The Low End Theory

It's alright, but nowhere near is enjoyable as "People's Instinctive Travels..." This one feels a bit more generic.

Perfectly fine

Like it, but I don't think I could ever love it. Q-Tip's voice is fantastic and even my culturally ignorant ass knows enough to know that there weren't a whole lot of groups - if any - doing what A Tribe Called Quest was doing in hip-hop at this time. To overuse an overused word, the whole vibe is different. And hey Busta Rhymes! I just wish it would click with me. Maybe one day.

Fun album, upbeat sound. Some of the lyrics made my giggle or say to myself ‘oh, snap’. Would listen to this album again.

interesting, but a bit redundant. hip hop over a repetitive drum track with a scant few other instrumentations. very talented vocalists and good lyrics.

I am not able to do a track by track on days I work, but I had no idea what I was getting into with this album. I found it pleasant and clever. Mostly, once I started to get a feel for it, it was like a really great soundtrack. Kinda great background music. But when I listen to the lyrics they are really clever. I liked the song that was basically "how not to get screwed by the music industry" sort of thing.

I had never heard this before so I was interested to give it a chance. I’ve heard a song or two by ATCQ but none of these. It started out pretty fun with some good beats and I was digging it. But the longer it went on, the more the novelty wore off and by the end, every song sounded the same minus a few here or there. I don’t hate the album but it was a bit too long for my likings.

This was OK. It seemed to have good rhythm and vibe.

My comments (and score) are the same as those I made on their first LP: "Bit of a down tempo sound and a sense of humour. Lacking explicit lyrics." It's nice listening for 5 or 6 songs. The Busta Rhymes debut pushed the boundaries a bit but didn't last long.

Low end theory is nice low key hip hop, with influences from hard and be-bop Jazz and smooth socially conscious lyrics it is much more accessible than the harder gangster rap that followed it. It's too bad this album doesn't have a killa tune like Can I kick it from their debut album. Most of this album is well done, but so low key that nothing really jumps out and grabs my attention. A solid 2.5 that gets rounded up for its influence.

7.5/10 1. Butter 2. What? 3. Show Business

Chull

Sounds newer than it is because of the huge bass sound. Not enough going on in the midrange to my taste. It sounds unfinished because of that. The lyrics are not as cringy as a lot of their contemporaries'. Favorite song: Everything is fair

Meh

Low dynamic range, the songs all tend to blend together. Some songs have really good lyrical flow, especially Show Business & Vibes and Stuff.

Simpatico.

High 3. Back what it’s about

Old school hip hop. It's an era of hip hop I need to dive further into because it's pretty basic but I did enjoy this album. Head bopped through out

Whack old hip hop

Really smooth hip hop vibes. I enjoyed it, but didn’t actively listen enough to appreciate any lyrics

Was alright, pretty chilled rap with a decent bass line throughout, nothing jumped out at me though

Cool vibes, retro feel, nice lyrical content without the glorification of violence. More of a playful feel to hip hop, not too overtly misogynistic or afro-centric. Some cool sampling.

The album started off strong but liked the songs less and less as it progressed. A Tribe Called Quest, not the worst not the best.

Not my kind of music, but in my opinion better than it's 2020s counterparts.

Very proficient rapping, lyricism and flow, but the minimalist beat production of bass and percussion, along with the almost bored delivery of the vocals, makes the album sound a bit dull and lifeless.

Overall just a fairly boring album, every track sounded more or less the same and it wasn't very exciting

Awesome hybrid of jazz instrumentation with late old school rap, making it a great listen for people who are into either of those genres.

Quite enjoyed this, listening in the sun was a perfect way to hear it ! 3*

Smooth and funky

Fine for background, maybe I'm too 'new' to find more in it.

Idk sounds like schoolhouse need rap but a few good ones.

Fun, but didn't really hold my attention. Something to come back to later, probably. 3/5 for now.

None of these songs reach me like ‘I Left My Wallet in El Segundo’ or ‘After Hours’ but none are as compulsively skippable as the three (by my count) bum tracks on their debut. Bass too high in the mix in some songs, let the samples breathe.

Funky rap. I like. Yes yes y’all.

Liked the instrumentals more than the rap (what else is new?). After a while I zoned out and wasn't paying too much attention lyrically. Solid. I get why it's on this list.

i don’t know what the fuck she’s saying but girl I am living

Very typical 90’s rap album. The jazz sounds were fairly interesting, but all around an ok album.

This was okay but this project hasn't changed my pickiness with hip hop. I don't think this was bad, it's just not my thing. I did really enjoy, "What?"

Didn’t listen would like to tho

Good album, nice samples, very nice bass grooves and vocal layers at various parts.

Hear before, iconic album, not a huge fan.

recommend for johnlei

Snappy.

