On another note, as kanye west continues to take rap to new levels beyond anything imaginable (even beyond ced-gee), I recently rediscovered A Tribe Called Quest’s Beats Rhymes and Life tape that I havent thought of in about 8 summers . . . . I remember hating that whole Ummah sound but just like every other Tribe album, drums on this hit hard (who had doper drums on any album in 96?…or in 2004?) and Qtip + Phife spit classic rhymes. There’s no “I Lost My Wallet In El Segundo” but they opened up the album battling phony rappers on the train! Plus, that sketch where Qtip is all buggin’ out like “yoo im 22 years old, and i get craaazy high when i go to parties….I need something new” was great. Anyhow, this Tribe album is probably considered their worst by most people but it has the type of production people keep doing wrong in 2004. Warning: This album has Consequence rapping all over it which pretty much ruined it for me the day I bought it….but maybe the music he’s doing with Kanye West (am i the only one who likes how he raps better than his beats??) will be a step up.
