latin Jazz track that is the backdrop of Laurel Dann’s explanation of the album’s aesthetic quality and what to expect: the songs will be "in the area of 95 BPM" and the presentation is "precise, bass-heavy, and just right". This is arguably a perfect preface.
Midnight Marauders captures the group’s authentic and era-defining sound that is raw and also polished
Steve Biko (Stir It Up) begins with a jazzy beat before being met with rap, exactly their quintessence that makes them stand out in their era and maintains the influences of the standard of hip hop. The song, titled after the South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, holds importance in the group’s social consciousness: Biko stood against colonialism and oppression on all fronts, something the band wanted the fans to learn about Biko. Q-Tip told Vibe Magazine in 2011 that Biko was an “amazing freedom fighter” and “we wanted the fans to find out about his story. There’s no better way to bring attention to something than through music.”
The third track titled Award Tour featuring the late Trugoy, one third of De La Soul, is a track that boasts a lofi-ambiance with bass-beat, sampling Jazz legend Milt Jackson’s Olinga. Known for their sampling, A Tribe Called Quest consistently modernised Jazz classics throughout their career. With the nature of both Jazz and Hip-Hop as politically-fueled genres that have the capacity to communicate structural issues in society, Hip Hop as a genre was very much in the periphery of mainstream music in the 90s, however Tribe pushed modern Jazz and Soul back into the mainstream. Award Tour is one of the most famous and commercially successful tracks on the album that maintains a composed and cool air while also embracing the quintessence of their sound.
8 Million Stories tells the story of a bad day, communicating the mundanity of the quotidian in a beguiling mode; getting ripped off when buying a milkshake, having his car broken into and touching on romantic struggles. It may not address a wholly political statement like the other songs on the track but carries the general feeling to stay strong in the face of adversity:
“But I’m going to stay strong ‘cause I ain’t buying it”
The bass-heavy, fan-favourite track is infused with improvisatory lyricism that recognises Phife and Q-Tip as pioneers within the conscious hip hop, East Coast rap persuasions. The following track, Sucka N**** communicates an integral and inherent issue of racial discrimination in America and how the country is built on this. Midnight featuring Raphael Saadiq, an almost eponymous title that boasts a comedic side to their lyricism.
We Can Get Down opens with scratching, followed by lyrics that encourage listeners to reject the commercial and negativity that undermine the culture of hip hop and embrace the pursuit of community. As the seventh and middle track on the fourteen-track album, the song ends with a list of the members of Tribe in ‘93: Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Q-Tip and Jarobi. This list midway through always resounds with a live show performance when a performer introduces the crowd to the musicians.
Electric Relaxation is definitely my favourite track from the album, containing a recognisable sample, Mystic Brew by Ronnie Foster. An infectious, toe-tapping bassline that was later sampled by Madlib on his track Mystic Bounce, a song featured on Shades of Blue, an album that combines the Blue Note Jazz scene and early 2000s Hip Hop; Foster’s original sample undoubtedly stood the test of time! This track sounds like a hot summer’s day in New York City, a location where the group spent the majority of their lives and careers.
Oh My God featuring Busta Rhymes, an integral character in the Native Tongues collective, the song itself uses the iconic Kool & The Gang’s song Who’s Gonna Take the Weight, a jazzy track from the 70s trailblazers. Keep It Rollin’ featuring Large Professor slows the tempo down following Oh My God, offering a slight catharsis as Phife, Q-Tip and Large Professor have a verse each, demonstrating the collaboration of the collective.
The final track God Lives Through provides an appropriate finality to the album: sharp, fast-paced and celebratory. It is a reflection on the power of music, specifically theirs as seen in lyrics:
“If the Quest don’t look good, then the Queens won’t look good
But since the sounds are universal, New York won’t look good
Picture Phife losin a battle, come on, get off it”
The song feels like an observance for the cultural impact of hip-hop, specifically East Coast hip hop and rap, referring to the group’s competition and regarding that Phife is unbeatable (quite rightly so!) The jazz-infused collective that merged hip-hop and rap to create a new scene of hip hop will forever have a legacy and continue to influence every corner of hip hop music.
Edited by Alice Beard
Image: Midnight Marauders Official Album Cover, Videos courtesy of A Tribe Called Quest via Youtube
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