услышала ряд знакомых сэмплов) но не кажется что что-то запомнила

See review from 3 days ago

I really like the way it sounds all boom bap and double bass samples, but it didn't really grip me. Maybe needs to be on rotation for a while. I could do with more hooks.

pretty chill - 3 stars

Mid

Beautiful music and good lyrics, but there's not enough drama in the songwriting to keep me interested. Scenario aside, what choruses there are are usually the low points of the song. Buggin' Out has a cool bass line, but the chorus just seems pointless. The chorus from Versus from the Abstract sounds like someone reciting those sections of the bible where x begat y, a begat b, etc etc, over a cool beat. I love the overall vibe, but other than Scenario, I don't think I'd listen to it again.

“Not no Parkay, not no margarine Strictly butter, baby” Thanks to A Tribe Called Quest for my new motto.

Good but not their best. Actually, probably their least best album. (Unpopular opinion. Sorry.)

Okay album. Solid, just mostly not for me.

Butter is the first song that really grabbed me this morning. Their instrumentation and sampling is almost jazz like. I don't really care about their lyrics, a lot of them feel very static, with sort of dead end end rhyming schemes.

Itselle täysin uusi tuttavuus ja kuunteli hyvällä fiiliksellä helposti läpi. Pitää paremmalla ajalla tutustua vielä tarkemmin näiden matskuun.

Tasavahva levy. Ei suuruuksia eikä liioin heikkouksiakaan. Kuunteli mielellään pari kertaa

I like excursion, the rest is pretty good but none that I really gravitated towards

First time hearing this band. A different rap vibe. A fun, good groove kinda vibe. A lot of songs seemed have to the same drum beat, but it didn't bother me too much. Overall not a lot stood out, but generally enjoyed the overall vibe. 2.5 to 3 for me

3 I’m really glad this popped up because it’s been on my list for a long time. I liked it well enough. It’s like a companion piece to NWA. Less violent but retains a similar sound. On first listen not a lot immediately stood out to me but I really vibed with it so I’ll be listening again

3.5 Excellent skateboard rap. The beats are absolutely great, and I loved the usage of an actual bassist to support them - it made a world of difference for me. However, while sounding great, I felt like there wasn't a ton of versatility with the usage across the album, and a lot beats ended up sounding the same to me (though there are definitely some exceptions). Vocally, however, the album was airtight. Having multiple vocalists in the group helps keep things fresh despite some repetitive beats, and lyrically the album was pretty on point as well (though there were definitely some exceptions for me here as well... I never wanna hear the phrase "penal cord" again in my life). I also thought having each song segue directly into the next was really cool and helped keep the energy going. Overall pretty solid. Could see this going up to a 4 for me with time. Favorite songs: Excursions, Show Business, Check the Rhime, What?

Felt like this album just got better and better as we got through it - wasn't convinced at the start but it really grew on me towards the end. It's lightyears ahead of some of the other stuff we've had from that era, and it's so influential on basically everything that comes after it. But, am I going to be listening to it a lot? Probably not, it's not really my kind of music and it lacks a bit of variety in the style - Scenario (the last track) changes it up a bit which is good, but I think it falls short of a 4.

Straight from the early days of hip hop. Raw and easy to listen to. No song really stands out imho but it is definitely an album to have as background music while doing other things

Don't think it's their best

The album has the same "problem" as a lot of early-age hip-hop albums. They are almost always much influent in our modern hip-hop, but at the same time sound very dated and not so fresh. Maybe, this is a problem of a genre that updates itself all the time, and it's never stopped in time, but it makes it hard to rate it with more the 3 or 4 stars (except maybe on the definitive albuns on the genre, that is not the case here)

7/21/2022 - ALBUM #175 Today's Album: "The Low End Theory" by A Tribe Called Quest - This is a fairly decent 90s rap project from another rap group I hear a lot of praise given to. However, unlike the sonic variety found on the Wu-Tang record I just reviewed, the songs on this album really like to find a groove and sit in it for the entire duration. Many of the songs have a great boom-bap sound to them with a really rich bass and head-bobbing drum beats, but as soon as the sound of a track and flow of the rapper is established in the first 10 seconds of the track, they fail go anywhere. It gives each song a really wallpapery and lackadaisical vibe, which you could argue is some of the appeal of the album if you enjoy music that sits heavy in the background, but for me it just feels really repetitive and difficult to stay engaged in. There are plenty of solid grooves laid down on this tracklist and I have no doubt that the big picture ideas of this record inspired countless other artists. However, I find it pretty rudimentary in many ways that are hard to directly articulate. Overall, I would say this album is worth spinning to understand the rap style I am trying to describe here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you found it difficult to reach the end of it without listening fituige. Give this one a lesson if you are very lyric oriented and can vibe with a pretty basic and repetitive instrumental. Highlights: Excursions, Rap Promoter, Butter, Show Business, Everything is Fair, Scenario Score: 6/10 A rap album with great vibes and grooves, but under-achieving verses

Fine. Liked the combo of jazz and hip hop but felt iffy about a lot of the lyrics.

