Coming June 15- Ice-T takes us on an intimate journey into the heart and soul of hip-hop with the legends of rap music. This goes beyond the stardom and the bling to explore what goes on inside the minds, and erupts from the lips, of the grandmasters of rap. Recognized as the godfather of Gangsta rap, Ice-T is granted unparalleled access to the personal lives of the masters of this art form that he credits for saving his life.
A Note From Mick Boogie
A Tribe Called Quest is one of my favorite groups of all time... in any genre of music. After seeing Michael Rapaport's amazing documentary on the group, I felt inspired to put together a mix and this is the end result. This is NOT a greatest hits mix. This mix is for the true Tribe fans only... the die-hards who know every lyric and remember every interlude. I thought it would be cool to basically create the "lost" Tribe album... with all the rare songs, demos, limited-edition remixes, and collaborations you may have missed over the years. I hope when you enjoy this as much as I do, and hear some things you have never heard before. Special thank you to UNDRCRWN for the amazing artwork.
Beats, Rhymes and Life: The Story of A Tribe Called Quest is a documentary film directed by Michael Rapaport about one of music’s most influential and groundbreaking pioneers in hip hop. The story is told by the members themselves as they reunite after two years during the 2008 Rock the Bells tour to deliver sold out performances. On the tour they re-discover that their own personal differences may overpower their love for the group, countless, hard-core fans, and its ability to survive the pressures of fame, the record industry, and simply pursuing other interests in life. Rapaport, himself a hard core Tribe fan from the first album, panics when Q-Tip tells him “this could be the last show” after mounting tension erupted at the event in San Francisco. Thus, begins a journey to go back and appreciate the huge contributions made by Tribe to the “whole structure of hip hop” as stated by Amir from The Roots, one of the many artists in the film influenced by Tribe’s unique sampling and layering of obscure jazz loops mixed with hip hop beats, as well as their playful but clever lyrics. Chronicles told of songs like “Scenario” and “Check The Rhime” paint a vivid picture of what it was like coming up in Queens as young folks living and breathing hip hop in the early nineties.
A New York native, Rapaport’s lifelong, genuine love for hip hop helps achieve intimate, all access interviews and cinema verite style filmmaking over the course of the 8 months of filming. Rarely heard stories told by New York’s legendary DJ Red Alert, Native Tongues members like Monie Love, the Jungle Brothers, Busta Rhymes, and De La Soul bring an intimacy to the days when young artists discovered the freedom of artistic intelligence, being who they wanted to be and refusing the box of gangster rap and negative stereotypes. Other voices in the film include the Beastie Boys, Kanye West and Pharrell. Serendipitously, Rapaport’s film brings forth a conversation for members of the group to deal with the trials and tribulations they have faced over the years. As Q-Tip receives critical acclaim for his latest album, Phife is recovering from a kidney transplant and coaching youth basketball, Ali Shaheed is producing hit records and dj’ing across the country, and Jarobi plans to open a restaurant in Atlanta. The idea of getting back together and going on tour reminds everyone why Rock the Bells was an exception—only it’s the fans who are left thirsty for more. And this is nowhere more evident than in Rapaport himself whose die-hard love and respect for Tribe Called Quest is revealed in every part of this journey.
is his album; and in addition to the rest of the world, 8thlight and I are now here to chime in on the present conversation regarding this album, in today's Music Reviews In A Minute.
