Reviews (page 3 of 15)
was my one and a halfth time around with this one. absolute banger. perfect go-to album in time of emergency. captivates you from the beginning to the very end. very good very cool. at least 8.5/10
Prime rib of OG rap
It’s like butta baby. Good beats, very chill. Same vibe as Q-Tip that I listened to yesterday, but 90’s style. (4)
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.
A classic Hip-Hop album!
❤️
sick beats, but some lyrics were distracting. I enjoyed the second half better
Very good. I like this type of boom bap and jazz influenced rap. Only marking down a star as it was a tad samey but still great
I really like the transitions between songs, it makes the album go smoothly. Not the genre I usually go to, but it was kinda fun.
A true classic of a hip hop album. Not just a classic for the music, but for its influence on the genre.
Very nice album, still great listen to.
some calm luh flows also nice jazz influences
Overall Rating - 3.07/5 (6.14/10). Pretty solid old-style hip-hop. Slick flow over a good beat.
Groovy, tekstas tho visą laiką apie moteris.
This is just a classic album. If I have any major complaints, it's that the "boom bap" tempo and drum beat does make a few songs sound very similar. That didn't really bother me because I loved that sound, and appreciated hearing more of it. Then you end with "Scenario", one of my favorite rap tracks ever. This is a 5-star album.
LOVE
Okay, I love Tribe very much, and while I adore the sound and composition in this all-time record, I can't give it a perfect score. Usually, Tribe is super respectful and progressive, but this one ain't great to women. Tracks like butter, infamous date rape and what? feature some low-key misogynistic lyrics. I want to give this 5 stars, but I just can't. 8/10
Goat unc rap
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
No mi rollo
A beautiful period in music history. Crackling jazzy samples and people pushing into new territory. Scratches an itch the brain.
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
its okay kinda mid kinda good
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?
Hört sich irgendwie jedes Lied gleich an aber für zwischendurch nicht schlecht.
Near perfect 90s alternative hip-hop. Chill vibes, great sampling and beats, smooth flow, funny non-offensive lyrics
Eipä jäänyt tämän kuuntelusta mieleen mitään erityistä. Aika tasapaksua biittiä.
Not only one of the essential golden age albums of the 1990s, but also one of hip hop in general. You can't do anything wrong listening to A Tribe Called Quest. Great tunes on this one are of course Jazz, Scenario and the opener.
wieder alter hip-hop, wieder klingt jedes lied gleich, und da ist da noch dieser rape song...
3.5
for me its kinda boring. just boom bap, just rap, nothing else. prolly ts album is important for hiphop history but its gave me nothing new. And lyrics not resonate with me either
High 4, such an easy listen.
Some good rhythm and beats 🥁
I liked the vibe of old school hip Hop and mix of Genres with jazz and funk
classic. funky beats
great instrumentals
Beats too good it made my fall in love with the abstract. Much bigger fan of this compared to where rap is at today
I liked it at first, but then it got kinda repetitive over time.
Great album, my kind of hip hop
1 Niet om aan te horen. Klinkt als "de la soul". Hiphop is niet mijn ding. Album snel doorgespoeld.
goated
Highly overrated.
Пьяное ожидание жирного бургера. С первого вступления и басового проигрыша, ты понимаешь тебя ждёт что-то цепляющие. Я никогда не слышал настолько четкого и структурированного фристайла - вообще ни в одном треке не чувствуется выжимка или натянутость. Все согласовано все легко и свободно. Не покидает ощущение какого-то опьянения или сонливости, но при этом наполненность энергией до краев. В конце прослушивания я ушел в свои не очень позитивные мысли и на удивление альбом показал себя утвердительным, утешительным и что самое интересное - благосклонным к будущему. Обязательно нужно отдельно выделить подход к выступлениям - они настолько продуманы что кажутся идеальными, а в треках вас ждёт множество умопомрачительных пауз, которые придают всему альбому нужный антураж и движение. Этому альбому ставлю 7,5/10, неожиданная даже для меня оценка, с учётом описания, мне показалось что как альбом его нужно было сделать немного короче на пару песен, потому что как бы хорош не был подход - к концу альбома притирается.