Appreciating the poetry, but a bit monotonous for my taste.

-Generally nicer rap than most of the early 90's rap I've gotten before. Much better and interesting flow -However, still not the most interesting stuff. The best stuff came from Busta Rhymes's guest verse on the last track. -Nithing really draws me to listen to this album again

Quite mad how early this is in the timeline of hip hop to be going almost full jazz and I assume creating the chill hop sound.

Better than some of the other 90s rap albums so far, but still felt really repetitive towards the end.

nice wee album to have on in the background for good vibes, v samey tho so got bored half way thru

Not mind blowing but some fun jazzy raps

Bueno

Not my thing. Very slick. 6/10

Not bad but not my thing and nothing stood out on this

Started off incredibly strong. Does not sound dated whatsoever. The jazz/hip-hop combo is awesome, my issue is the lack of variety as the album goes on.

Not a big fan of hip hop, but this was pretty good. 3 stars.

"The Low End Theory" is the second album from the hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest released in 1991. The music is alternative hip-hop or jazz rap, where it contains minimalist sound to bring attention to the word play of the lyrics. This album has been credited as one of the greatest alternative hip-hop albums ever and has been certified platinum in the US. The album did a great job of fusing jazz / bepop and hip-hop, while allowing the groups' dynamics to shine through the humorous, word play commentary in the rap lyrics. I loved how the album's music was stripped down to essentially just vocals, drums, and bass. It gave the music and rapping more impact for me to hang onto. The laid back sound was something new for me to hear from the early golden years of hip-hop, and I found myself really enjoying its flow. I do agree with reviews that this may be the greatest hip-hop album ever. I cannot praise this album anymore then what has already been said by critics, but this is the first time I heard of this album or the group and I think it was amazing! I'll have to give it another listen again soon.

Enjoyed but wouldn’t listen again

Good

Solid effort from one the best rap groups of the early 90s.

I'm definitely a late 80s/early 90s rap & hip hop fan rather than anything after

Enjoyable album, good

I enjoyed this and would like to return to it!

Pretty good, every song carries weight

This is the second recommendation I've received from this list from A Tribe Called Quest. Listening to this album felt a lot like the previous album. There are interesting and enjoyable tracks, but I'm not sure if I'll remember this album enough to want to come back for a second listen. "Show Business" was a familiar track, and had a good sound. "Scenario" with Busta Rhymes was entertaining too. Unfortunately, there are lyrics and on these and other tracks that would make me skip the tracks on a second listen. For one listen, the album gets a 3. If I had to play the album again - 2 stars.

Mostly jazz-sample backed rap. Lots of good tracks, it a bit repetitive after a bit. Still, taking rap in an interesting direction.

Smooth, listenable and chilled hip hop. Works for me as BG music but I can't remember any tracks after a couple of listens

An attempt at a jazz-hop-fusion album. Quite okay. (6/10) FT: Buggin' Out, Check the Rhime

I could see myself listening to this, on the right day, while I'm in the right mood. Not bad

Wasn't feeling it.

good enough

Listened

3.5

Boring. Beat with rap over it. No melodies, it's just all the same.The best thing I can say is that it doesn't have quite as much swearing as most rap. Also it's intelligible - so all in all, it's the best rap album we've had so far.

Old school. A bit boring. Does not pass the test of time. For hip hop historians.

not my style but mmh!

slouches along amiably enough for the first half, kicks it up a notch for the second. low end indeed

Þétt old school rap. Ekki alveg minn tebolli en hélt mér samt við efnið

Funky groove but pretty basic lyrics. Overall Album sounds the same from start to finish.

Great vibe but suffers from being too one note. Scenario is the only song that stands out as being different on this album.

classic

Erstes Drittel edieses ikonischen Hiphop Albums wirkt wie die vielfache Variation des Gleichen. Brat-, Pell-, Stampfkartoffeln, Reibekuchen, Kroketten und Klöße stammen auch vom Erdapfel, bieten jedoch mehr Variation als die ersten 4 Tracks. Erst nach Beigabe von „Butter“ wird’s leckerer…sonst fehlt es oft an würzigen Samples wie dort und hier („Verses…“ & „Vibes…“). Fade 2.8

Vermeintlich freundlich-funky-er early Nineties HipHop aus der Golden Era. Natürlich nicht nur freundlich, sondern auch super edgy und conscious. Das alles weiß ich natürlich noch von früher, aus den Neunzigern. Hat sich nichts dran geändert nach erneutem Hören nach langer Zeit. Produktion absolut on Top, klingt leider trotzdem dated, weil: naja, HipHop heute, ihr wisst schon. Ich begehe den Fehler und achte schon wieder kaum auf Lyrics, geht also die ganze Consciousness verloren und übrig bleiben Q-Tip und Phife und die warmen, lässigen jazzigen Soundscapes. Gefällt mir 3,49.

