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The Low End Theory
Studio album by A Tribe Called Quest
Released September 24, 1991
Recorded 1991
Genre Alternative hip hop, jazz rap
Length 48:03
Label Jive
Producer A Tribe Called Quest, Skeff Anselm
A Tribe Called Quest chronology
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
(1990)		 The Low End Theory
(1991)		 Midnight Marauders
(1993)

The Low End Theory is the second album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. Released on September 24, 1991 through Jive Records, the album produced three singles; "Check the Rhime", "Jazz (We've Got)", and "Scenario".

Contents

Conception

After A Tribe Called Quest's debut album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (1990), Jarobi White left the group to study culinary art. Phife Dawg learned that he was diabetic a month after the album's release and after a discussion with fellow member Q-Tip, they agreed to increase his participation on their second album and to "step it up in general as a group."[1] Q-Tip credited N.W.A's album Straight Outta Compton (1988) as an inspiration for the record.[2] The group hired double bassist Ron Carter on the track "Verses from the Abstract". Q-Tip stated, "We wanted that straight bass sound, and Ron Carter is one of the premier bassists of the century."[3] Carter agreed to record tracks on the condition that the group avoid profanity, to which Q-tip assured they were addressing "real issues".[4]

Music

The Low End Theory is stylistically reminiscent of mid-1980s hip hop. Ali Shaheed Muhammad and rappers Q-Tip (who also produced the entire album) and Phife Dawg showcase how rap was done before commercial success influenced many rappers' creativity.[5] The album's minimalist sound is "stripped to the essentials: vocals, drums, and bass."[6] The bass drum and vocals emphasize the downbeat on every track.[7]

Reception and influence

 Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 5/5 stars[8]
BBC (favorable)[9]
Robert Christgau (*** honorable mention)[10]
Entertainment Weekly (B)[11]
PopMatters (favorable)[12]
RapReviews (10/10)[13]
Rolling Stone 5/5 stars[14]
The Source 5/5 stars[15]
Spin 5/5 stars[16]
Yahoo! Music (favorable)[17]

The Low End Theory helped shape alternative hip hop in the 1990s.[18][19] It established the musical, cultural, and historical link between hip hop and jazz.[20] Writer Oliver Wang called the album "a consummate link between generations", which took the essence of jazz and hip hop, and "showing they originated from the same black center."[21] The group's "mellow innovations" helped jazz rap gain significant exposure from 1992 to 1993.[22] Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 154 in "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", stating that "people connected the dots between hip-hop and jazz -- both were revolutionary forms of black music based in improvisation and flow -- but A Tribe Called Quest's second album drew the entire picture."[23]

In Time magazine's "ALL-TIME 100" albums, Josh Tyrangiel called the record an exception to jazz rap often being "wishful thinking on the part of critics". He described the album as "socially conscious without being dull" and likened a few tracks to "smoky rooms where cool guys ... say cool things."[24] Pitchfork Media listed the album at number fifty-six in its "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s".[25] The Low End Theory was voted at number thirty-two in The Village Voice's 1991 Pazz & Jop critics poll.[26] Allmusic writer John Bush, who declared it "the most consistent and flowing hip-hop album ever recorded",[27] summed up the record as "an unqualified success, the perfect marriage of intelligent, flowing raps to nuanced, groove-centered productions."[28] On February 1, 1995, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album platinum.[29] Comedian Chris Rock ranked this ninth on his 2005's Top 25 Albums of the Year.

Track listing

All songs produced by A Tribe Called Quest, except tracks 6, and 10 — co-produced by Skeff Anselm
# Title Performers Samples[30] Time
1 "Excursions" Q-Tip
  • "Time" by The Last Poets
  • "Tribute to Obabi" by The Last Poets
  • "The Soil I Tilled for You" by Shades of Brown
  • "A Chant for Bu" by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers
 3:53
2 "Buggin' Out" Phife Dawg, Q-Tip 3:38
3 "Rap Promoter" Q-Tip 2:13
4 "Butter" Phife Dawg 3:39
5 "Verses from the Abstract" Q-Tip, Ron Carter, Vinia Mojica 3:59
6 "Show Business" Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Lord Jamar,
Sadat X, Diamond D		 3:53
7 "Vibes and Stuff" Q-Tip, Phife Dawg 4:18
8 "The Infamous Date Rape" Q-Tip, Phife Dawg 2:54
9 "Check the Rhime" Phife Dawg, Q-Tip 3:36
10 "Everything Is Fair" Q-Tip
  • "Hot Pants (I'm Coming, I'm Coming, I'm Coming)" by Bobby Byrd
  • "Let's Take It to the People" by Funkadelic
  • "Ain't No Sunshine" by Harlem Underground Band
  • "Ain't No Sunshine" by Willis Jackson
 2:58
11 "Jazz (We've Got)" Q-Tip, Phife Dawg 4:09
12 "Skypager" Q-Tip, Phife Dawg 2:13
13 "What?" Q-Tip 2:29
14 "Scenario" Phife Dawg, Charlie Brown, Dinco D,
Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes		 4:10