Everytime I listen to a different album from this era I understand why old people cling on to it so much. It was just raw, innovative and each sound was different. Tribe just has a way of rapping, production that just appeases the ear. I loved every song and it was so good I spun it through twice!
Fun album- old school radio rules!
Another rap album that was a bit lewd, a bit silly but not particularly unusual or unique.
Não conhecia, mas gostei. Bem jazzy
Interessante
Nao e a minha cena mas acredito que seja bom
My rating 3.2
I was pleasantly surprised at this album. I’m not usually someone to be keen on rap music, with jazz and hip hop in the mix it creates this unique sound that I thoroughly enjoyed. I also bopped my head to a lot of it. However, it became repetitive which means there was no specific song that stuck out to me. If I heard this music I would like it but I wouldn’t go immediately to add it to my playlist, which is why I would rate it a 3/5. I definitely need to make a hip hop playlist so that I can listen to the songs again
A trule great old school hop hip album, innovative, Q-Tip flow is smooth.
Another masterpiece of the later part of the early rap era, representative of the more complex lyrics and sampling of the time. This also includes the first feature verse of Busta Rhymes, as a member of the Leaders of the New School, and led directly to his solo superstardom. Tribe is one of the best to ever do it, no question.
Got to be a little samey, but a good listen
Does it get anymore classic 90s rap than this? Pure lyrical poetry. Some of these rhymes are a littttle goofy though—“What is a party if it doesn't really rock? What is a poet? All balls, no cock.” Not quite a 3, not quite a 4. Fav: Verses from the Abstract, Vibes and Stuff
unbelievable album, love the vibe and the low bass
This is a very 90s record, for better or worse. The production is excellent, the flow is right, but I had to stop paying attention to the lyrics a few tracks in. Still, worth a listen.
This is the Stringer Bell of rap: not smart enough to hang with the philosophers but not hard enough to run with the boys on the street. Tribe tries to show his bona fides by listing off names of rappers no one remembers 30 years later (and name dropping Arsenio Hall 3 times isn’t a flex). Then he conflates vocabulary for intellect. But his lyrics have no particular insight despite having more syllables. Kendrick Lamar is a much better option for that. Altogether the tracks move along pleasantly enough, which for rap might be more of a bug than feature. It should be more challenging. The album was heading straight in to a half-hearted 2 stars until Busta Rymes jumps in with 90 seconds left on the last track. He brings all the energy that was missing and lifts the whole album on his shoulders up to a 3.
8/10
2/5.
Rap promoter to butter transition was smooth like butter Wow butter more like peak I’m half way through the album now though and it’s getting kinda old WOAHHH CHECK THE RHIME finally something different! We GOT the jazz!!
i mean it's alright its not really resonating with me right now but i really like the first song but idk bro
Not really my style, but it was pretty nice. Reminds me of songs I hear on a stop sign during a roadtrip.
They weren’t lying about the low end
One of A Tribe Called Quest's best albums. I enjoyed just about every track. Really fun! 9/10 Would I listen again? Yes
This album is so good. It’s one of those you can put on anytime records.
Mdeh, not the best rap album to me.
96/100.