Jazzy, swinging - a fair amount of double bass providing the low end. lovely flow to the raps

Rap relativamente sosegado con ritmos propios del estilo y sin destacar especialmente. Muy del estilo definido

Old school rap

Bass and drum heavy. I like this but it seems not that big of a deal. But, it was the first of its kind so that’s what makes it groundbreaking

// Favs: – Score: Light 3

Not my genre, nice beats. Some of the lyrics really hit me, I needed to save some songs. Great piece of history.

Excellent album, really liked it.

Always thought this was the ATCQ number one record…. Just not as good as peoples instinctive travels. Not bad though!

Enjoyed this one as a hip hop album which isn't normally my favourite genre, some good beats and lyrics. Could definitely see this paving the way for 90s hip hop.

It's obvious that if there's a "hole in my game", it's with hip-hop. It's probably my least listened to genre. But doing this list every day has at least allowed me to experience a lot of it. It may never be my jam, but I can at least appreciate the albums I've listened to on this list. My hunch is I'll listen to certain songs on playlists and not the albums again. This is different hip-hop from what I've had so far on the list. Not a lot of danceable songs here, and tends to sound more like relatable background music. Also: no swear words! Not that they're necessary, just worth mentioning as something that is different from others in the same genre. It's decent enough. But I spent some time listening with the dreaded "meh" word coming to mind. Definitely belongs on the list, but I put it behind entries I've heard by Public Enemy, Missy Elliot and (my favorite, although some wouldn't call her hip hop) Nenah Cherry.

good stuff

Dope

interesting style of music, but really meant for new yorkers, and i don't understand hip-hop

Not my style

It’s something I would probably never listen to, but I really enjoyed it. It’s got some fun songs here and there. You can definitely see how they influenced some of the newer hip hop and rap.

Strong beats, flow and samples but wasn’t as convinced by all of the lyrics. Fun album but prefer a little more message or theme from the early nineties. Enjoyed scenario and check the rhime.

Verses from the Abstract was the track that pulled me into the album. Show Business pulled me back out. I think if I had heard this in 91 or even the 90s it would hit certain nostalgic tones. But hearing it for the first time 20 years later I'm finding the rhyming and beats dated.

I have their greatest hits. And I think that's better than their individual albums. Some nice tracks but then a lot of forgettable ones. Plus it seems like they made no effort to make a cohesive album. Just random songs strung together.

very old school rap when the horns come in ... the delivery is great funky beat in deed very cohesive (so danger : repetitive) 3

Cet album etant ni plus ni moins qu'un copié collé niveau qualité et intérêt de ma part de Fishscale de Ghostface Killah, je vais me contenter de copier coller ma review: c'etait pas nul, c'etait pas particulièrement bien non plus. Un album à très vite oublier, il faut se reconcentrer sur le prochain match

A pesar de que no me gusta el rap, me gustó el disco. Tiene buenos temas, aunque se me hace algo "pesado" a la larga. Nota: 3.5

No me gusta mucho el hip hip, pero el álbum es bueno

The beats were my favourite thing in this record. The lyrics are fun and clever most of the time. But I'm not a fan of some the rapping in here; in my opinion it's what makes this album feel kind of flat. Still, I think that this is a great album to get introduced to hip.hop. I read somewhere that this is an album even your mom would like, and that's probably right at least for a couple of tracks.

Meh. I can see the appeal (and why it's called The Low End Theory!), but not for me.

- great fro background listening, sounds like one long song

All the windows down for this album.

.

Classic rap with jazz influences

I like this out of the gate. Good old school rap. Good beats. Good vocal. And then it feels a bit like Groundhog Day - didn’t they already play this song? And then it feels a bit like Groundhog Day - didn’t they already play this song? I’m not a lyrics focused person, so even after two listening, I didn’t catch much of the content, so I’m guessing there is good substance there that I missed. More blood. More chocolate. The Elton Costello 90s rap album.

FT: Scenario

5.5

Highlight: Butter Big bumpin' ensemble hip-hop rap that sounds unmistakably 90's, but still echos in modern hip-hop. It's interesting to hear the roots of so many sounds.

funky which I liked

Hip Hop

Hip-hop. Ni fu ni fa

It's fine. It's not the best rap album but there's nothing too bad about it other than being slower, more rhythmic rap you see in the earlier years. It's dated for sure too.

