Things that make me happy... Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest

Things that make me happy... The documentary called Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest

It was 1985. Four young men (QTip, Phife, Ali Shaheed, and Jarobi) helped to create a pivot point in the history of hip hop.  Hip hop music morphed into a sound that move past the "battle" or "intellectually immature" rap of that time into music that extended a long history of story telling by incorporating truly improvisational artistry.  The documentary, Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe called Quest, produced by filmmaker Michael Rapaport, is now available on video. It chronicles the the history of one of the best rap groups of all time and takes you behind the scenes of the members of the group as they discuss their music, relationships, and the influences that help them create their unique and original sound copied by many of the best producers and beat makers today.

I look at any documentary film in three ways, quality, subject, and impact. The first is the quality of the work. As a person who watches many documentaries, I think this one is one of the best of the year. In a previous blog, I mentioned several others that came out in 2011 both in theaters and on cable. This one tops them all. The interviews are not "soft" where people appear to have an agenda and are telling you what they think you want to hear. The discussion are honest, real, and sometime a bit awkward as they talk about the good and bad times over their 25+ year relationship.  You almost get the feeling that they need to tell this story just to get it off of their chest. Post production there are stories on the internet and twitter about conflicts Q-tip and others have about the portrayal in the film.  This is kinda a good sign that they really got to some real truths in the documentary.

The second way a film stands out is the subject matter.  Look. If you are a true fan of hip hop and more specifically a dedicated fan of the "Native Tongues" then the music alone will please you (if you don't know about Native Tongues... treat yourself to a great Christmas gift and check out the artists). But if you take into account the all the artist featured in this film and the history lesson, then this film will definitely surpass your expectations.

The last way I judge a film is the feelings that it invokes.  For documentaries sometimes they just help increase a person knowledge on a subject. Maybe a few Aha!! moments about a subject that you are not familiar with or perhaps some deeply hidden insights from expert in a field. But best triggers an emotion. And this one... for me... brings out nostalgia. I remember putting on my dashiki even when I didn't quite know what the hell it was just because I saw artist like Tribe and Dela Soul wearing one.  It also fused my love for jazz (yes even at a early age I knew I loved me some Jazz music) with the music of my generation, hip hop.  A Tribe Called Quest produced music that was fun yet insightful, discussing afro-centric topics that until that time was not covered in most type of popular music.  And more importantly Tribe is part of the soundtrack of my and many of my generation lives. For this truly makes me happy.

Pros:
1. Well done documentary... not a propaganda vehicle and they certainly were pitching anything in this video. Real Talk... the way it should be.
2. The music. The soundtrack speaks for its self.
3. Features lots of artist talking about the impact of the music.

Cons:
1. Not enough performance footage although filmed during a tour. Lots of musical documentaries, like Madonna's truth or dare manages to feature lots of performance videos.
2. The group still has lots of tension. Not much of the group chatting together... Its a little sad that you can see the Beastie Boys still doing interviews together and Tribe struggling to work through their issues. At time is painful to watch. Can't we all just get along?
3. Jealousy, hurt, miscommunication and health issues.  Lots of love between the group and they just can't figure out how manage the relationship over the years.

Beats, Rhymes & Life Trailer

The Scenario

Bonita Applebum

What's your favorite A Tribe Called Quest song?

S.F. Guru