igotmadstalkers

I guess the reason I could never get into rap/hip-hop is the lack of drama. There�s something in rock music, jazz, and even blues that appeals to me. I think it�s the drama; the crashing cymbals, the snaking guitar leads, the driving bass that keep me on edge and into the music. With hip-hop and rap, there is this consistency in the music that doesn�t grab me. The end result is a full CD of music sliding by my ears with me paying not so much as a notice. Not out of choice, but nothing catches my ears at all.

With that said, I received �The Low End Theory� by A Tribe Called Quest from roheblius. I honestly had no idea what to expect. I�ve heard quite a few good things about ATCQ, but nothing so great that I had to buy a CD. In the words of my write-off partner, A Tribe Called Quest is hip-hop/rap but �a little jazzy�.

Jazzy? I don�t know about that. The album is a snapshot of a music genre that really doesn�t exist anymore: A hip-hop/rap hybrid that�s mixed with other musical styles like jazz, funk, and blues. On �The Low End Theory�, ATCQ throw in random saxophone solos and walking bass lines with the standard (and often redundant) drum and percussion lines.

Again, I�m not a rap expert in any way, but to me, on this album the rapping is pretty good. The flow is awesome, but the emotion is kind of flat. The vocal and rapping rhythms have some similarities throughout the disc, which can force some songs to run together. One stand out moment on the CD is �What?� which features really original and clever couplets throughout the song. But I will say that it�s nice to listen to A Tribe Called Quest�s style in an era where rap is full of rage and aggression and this is such a laid back collection of tunes for the most part.

Songs like �Vibes and Stuff� and �Check the Rhime� have just that: incredible vibes and stuff that have that head-swaying flow. Cool keyboard samples are mixed over the simple drums to give it a different feel from other tracks.
ATCQ are solid lyrically as well. They tackle different subjects very well, from the tribulations of the corporate music world in �Show Business� to date rape in �The Infamous Date Rape�. They can also bust out party-worthy songs like �Check the Rhime�, �Butter�, and �Buggin� Out�.

All in all, it�s a pretty good album from my perspective. It�s just not my thing though. I can�t fully appreciate it, I assume. But that was the point of this write off: To pair people with quite possibly opposite tastes in music. I�m glad I got an album I normally wouldn�t listen to. So to me, this was quite a success.

DaKillahWitNoFace

The Low End Theory is the wrong album to here ur first hip hop album this guys clearly a moron. He could of tried Illmatic or 36 chambers for his first rap album this album was alot of low melodies and blues this guy who reviewed this is quite frankly a hard rocker who picked the wrong album.