I'm kinda a fan of older rap like this.

Early on I was interested in this album, but as it went on it started to feel a little more like a stereotype of '90's hip hop. My guess is that's probably because of how quintessential this is, but I can't be sure. Thought it was interesting there were so many songs disrespecting women, but also an entire song condemning date rape culture (which also inlcuded casual sex jokes?) quite a mix! I think there are clearly songs I'd like to listen to again, but not an album I'd want to spin all the way through.

Not a big rap fan, this has a solid feel and well crafted lyrics.

Está de 3.999999

The same beat for the entire album gets old fast

Pretty good hip-hop album

Good stuff.

Definitely an acquired taste. Need to explore it more, expect I will enjoy it.

What I heard I enjoyed. Chilled hip hop.

Couldn't kick it but was aight

Fav Song: Vibes and Stuff

Surprisingly enjoyable. I remember back when this was released thinking that the singles were kinda bland. It all works much better as a full album though, and there are lots of fun jazz samples. Highlights include: Show Business What?

good vibe and flow

not my jam, some swearing, but overall not bad

Enormously influential in its day, but just sounds stale and dull today. In the same genre, Blowout Comb is a vastly superior album, and still sparkles and entertains.

Cool super early rap/hip hop. Obviously not my favorite but not bad at all

Connor: it's a decent album. from the beginning, the first verse is incredible - but it's probably the best on the album. Q-Tip flows great throughout, but the lyrics are a little weak in the middle songs and the beats use cool jazzy instruments but are a little too sparse

A mix of good and bad lyricism. Samples not that amusing.

A hip hop classic, more of a place in time album then what I consider pinnacle for me personally, however a great introduction to the world for Busta Rhymes, would go 3.5

From the Vault #26 (17 January, 2026) Another review from my rapidly-growing library of pre-assembled musings about music, and a ceremonious one at that. This is, presently, the highest-rated hip-hop album on the site, and one that I'd never heard of prior to my encounter with the first album from A Tribe Called Quest. I've come across it quite a few times since while I've been perusing the Internet. I am ostensibly not a fan of hip-hop, though I think I can be forgiven for raising my expectations just a smidge for this album. Guess I'll just hop into it. It started out promising, but lost my attention somewhere around the middle. I don't exactly have the most atuned ears when it comes to hip-hop, but these instrumentals are generally above-standard. There's a solid, bassy sound that fills many of the gaps which are traditionally present on these hip-hop albums. There's also some decent samples in here, too. I enjoyed the jazz samples in here quite a bit. The vocals are more or less the same when compared to ATCQ's previous outing. They're decent, but sound quite restrained when compared with what I'm used to from hip-hop. The lyrical content is occasionally fun and I appreciate the concise runtime, though I found this album to be quite disengaging on the whole. Like I said, I know this album is a big deal, so I shant consult the book for why it's in here. I cosign this inclusion and would honestly take another Tribe Called Quest album in lieu of the many landfill albums which populate this genre.

This has the rapping style of the 80s but lost the cheesiness. I think the cheese was key

I can imagine that this is a quite highly regarded album in it category at its time, it just fall firmly into the area of "I dont like that style of music" The lyrics are not particularly clever, dont move me in anyway and are often a little juvenile. Why yes I do hate fun.

not my style but chill

I found the flow poor for my tastes, the beats not very interesting, and the rhymes not that clever Standouts - 2/5

It was fine for a few songs but after a while, it all started to sound the same to me. I found it quite boring.

За какие грехи мне это..

Eh… rap…

No. Just no. There is no appeal in this repetitive nonsense.

Some albums are timeless. This isn’t one of them unfortunately. 35 years old & sounding like it on some of the tracks.

gave it a whirl, not my thing but well put together.

Ok as far as hip hop albums go, this one isn't so bad. I actually really like the double bass throughout, although it is a little monotonous. But the delivery of the lyrics is basically like any hip hop album ever - the same cadence, the same tonality, the same basic rhythm. It's just so uninteresting and makes me not want to listen to what's actually being said. Calling it jazz inspired is a bit of a stretch for me but I was vaguely intrigued by the bass at first at least. But after about two or three songs I was done. It's just another hip hop album. 2/5

hella fire but not my thing, can see this being used in a up and coming indie movie

I like the nice but I don't like some of it and didn't add any #woke queen navy

Not quite my thing. But better than a lot of the rap that comes across the desk, as it where. Ultimately I just find it a bit dull?

Eipä jäänyt tämän kuuntelusta mieleen mitään erityistä. Aika tasapaksua biittiä.

wieder alter hip-hop, wieder klingt jedes lied gleich, und da ist da noch dieser rape song...

