Today in hip-hop history, A Tribe Called Quest released their fourth album, Beats, Rhymes and Life on July 30, 1996, making it the album’s 20th anniversary. As the follow-up to 1993’s critically acclaimed Midnight Marauders, it is regarded as the group’s darkest album, however, it still reached number one on the Billboard 200 and Top R&B Albums charts.
Beats, Rhymes and Life was also the first Tribe album to feature production work from The Ummah, a group composed of Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and J Dilla. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album in 1997 and contains a single titled "1nce Again" that was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group the same year. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA on October 27, 1998.
The video version of "Stressed Out" has Phife Dawg rhyming on the second verse instead of Q-Tip’s cousin, Consequence. Phife's verse, however, does not appear on the album.
A 2011 documentary chronicling some of A Tribe Called’s Quest’s journey was eventually named after the album. Directed by actor Michael Rapaport, Beats, Rhymes, & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Questbrilliantly captured the ups and downs of the group’s career.
This year, the celebration will be missing one of Tribe’s most beloved members, Phife Dawg, who sadly passed away in March of this year due to complications stemming from diabetes. Q-Tip, Jarobi and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, however, are surely keeping his memory alive.
By Kyle Eustice for RAPstation.com