Charts

Charts (1991)[31][32][33] Peak
position
UK Albums Chart 58
U.S. Billboard 200 45
U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 13

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions[34]
Billboard Hot 100 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Hot Rap Singles Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales
1991 "Check the Rhime" — 59 1 28
"Jazz (We've Got)" — — 19 —
1992 "Scenario" 57 42 6 34

"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
The Arizona Republic U.S. 8 Albums That VH1 Missed 2001 *
BigO Singapore The 100 Best Albums from 1975 to 1995 1995 78
Blender Magazine U.S. The 100 Greatest American Albums of All Time 2002 53
Dance de Lux Spain The 25 Best Hip-Hop Records 2001 10
Ego Trip U.S. Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980-98 1999 2
Fast 'n' Bulbous U.S. The 500 Best Albums Since 1965 407
Juice Australia The 100 (+34) Greatest Albums of the 90s 1999 61
Kitsap Sun U.S. Top 200 Albums of the Last 40 Years 2005 151
LostAtSea U.S. 90 Albums of the 90's 2000 72
Mojo U.K. The Mojo Collection, Third Edition 2003 *
Music Underwater U.S. Top 100 Albums 1990-2003 2004 53
Paul Morley UK Words and Music, 5 x 100 Greatest Albums of All Time 2003 *
Pitchfork Media U.S. Top 100 Favorite Records of the 1990s 2003 56
Robert Dimery U.S. 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2005 *
Rock de Lux Spain The 150 Best Albums from the 90s 2000 128
Rolling Stone
(guest article by
Chris Rock)		 USA Top 25 Hip- Hop Albums [1] 2005 9
Rolling Stone U.S. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 2003 154
Rolling Stone U.S. The Essential Recordings of the 90's 1999 *
Spex Germany The 100 Albums of the Century 1999 10
Spin U.S. 100 Alternative Albums 1995 87
Spin U.S. Top 100 (+5) Albums of the Last 20 Years 2005 38
Spin U.S. Top 90 Albums of the 90's 1999 32
Stereophile U.S. Top 40 (+94) Essential Albums 2002 *
The Source U.S. The Source 100 best Hip-Hop Albums of All Time 1998 *
TIME U.S. The All-TIME 100 Albums 2006 *
Vibe U.S. 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century 1999 *
Vibe U.S. 51 Albums Representing a Generation, a Sound and a Movement 2004 *
Zundfunk Germany The Best Albums of the 90's 2000 16
  • An asterisk (*) designates lists which are unordered.

Personnel

Information taken from Allmusic.[35]

Performance credits
Technical credits
  • Arrangement – A Tribe Called Quest
  • Design – Zombart JK
  • Engineering – Pete Christensen, Eric Gast, Rod Hui, Gerard Julien, Jim Kvoriac, Tim Latham, Anthony Saunders, Bob Power, Christopher Shaw, Marc Singleton, Jamey Staub, Dan Wood
  • Mastering – Tom Coyne
  • Mixing – Bob Power, A Tribe Called Quest
  • Photography – Joe Grant
  • Production – A Tribe Called Quest, Skeff Anselm