Another rap album that was a bit lewd, a bit silly but not particularly unusual or unique.

2/5.

i mean it's alright its not really resonating with me right now but i really like the first song but idk bro

cool album cover

I just don’t get it; bottom line - this was bad & I failed to wrestle any entertainment value from this album.

Much like Bob Dylan, a lot of what shines about this group is their penmanship much more than the delivery, the instrumentation, and their versatility. I've really always tried to like them but every time I listen I just don't remember any song at all. I understand the hype's gotta be for something but other rappers switch up their beats, flow, and tempo way more than these guys and if this album had that, I'd be all ears.

Completely lost focus on this because there was really just nothing interesting going on. I'm sure the rapping is great, but the backing was so dull, it's just a plodding drum beat with some _very_ occasional jazz-adjacent-sounds (mostly in instrumentation, rather than any substance). Honestly, not sure why this is as highly rated as it is. It may well have had influence, but all it did was make me bored.

Nearly a three but at the end of the day I just don't like hip hop.

Ist halt ein Hip Hop Album aus den 90ern... 2/5

Good moments on first listen. Preferred the more upbeat numbers. There seemed to be a song that mentioned rape which is horrific.

5/10 - inoffensive (although lyrics sometimes may say otherwise), there is a distinctive sound but not necessarily a distinctive song

euuuuuh bon c'était quand même vachement la même instru sur tout les sons

I just can't get into an album that is almost all drum machine and rapped lyrics. For me there needs to be some sort of instrumental melody and harmony to the song - over-repetitive beats just don't cut it.

No es mi estilo

I think this record is a good timestamp of the cultural moment in which it was released. It's witty at times, maybe a bit naive by today's standards, raw and simple but with some offshoots you can tell have influenced decades of music since then. And yet I don't like it.

This was definitely a miss for me. I love the occasional A Tribe Called Quest song and was excited to listen to more of them. However, little of this album did anything for me and probably won't relisten to it.

Apparently influential. But not my sort of thing.

2.3/5

Bof bof! Pas impressionnant du tout… pas mon truc… trop répétitif!

I found this really dragged

Compared to their first album I didn’t find this one as melodic. Also the lyrics were not as interesting to me.

Again, and again, I feel I get the same kind of records. Nice, but nothing memorable.

Yeah sure, fine for what it was, and I guess I should be thankful it wasn’t a whole album of hypocrisy just about a half an album of asterisked words. Minua one for BS rules.

This was very blah to me.

Surprisingly... it isn't that bad. Actually, it isn't bad. I've enjoyed some parts of this album. And that's really something considering I haven't enjoyed any hip-hop album I've ever listened to (at least that I remember). I don't think this album is good either, there are many lows for me, and it even becomes too repetitive for my liking. But the funky and jazzy parts add this record some interesting moments.

No soy tan fan del hip hop de los 90’ sin embargo, algo que me gustó es que cada integrante le da su toque a cada canción, y las canciones no se sienten igual.

nah

I prefer the high end theory.

ráp nigaa

First half was rough but it picked itself up. 4/10

Some good rap, but the same problem as I have with other early hip hop. It's basic talking on a simple beat with little to no variation. You could put any of the vocals on any of the beats, or even just run all the vocals one after the other on the same beat, and there would be no real difference. What? was interesting at least. Best song: What?

Ganska skön jazzig hip hop i och för sig, men över en hel skiva blir det enformigt. Ungefär samma tempo, rytmik och temperament i låt efter låt. Scenario sticker ut som klart bästa låt.

A Tribe Called Quest har med två album i boken. Båda låter rätt snarlika och båda har jag fått slumpade till mig tidigare. Det är ingen större variotion på beatsen på The Low End Theory. Alla låtar har den samplade jazzbasen och stort sett samma dåsiga trumkomp. Det blir lite väl enahanda. Q-Tips solodebut är betydligt roligare.

The album isn’t bad. And for the time it’s very high quality. The lyricism is solid. But musically it’s pretty uninteresting of a full listen through, then finishes on a great track “scenario” that feels really refreshing when you finally get to it. This album shows more about how far hip hop has come than the heights of what it was.

The rhyming impresses me, but I'm just not a fan of rap music. I don't hate it, it's just not my jam. Great storytelling, though.

0/14 bekannt 4/10 Beste Songs: what?, everything is fair, scenario

Started off interesting, but then became monotone and boring.

It’s shit, but gets an extra star for Busta

Each song sounded like it had the exact same beat, just different lyrics. Very good at rhyming and lyrics, but not much else to write home about.