Undeniably a rap classic, and the album that put jazz rap on the map. The beats and the flows on this album are, in general, insane. I say in general because I think the first half is a bit weaker than the second one. Still very good, and has "Excursions", which is one of my favourite tracks, but I believe that the latter half is way more packed. The album itself I would say it is very straight forward, but also incredibly well done. The beats are not very busy yet incredibly infectious and super smooth, specially the ones where the double bass is more predominant. The vocal delivery is also on point, mixing very well with the beats. As one of the songs says, they flow is basically like butter. In addition, there are also some bars that go incredibly hard, and some really interesting lyrics and storytelling, like in the already mentioned "Excursions", "Butter" and "Check the Rhime". Another thing I want to point out is, despite of the sound being very chill, there are some tense moments as well. While not incredibly intense, still noticeable compared to the smoothest parts. So in the end, a great album. I wish some of the songs in the first half hit as hard as everything from "Check the Rhime" to "Scenario", but it is a great and fun experience nonetheless.
Iconic bassline starts. Q-Tip seems to have hyperrhythm somehow when he raps, like more rhythm than rhythm. And I like their little stories and nonsensical observations, and surprise references to things like chemical compounds and Ralph Kramden. And Busta is here! Overall, this is fun :)
😎🆒👟🎧🔮
Very fun album. Scenario is a a classic and a great way to end the project.
Easily one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time and my personal favorite Tribe album. It’s perfect!
cool album cover
An album I’ve only listened to once.
Couldn’t listen to the whole album.
I like Tribe. I like their flow and lyrics. The mixed vocals helps add variety.
A Low Called Theory
pretty peak
isk vatra, za sad samo dve pesme al je opusteno i zanimljivo u isto vreme rap i jazz? u isto vreme
I'm not a big fan of jazz, and while I like some hp hop, the ratings I have given out so far seem to indicate I really don't. So this shouldn't be good to me, but it is. What I do love is a good bass groove and every single track on this album has this. It's a near masterpiece. 4.5
6/10
3/5
fuck yesssssssss.. i think when i last heard this i was still in 6th form so ive been looking forward to it coming up. when i said in my review of gang starr's "step in the arena" that they got power crept almost immediately by other east coast rappers, this is exactly what i mean. this dropped later the same year and it's just on a whole other level in both production and lyrics. like, holy fuck dude. the beats on this album still go hard as hell and although the flow still has an old school vibe the lyrics don't really feel dated in the same way as the aforementioned gang starr album's did, yknow? other than the repeated references to pagers i guess. and phife's attitude towards women. im still trying to parse what he was trying to say in his verse on "the infamous date rape" but im pretty certain it wasn't anything good, that's really my only gripe tho, aside from that its great album. like basically everyone else my favourite tracks are probably "buggin' out" and "scenario" but it really is solid from end to end, and i think "butter" and "skypager" deserve mentions for their sick as fuck beats too. its honestly fucked up that i went 15 years between listens of this and don't intend to repeat that mistake lmao
Mire laidback rap compared to the monstrosities I've had recently. Listenable
I just don’t get it; bottom line - this was bad & I failed to wrestle any entertainment value from this album.
not exactly a huge fan of hip hop especially in this era of my life however i think the beats and the flow is pretty great, would've been interested in this had i been listening a few years prior
ATCQ rules. The music, the flow, it's all great.
I like the classic 90s vibe as a background vibe. Not mad in any way
My fourth or fifth time trying to listen to this and it finally clicked! It bounced all over my cab and I fell in love with it! What I don’t understand is the hip hop and rap types aiming most of their music about sex, but this worked and I was bobbing along. The production was on point, I can only imagine how many layers there is to putting this album together. One thing that gave it a bonus over other albums like this on the list is the ability to showcase their talents without having to do those stupid intros every few songs so that was nice. Best track- I absolutely loved the blatant not caring what anybody thought about what they were writing and rapping about in ‘infamous date rape’ Worst track- ‘skypager’ I didn’t need to hear a pager noise in a track 😂 Surprised myself here but 9/10
Tribe Called Quest Is that rappers mean when they talk about flow? Cos every track flowed into the next with me barely noticing the joins. Like a river of rap but at no point becoming rapids (SWIDT). I mean, it wasn't at unpleasant float downstream, a bit like the lazy river ride. It's nice to enjoy something at a different pace every once in a while. Best Track - Check the Rhime Worst Track - Scenario (was a bit shouty and spoiled the ride at the end) 6/10 plus a bonus half point for no spoken intro/outro = 6.5/10
I know this is an iconic album, but it’s just not quite five stars for me, more out of personal taste than anything. Clearly great rappers, can’t fault them there even if the lyrics don’t always connect with me, and I did enjoy it. Most of my gripes with this are down to genre preference, and my ratings are based on my feelings not technical analysis.