References

  1. ^ Cowie, Del F. (February 2008). "A Tribe Called Quest - Verses From the Abstract". Exclaim!. Accessed December 28, 2008.
  2. ^ Rodriguez, Jayson (October 11, 2007). "Lupe Fiasco Vs. A Tribe Called Quest: A 'Fiascogate' Timeline". MTV. Accessed December 28, 2008.
  3. ^ Watrous, Peter (October 23, 1991). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. Accessed November 11, 2008.
  4. ^ Relic, Peter (March 17, 2008). "More Uptown Conversation with Ron Carter". Stop Smiling magazine. Accessed December 29, 2008.
  5. ^ ya Salaam, Mtume (1995). "The Aesthetics of Rap". African American Review (Indiana State University) 29 (2): 313–314. ISSN 10624783.
  6. ^ Heaton, Dave (July 8, 2003). "A Tribe Called Quest: The Low End Theory". PopMatters. Accessed October 30, 2008.
  7. ^ Greenwald, Jeff (2002). "Hip-Hop Drumming: The Rhyme May Define, but the Groove Makes You Move". Black Music Research Journal (Center for Black Music Research - Columbia College Chicago) 22 (2): 268. ISSN 02763605.
  8. ^ Bush, John. "allmusic ((( The Low End Theory > Review )))". Allmusic. Accessed June 27, 2009.
  9. ^ Jones, Chris (September 28, 2007). "BBC - Music - Review of A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory". BBC. Accessed June 27, 2009.
  10. ^ Christgau, Robert. "A Tribe Called Quest". RobertChristgau.com. Accessed June 27, 2009.
  11. ^ Bernard, James (December 6, 1991). "The Low End Theory (1991)". Entertainment Weekly. Accessed June 27, 2009.
  12. ^ Heaton, Dave (July 8, 2003). "A Tribe Called Quest: The Low End Theory - PopMatters Music Review". PopMatters. Accessed June 27, 2009.
  13. ^ Juon, Steve 'Flash' (April 1, 2003). "A Tribe Called Quest :: The Low End Theory :: Jive/Zomba". RapReviews. Accessed June 27, 2009.
  14. ^ Columnist. "Review: The Low End Theory. Rolling Stone: 2004.
  15. ^ Turner, Khary Kimani (2008). "Record Report: A Tribe Called Quest". The Source (225): 127. September 2008. ISSN 0928103595.
  16. ^ "The Spin Interview". Spin (August 2008). Accessed June 27, 2009.
  17. ^ Derogatis, Jim (September 24, 1991). "Album Review". Yahoo! Music. Accessed 6 October 2009.
  18. ^ Chinen, Nate (October 17, 2007). "CMJ Music Marathon: Q-Tip Catches the Fever". The New York Times. Accessed December 29, 2008.
  19. ^ Daley, Dan (November 2007). "New York Grooves". EQ. Accessed December 28, 2008.
  20. ^ Price, Emmett George (2006). Hip Hop Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 296. ISBN 1851098674.
  21. ^ Wang, Oliver (2003). Classic Material: The Hip-Hop Album Guide. Entertainment, Culture, Writing Press. p. 102. ISBN 1550225618.
  22. ^ Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2002). All Music Guide to Jazz: The Definitive Guide to Jazz Music. Backbeat Books. p. 1416. ISBN 087930717X.
  23. ^ "154) The Low End Theory". Rolling Stone (November 1, 2003). Accessed December 29, 2008.
  24. ^ Tyrangiel, Josh (November 13, 2006). "The All-TIME 100 Albums". Time magazine. Accessed October 30, 2008.
  25. ^ Dahlen, Chris (November 17, 2003). "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork Media. Accessed December 29, 2008.
  26. ^ "The 1991 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll" (March 3, 1992). RobertChristgau.com. Accessed January 15, 2009.
  27. ^ Bush, John. "allmusic ((( A Tribe Called Quest > Biography )))". Allmusic. Accessed January 15, 2009.
  28. ^ Bush, John. "allmusic ((( The Low End Theory > Overview )))". Allmusic. Accessed January 15, 2009.
  29. ^ "Searchable Database - "The Low End Theory"". Recording Industry Association of America. Accessed October 6, 2009.
  30. ^ "Quick FAQ Search - "A Tribe Called Quest"". The-Breaks.com. Accessed October 20, 2008.
  31. ^ Warwick, Neil; Kutner, Jon; Brown, Tony (2004). The Complete Book of the British Charts. Omnibus Press. p. 1122. ISBN 1844490580.
  32. ^ "allmusic ((( The Low End Theory > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". Allmusic. Accessed September 2, 2008.
  33. ^ Patricia Romanowski Bashe et al. (1995). The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. Fireside. p. 1017. ISBN 0684810441.
  34. ^ "allmusic ((( The Low End Theory > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Allmusic. Accessed September 2, 2008.
  35. ^ "allmusic ((( The Low End Theory > Credits )))". Allmusic. Accessed December 28, 2008.
A Tribe Called Quest
Q-Tip · Ali Shaheed Muhammad · Phife Dawg · Jarobi White
Studio albums
Compilations
Solo albums
Singles
See also







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