Did not enjoy. Felt like a was listening to a continous loop of the Fresh Prince TV theme. But wasn't offensive so that is a plus

All songs sounded the same to me, but I have listened to worst rap albums before

This is the second Tribe album in the last couple of months. While I enjoyed the first album, I found this one a bit boring

Personally this style of rap from this time period specifically isn't for me but I gotta admit this shit slaps

Meh, a ton of people that I like and respect like it a lot, but I just can’t get into it

Not a fan of rap, mostly because of the sexism... but I just don't enjoy the style in general.

Rap just ain't for me like at all. I get that it has a message, but I just find it boring. Especially the earlier rap. It just blends together. I finish an album and it's just like I've listened to an hour long song. It's a genre I won't ever be able to get into. If u enjoy it congrats, have a good time listening to this cause I won't do it again any time soon.

kind of boring imo

Love ‘Buggin Out’. It started to lose me by theme end but the vibe was great. Some interesting lyrics, some terrible.

So boring even instagram reels are PEAK entertainment while this plays.

Fav: everything is fair 2.5/5

Not good enough for me to comment on it but also not unlistenable

Te veel van hetzelfde

Not a fan of hip-hop, but west coast is better

For a group with a lot of hype I expected more, the lyrics are good but the music is just okay. The repetitiveness of it is really distracting at times

very meh. all the songs sounded identical to me :/ like not bad! but just nothing special whatsoever

Cool

The tracks sound similar to each other. The flows are basic and sometimes annoying. Nothing really impressed me about this album.

not my thing

O som com muita interferência "um chiado". Não gostei muito.

Good album but don't really like the genre

Wasn't really big into them back in the day, but these guys are pretty good. None of the songs I recognize are on this album though.

The music is pretty good, but again it's just endless loops (I know that's how the genre works - I don't care for it). As for the rapping, it's about as goofy as you can get. 2.0/5.0: Disappointing

78/1001 First listen. This makes jazz more listenable but it still has some jazz so I don’t want to listen to it again. 4/10

Really not a genre for me, it just sounds like noise lol

I fear every song is the same

2.5

The addition of a few jazz stars doesn’t necessarily elevate it

Nichts für mich.

Not my preferred genre, but I can appreciate

zasad (na trećoj pjesmi) tipične rep nige iz devetesetijeh. vjerojatno ću nakon što preslušam zaboravit da sam slušo. ne primjećujem ni kad se promijeni pjesma. dosadnooo na petoj sam pjesmi. dosta loš tekst, dosta loš flou. eh nakon što sam preslušao: uglavnom bezvezno. na trenutke jako loše i teško slušljivo. dobiva dvojku zbog nekih (doduše ne pretjerano čestih!) fora semplova

More melodic than most, but still not my thing.

I dunno, feels very much like the 90s Not doing it for me

Here we go…yo. And away I went bro.

90s rap. It's OK but rather listen to a lot of other music.

Ei löydy tarpeeks löysiä pöksyjä tämän kuunteluun.

Ihan ok hiphoppia, mut en niin välitä genrenä.

A bit too heavy on the drums

Not my preferred flavor of music, but some great lyrical work here

not my type of music but chill om eens daarnaar te luisteren

Did not enjoy.

"Keep my bases loaded like the New York Mets" !!!! 1991 was the Mets' first losing season since 1983—so, sick burn, fellas! #gojays Update: Hey, what—Dungeon Dragon is Busta Rhymes?? Nicki, cite your sources!

Not a fan

Minimalistic, repetitive sounds underlining trivial rhymes. Talking about the daily live and struggles of the 90s in the US and gangster glamour. Not annoying. But not interesting neither.

2.2 Just classic shite 90s hiphop on this list. Lyrics written by a teenager, very basis beats, wtf is this lists obsession with incredibly mediocre 90s hip-hop end me.

o.o

Wasn’t really in the mood to finish, so didn’t listen to the whole thing.

liked the first few songs but it was always the same

Rätt intressant ändå!

Brukar gilla denna typ av hiphop men här känns inte produktionen lika on point så som det brukar vara. Men det är ju också ett tidigt album.

Not me

Shoutout to the jazz bass player on this, really the star of the show. It's clear from listening to this that Check the Rhime is the standout track and did well as a single. The album has good moments, but most of the time I found myself zoning out. I don't have a valid criticism for this other than to say that despite listening to this three times I really wasn't able to interface with this for no reason other than the simple fact I found it boring. It was a novel listen at first, but this isn't the sort of album I would go out of my way to listen to. I can see this playing in a cafe or at some 'vinyl bar' where they pretend to play an actual LP but it's just spotify on an expensive PA system where a shitty excuse for a cocktail is 28 dollars and its really just a gin and tonic with food colouring. Highlights: Check the Rhime

Favorite: Everything is Fair This album is fine. "Infamous Date Rape" is throwing me for a bit of a loop, like the start of the song makes sense but then it keeps going and I start to be like WTF. What are their actual thoughts it's not clear, i shouldn't leave a song about that topic going 'wait what'. Also, this is a consistent thing about older rap albums but the way they talk about women just doesn't vibe with me, it doesn't make women sound like people to me. Otherwise, this is a good rap album, it's not my favorite genre but it's got some nice beats and the lyrics are fun to listen to and clever.