Fucking amazing, absolute stunner of an album. Need this one in vinyl
historically never cared much for tribe called quest. but it’s working for me today. didn’t feel nearly as corny this time.
#144/1001 🇬🇧 This is an album that i regularly see propped up on display on the shelves of record collectors. Its genuinely my first listen and first impressions are stripped back beats, jazzy samples and great lyrics. Best tracks: Jazz (We've Got), Excursions, Bugging Out.
Fantastic album, could listen to it endlessly. Chill and smooth and cool, the album just flows so well. Great hip hop beats with a sick bass, nice little jazz moments like the rising sax figure in the chorus of butter. The lyrics are cool, witty and clever, delivered with great style. Just awesome.
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.
Debated on this one but I feel comfortable as a 5. I think this holds up better than others of that same time period, and is an overall tight cohesive album.
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.
It was fine, repetitive beats with non hateful lyrics, I wasn't particularly bored but I wasn't particularly interested
Fantastic album! One of the best hip hop albums of the 90's
Overall: 8/10 There was a lot of jazzy stuff going on with the first Quest album, but this one goes all in on the jazz rap concept and they absolutely kill it. The flow is always on point and while the lyrical content isn't perfect, it's always interesting. I think I like this one slightly more than the first album. Fav Song: Jazz (We've Got)
Album n.5 I dont really listen to a lot of rap but this album had some good songs on it. The lyrics where harder to follow by meaning but I think I got the gist of it. Again not really my thing so half of the songs didnt really land for me. favorites where: buggin out, vibes and stuff and check the rhime. I rate it 3,3
Awesome
Not for me .
Nearly a three but at the end of the day I just don't like hip hop.
When you've got the best-sounding drums and the best-sounding bass in the business, you don't really need much more to have great beats. As much as I like sample-heavy artists like De La Soul or the Beastie Boys in theory, ATCQ's minimalism is executed so well that they're my easy pick for best hip hop group!
Not a huge fan of rap, but this is kind of relaxing. I love the album colours and the psychedelic neon art. Certain songs are super cool lyrically. Wouldn’t listen to the whole album again I think just because I might just forget about it.
bamger
groovy
Easily a top 5 hip hop album of all time for me. Maybe a top 3. I love their vocab, their beats, their vibe.
Legal, escutar quando quiser ser um NIGGA kkkk
Intelligent and interesting. I need to slow down and listen.
Typ najs hip-hop, men inte min smak
I enjoyed this more then de la soul or cypress hills.
*Solid hip hop album but like the genre for me, it can get similar sounding at times.
Three notes about The Low End Theory: 1. By some act of kismet, I heard "Scenario" on MTV around the time of its release, and was obsessed with hearing it again. I don't remember what was so electrifying about it, but I put together all of the money I had to buy the cassette and played the hell out of it, basically until I discovered Nevermind. Was I the only 11-year-old white kid in southeast Iowa bumping The Low End Theory? I sometimes wonder: if I had just one other friend, older sibling, or music magazine other than The Rolling Stone, would I have grown up with Gang Starr, De La Soul, and Outkast instead of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Radiohead? My parents likely would have shut that down, but it's an interesting sliding door. 2. When my boys were little, I started playing them "Excursions," and we practiced it over and over so that whenever the three of us were in the car together, we could rap it together. It kick-started their obsession with rap, and it's one of my favorite memories of when they were young. And, it's still a go-to for the three of us. The other day, one of them suggested that their mom and sister should also memorize it before our long road trip this summer. I highly recommend picking one song -- rap or otherwise -- for your kids to memorize so you can sing along in the car together. 3. The infusion of dusty jazz, lo-fi beats, and talented lyricists who can swing from justice-oriented cultural commentary to making you laugh out loud is a special sauce that very few rap artists or rap groups ever bested. It remains one of the five rap albums I return to most, and that's after I finally found friends, mags, and proverbial older siblings in college who turned me on to a whole lot more rap music worthy of scrutiny.
