By Odeisel
“Back in the days when I was a teenager, before I had status and before I had a pager, you could find the Abstract listening to Hip-Hop my pops used to say it reminded him of Bee-Bop…”

It’s not often you get to have a from row seat to evolution, but if you’re an 80’s baby, you got to see a lot of paradigm shifts. Within the confines of Hip-Hop there weren’t many as pristine as the one started by A Tribe Called Quest’s seminal album The Low End Theory. The album was a start departure from their celebrated debut, cutting all the fat, adding Phife Dawg to the fold as a legitimate rapper, and effectively deading rap’s dependence of James Brown loops.

The urgency of the album and its intentions were immediately apparent from the first song, “Excursion.” The Last Poets’ call to alarm, “Time” ran throughout the composition, recalling an era when it was hip to be concerned about the welfare of Black people and the struggle for equality. In an ironic twist I listened to this track as a teen with Abiodun Oyewole of the Last Poets as a mentor and I had no clue it was him on that record.

Phife’s emergence would come on track two. “Buggin’ Out” which would form the latter half of video single with “Jazz (We’ve Got).” Phife’s energy and regular guy aesthetic brought an around the way flavor to the album, much different from the slightly weirdo vibe given off by the group on their debut. Phife was the grounding element that allowed the group to connect to the hood and this song was his coming out party.

Most of the production on the album was stripped down to the bare essentials and live bass, and the accompanying lows, were a big part of that idea coming to fruition. Play this album in your car stereo at high volume and see if your mirrors sit still. “Buggin Out” also put the world on notice that Hip-Hop was digging deeper, with Q-Tip masterfully salvaging sound from obscure destinations, siphoning his bass, this time from Michael Urbaniak’s “Ekim,” a track also pillaged for “Steve Biko” on Midnight Marauders. Producers were put on notice that if you wanted to trump Tribe, you were going to have to step your game up.

“Rap Promoter” lightened the mood a bit, camouflaging the lows with a wah wah guitar and some hard drums. Q-Tip’s solo track cleansed the palette for Phife’s solo record “Butter.” Not only did it show the group’s faith in him by putting him out front solo, but he delivered with his high school throwback tale. The horns and jazzy influence also played a larger role on the slower-paced track. Not to be outdone, Q-Tip, with some funky singing by Vinia Mojica, hit us hard with legendary bassist Ron Carter on “Verses From The Abstract.” Tip danced around the bass with talk of relationships, surviving the times, Jazz music and more; delivering his dissertation of the Black experience. Carter would only appear on the song with a guarantee of no profanity. By that time, Hip-Hop had gotten a bum rap for misogyny and all that, but obviously with skilled rappers like Q-Tip, that guarantee was easy money. It was clear that Phife’s increased workload pushed Q-Tip harder as an emcee, knowing that his voice wasn’t going to be the only one heard.

Two-thirds of Brand Nubian and Rapper/Producer Diamond D appear on “Show Business,” speaking on the seedy elements of the rap music business. Promoters that try to snake you, labels that try to shake you, the groupies that target your for your dough and the lawyers that bleed you dry. It was one of the first instances of rappers actually coming out and being honest about the pitfalls of the industry attached to the music. It wasn’t all bitches and money and fans and hotels and tours, but a business with elements in place to almost assure your downfall if you don’t pay attention. (“Show Business” did manage to show James Brown some love with a “Funky President” sample.)

The duo reunite for the laid back, yet dynamic “Vibes and Stuff.” Both rappers are at home over the smooth mellow and their chemistry is quickly rock solid despite the drastic change in roles. Q-Tip managed to keep his high level while making enough room for Phife to take a larger role. The chemistry continues on “The Infamous Date Rape,” a tale of stop no and don’t that isn’t necessarily what it seems. The duo manages to address the topic without malice or sour grapes.

“Check The Rhime” with its neighborhood-driven video really brought Tribe out of the weird woods and into the mainstream. Those blaring horns and the Minnie Ripperton foundation, along with the video, brought the group from Bohemia to the boulevard.

The funk was infused on “Everything Is Fair” which merged Bobby Byrd with Funkadelic’s “Let’s Take it To The People” for another Q-Tip excursion on societal ills. “The Jazz (We’ve Got)” was a murky, bottom-heavy composition with melancholy horns. Phife infused some island riddim into his delivery for a little extra flavor. The boys bid peace to other rap crews and all acts at the forefront of the music that took the challenge of creating next level Hip-Hop seriously.

The crew even addressed the technology of the day, putting pagers on front street with “Skypager.” Whether you were dealing dope, being a doctor or setting up booty calls, the Skypager was the high end tool of the day and Tribe was up on it. Long before Jada asked “Why,” Tip asked “What?” with a booming bottom and an assertive yet fluid flow over the quirky rhythm bouncing from parties to poets to Arsenio Hall in seconds, pairing minutiae with catharsis nothing “what is Hip-Hop if it doesn’t have silence while providing Dougie Fresh with another moment of silence. Only Q-Tip could find a way to connect glocks with the Good Ship Lollipop and keep it funky, leading immediately to the climax, “Scenario.”

Aside from being the true launching point of Busta Rhymes as the greatest posse cut rapper of all time, the song was a show of force for the rappers who held rhymes instead of 9’s. There was the “Symphony,” and other group songs before it, but the “Scenario” was the first that was driven more by rhymes than testosterone. No one was trying to outdo each other; they sought to drop the best rhyme they could within their own lane. There was no overwhelming lyricism but Busta’s verse provided enough explosive energy to push this song into immortality. Phife’s “bust a nut inside your eye to show you where I come from” line may seem primitive now, but back then it was an eyebrow raising line. As he put it succinctly, “My days of paying dues are over. Acknowledge me is in there.”

And so went the Low End Theory. A Tribe Call Quest stuck to their guns about a minimalist album driven by woofer- rattling bass that combined mic skill with disparate musical inspiration, team chemistry and exquisite arrangement. The product ended up not mere one of the great rap records but one of the best albums in music. Don’t believe me? Check the Rhime. Happy 20th.

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