I'm not a rap fan, yet I feel like I've been spoiled by my limited exposure to Kendrick Lamar. This just feels artless to me. References feel dated. Many instances of cringe. Not my culture though, so my opinion is probably pretty irrelevant here.

Gut um im Hintergrund zu hören aber nichts was ich aktiv hören würde. Hat einen entspannten Vibe aber holt mich einfach nicht ganz ab. Topsong: What?

It seems wrong to say this, but this album didn't really do anything for me. I recognize their importance in hip-hop's development and get what they are getting at, but it just feels like one bass note over a minimally divergent boom-bap beat for 48 minutes, with the raps so drowned in the mix they never reach the surface. Maybe if I had it on headphones in the subway or something, the context would connect and it would feel perfect.

2,4/5

Creo que es imposible que no disfrute escuchar un álbum de este estilo, pero de igual manera no creo que escucha nunca más alguna canción de estos jajaja

Solidly fine. Generic 90s rap, nothing to set it apart from everything else in that time. 2/5 stars.

This album is all about the verse and it just didn't gel with me. Each beat was good but went on for ages with non-stop lines. Nothing really stood out to me.

Old school rap

Dull as fuck. I can see where it might be influential but fuck me.

Alright beats but just couldn't get into it and easily forgot what I listened to once it was over

Often treated like the holy grail of '90s hip-hop, The Low End Theory is really just a polite lecture delivered over sleepy jazz loops. It’s the kind of album that sounds like it should be playing in the background of a college dorm while someone talks at you about “real hip-hop.” The bass is warm, sure, but the energy is practically comatose — like Q-Tip and Phife took NyQuil before stepping into the booth. For an album that’s supposedly revolutionary, it rarely bothers to actually move. Lyrically, it’s smooth but smug, packed with so much “chill” it forgets to be exciting. Tracks blend together into one long blur of head-nods and humble brags, with the occasional name-drop of Zulu Nation like it's a free pass to be boring. Even when they drop wisdom, it’s served on dry toast — no urgency, no bite, just endless cool-guy detachment. The Low End Theory isn’t bad, but it coasts on reputation

Whilst I may have listened to this, it went in one ear and straight back out the other. So I guess that means I didn’t hate it if I don’t remember listening to it?

Not my jam I am afraid.

I'm told this was pioneering, and I believe it - I just don't care for the trails it blazed. The tracks are too repetitive within themselves and even amongst each other. Without its historical context, this would have been a 1.

383/1001 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑

Dobri lyricsi in smesni, ksne rime bangajo, tudi beati so kr uredi. naziuce mi gre kr fulkrat ni rim. sam tko overall ni zame.

I almost like this album. But still, the delivery of each track comes across as very same-y, with the same vocals and the same sort of rhythms.

I didn’t like the mix of rap and jazz

Really didn't do much for me, but probably deserves a more attentive listen.

Rap is never my piece of cake. I acknowledge that is rather melodic, despite my preassumptions regarding rap. But still…

Obviously not two-star quality (like many other albums that I've rated here), but I just find the monotone rapping (I think I've used this term for almost every 80s/90s conscious rap album that I've gotten so far) to be incredibly dull.

It’s okay

Very samey

Ok, but felt a bit... basic.

Every song sounds pretty much the same. 2 might be harsh, but there was nothing to keep me listening.

Sorry to say but I found this so boring and tedious! Songs weren't bad but after like 3 of them they blended into one long mega song for 40 mins 2 ⭐️

Low vibes but chill. Kinda was expecting a little more here. 2.5 goin down.

hey defür dasses rap isch, isches no kuul, es passiered wenigstens halbewegs spannendi sache im bass oder sogar saxophon. aber igendwenn wirds eif repetitiv, rap gfallt mer eif nöd..

Meh. Not as good as I remember.

Old school rap isn't for me, but I can hear influences for today

I've always heard that early hip-hop like the Tribe is required listening to understand rap, but I've just never been able to get into it. The flows and rhymes are legit, and I can see the influence it had on later rap artists. That said, it kind of lands flat for me. Long tracks of them just flowing doesn't really do it for me. In this day an age, this seems like foundational listening for newer rap artists, but there's better stuff for pure listening. It was kind of fun to hear an early Busta though.

Greit nok, for langt

Smooth