1001 albums, ya don't stop
A real triumph and cornerstone of hip-hop. The seamless combination of jazz samples, dope baselines and great lyrics make this a fantastic album. In comparison to Run-DMC’s Raising Hell party sound, this is the kind of hip-hop you want to sit and listen to. 4/5
Favorite track: Scenario
Pretty good old school hiphop
the epitome of 90s hip hop. I liked it!
Diferente de todo rap que ja escutei. Foi uma boa surpresa. 4/5
I really enjoyed this one.
Melhor até agora
Enjoyable, chill
Excellent
Half way through and zero skips, the beats are insane, love the jazz influences
Ist halt ein Hip Hop Album aus den 90ern... 2/5
Какой-то реп и баста раймс
Jazz rap done first and done right!
1. this song is the epitome of the 90s 2. "drink a lot of soda so they call me dr pepper" OHHHHH 3. "dang diggy dang gi-dang gi-dang diggy diggy" 4. "it's like buttah baby" 5. "this ain't a r&b soonngg" 6. "go get yourself some toilet paper cus your lyrics is BUTT" 7. the interlude is so vibey i love it (ironic cause of the title) 8. what a song 9. the marimbas(?) in the background make this WHOLE SONG 10. YESSS the funkadelic sample!!! 11. hmm jazz rap.. new genre unlocked 12. "skypaajah" 13. probs my fav song out of them all 14. "broooown!" overall rating: this genre isn't my usual but it's sooo good! every song kinda has the same format but that's how hiphop/rap normally is. each song has a different vibe but they all share a common factor as well. overall rating is a 7/10!!
Good moments on first listen. Preferred the more upbeat numbers. There seemed to be a song that mentioned rape which is horrific.
Very nice groove. This is the sound that brings me back to my decade
The early '90's might just be the best era of hip hop. Tribe really sets the bar for that. As a middle aged white guy, I definitely don't relate to the content, but I sure as hell love the grooves.
Peak
Fun and nostalgic
I enjoyed the 2nd album by ATCQ What! & Excursions were stand outs for me.
This is the scenario.
5/10 - inoffensive (although lyrics sometimes may say otherwise), there is a distinctive sound but not necessarily a distinctive song
Now this is an album im very familiar with starting with beats,lyrics every is amazing 10/10 its rap,jazz amd touch of rnb everything in one
Good time fun listen through out but not my usual choice for hip hop, good to lay back to though I'll definitely chuck a few songs on a playlist for relaxed listening.
euuuuuh bon c'était quand même vachement la même instru sur tout les sons
4/5
The last time we reviewed A Tribe Called Quest it was their debut record, now a few hundred albums later we’re reviewing their second record. I enjoyed the instrumental side of the first record, the beats and production are all excellent. That continues to be true on this second album. My main complaint on the first record was the large amount of, in my eyes, shallow and predictable lyrics. I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised by this record in comparison. The lyricism feels sharper, less predictable, and the flow is, to my ear, significantly smoother. I enjoyed this record quite a bit, still nowhere near my favourite hip-hop record, but I wouldn’t mind if someone put this on in the car. 3.5*
This isn’t my favorite Tribe album, but a less-than-perfect Tribe album still blows most of their peers out of the water. As with all of their albums, the production and engineering on this album are incredible—intricate, layered, thoughtful, incredibly clean, and immediately recognizable. The influence their production style has had on the trajectory of hip hop as one of the first groups to integrate jazz, and to do it so well, is in some ways hard to totally fathom 35 years later. Phife and Tip’s chemistry in their rapping on this album has been perfectly calibrated and represents the biggest step forward from ‘People’s Instinctive Travels’, although I do listen to the former more often. Still, ‘The Low End Theory’ is firmly in the pantheon of the greatest and most iconic albums of all time, hip-hop or otherwise.
I liked this overall, even if there weren’t standout tracks for me. All the songs kind of blend in to each other, but are all good
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.
Nice
As someone who doesn’t listen to hiphop music often this album is still great and amazing just to have in the background to relax and do whatever you need too
One of my favourite albums of all time, would happily listen to it again!
Not my thing
До кінця альбому стало наче трохи гірше, ніж на початку, але все ще дуже добре
Rip Phife
I still don’t know how to talk about hip hop, so here here are my general thoughts on the album. He has good flow! I think the instrumental was slightly lacking. It was very samey throughout. Scenario is obviously a great track! I didn’t realize it was on this album. 3/5 ⭐️, some enjoyment, but I didn’t really pick anything out I loved about it. 135/1089
No es mi estilo
The album is incredible. A tribe called quest is one of the best rap group that ever existed. The mix with jazz is amazing, and having Ron Carter on the record is essential.
One of the best.
classic 90’s
3.5
Incredible album beats so clean flow is unmatched
No va rap
I mean, the greats, but I can't pick out one tune I would listen to on its own. Still, I love how much of The Abstract's lyrics are "Yeah, I'll play your show if you pay us."
Sick ass album. Noone does it like quest
great album favs were Vibes n Stuff and Jazz
1. Excursions 3/5: beat is cool, bars are hard just not a fan of the delivery. I like the audio bites throughout the chorus. 2. Buggin' Out 3/5: beat is cool again, snare is hard. Still just don't like the delivery from this era. 3. Rap Promoter 2/5: i like this beat less than the others, same complaints as before, bars are hard just don't like the delivery. 4. Butter 4/5: beat is crazyyyy, and delivery is cool has more character, chorus is so sick. can't imagine relistening tho, only thing i find myself latching onto is the beat. 5. Verses from the Abstract 2/5: I can't tell if im listening to a clean version or they just stop talking when they cuss, it's aight, can't really complain about anything but also not finding anything i latch onto. 6. Show Business 4/5: Beat is hyppeee, can hear people like Terror Reid being inspired by this, whoever is rapping at 2:20 is tough, kinda get bored of everyone else after a few bars, i really really like this beat tho. 7. Vibes and Stuff 4/5: Best beat so far, can also hear a snare that i use that's probably ripped from this song lmao, chorus is cool too, get a lil bored but big vibe on this song. 8. Infamous Date Rape 4/5: ???, i like the beat again, same as before not too big on delivery but not finding myself getting as bored w this song 9. Check The Rhime 3/5: beat cool, it's so much better when they rhyme off each other. im bored again. 10. Everything Is Fair 3/5: amen break *.* same as every song, cool beat, not too big on delivery, gettin a lil bored as the song goes on. 11. Jazz (We've Got) 3/5: they've got jazz, chorus is tough, ye. 12. Skypager 3/5: s in skypage stands for sex, i like these shorter songs more, feels like more is happening in a shorter period of time, makes me appriciate it more. 13. What? 2/5: i can't stand this beat LOL, I like their delivery when the bpm is faster, silence bar is crazy haha. 14. Scenario 5/5: banger song, beat is so crazy, i think with more people on this makes it that much better, the delivery from back then they kinda just stick with it without switching flow, this song having different people kinda fills that gap you don't end up just wanting to hear the next guy get on. Busta Rhymes is so fucking good actually carries on this song. Overall: It's cool, i feel a little out of touch with it given my age, can appriciate what it probabaly did to hip-hop and the inspiration people have taken from this. Just maybe didn't age that well, just kept finding myself getting bored of the guy spitting waiting for something else to happen in the song. All the beats are sick just this era of delivery i really am not a massive fan of. 3.2/5
These guys are really good.
Groovy, but not jazzy
Lepší straana rapu, ne pro me, ale dobry viby.
Maybe I actually like rap?
I can respect what they're doing, it's just not my bag. It's good "sitting on the deck with friends" social background groove but after two goes it didn't hook me to actually play it ever again
yessssss!! Briks favorite album of allll time
Mid
A perfect rap album. Everything is perfect. The drums, the samples, the rhymes, the flow, the storytelling, the vibes. I could listen to this on loop for the rest of my life.
It's good but I won't be coming back to it. Just not my thing. 3/5.
REALLY good
Like amazing
Back when this came out I was mostly just exposed to 'gangsta rap' and I figured I just didn't really care too much for rap. I wonder if I had heard this back then if it would have given me a greater appreciation for the genre and set my life in a different course. At either rate, I didn't find this until a few years ago, and I really dig it. I also like to set off a 'radio station' based on this album. Good stuff.
Continuation from the previous album, same same, not my cup of tea.
Very nice jazz elements to the beats and rapping is great
Extremely solid jazz rap stuff, roots of which you can hear even today
The album where Tribe came into their own. The big change from their debut is the even split of verses between Q Tip and Phife Dawg, and the two MCs are perfect compliments to each other, both vocally and lyrically. Phife's fun and brash persona is the perfect counterpart for Tip's measured approach. There are tons of quotables on this, especially on "Buggin' Out," and "Scenario" is one of the best posse cuts ever. The beats are chill and perfect for a summer day. If I have one complaint with the album it's that the beats get a bit too similar after a while. They're pretty far from what I think of as jazz rap now, being very bass heavy. When horns show up, like on "Butter" and "Check the Rhime," they massively elevate things.
Too rap, not my genre
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.
Not my jam, but not bad.
Such a vibe. Ideal album to hear while driving.
Adore. Timeless and classic
Each track began with really interesting sounds but always resorted to the same rhythmic talk and lost the great early start
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.
Not my type. A classic rap album
Fave Tribe??? Can't ever decide, but by-golly if it ain't one of the greatest albums of all time, Hop Hop or otherwise.
yo yo yo im here to say, that this album is just ok.
Funky - love the flow and the double bass
Lowkey acoustic.
They changed hip hop for sure. Lofi jazz beats. Intelligent lyrics. The only thing is the very repetitive delivery on this album. Every song has the same cadence and Delicery style. It gets tiresome very quickly.
Very good 👌
Awesome.
I’m not much of a hip hop fan, but I do enjoy the old school ‘90s rap like this. Still not something I listen to on the regular, but it’s decent.
Pretty good
i had a good time
Good album. I’m becoming a fan for sure. Good file, nice use of jazz samples.
Have I listened to this album before? No How familiar am I with this album? I know scenario How do I feel about this artist? I don’t listen to a lot of hip-hop but I find Tribe very fun. This is one of the groups that I’ve been looking forward exploring with this generator. First impressions: I think this will be a fun album. I like Tribe’s overall style in the songs that I know. The album art is fun. Favorite track(s): Scenario, Show Business Overall Thoughts: A fun Monday with A Tribe Called Quest. I never connect much to the lyrics and hip-hop, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the beats. I like the way they blend elements of jazz. Super fun album that I can tell influenced a lot to follow.
old school funk hip hop, buen ritmo, buenas rimas, unos avanzados. tiene buen mood en general, no es superb, pero se deja escuchar muy bien, 4/5 porque son legacy
A wonderful fusion of jazz and hip hop; A Tribe Called Quest delivers on every front. Definitely a repeat album for me.
Would be perfect but Infamous Date Rape is on here, I know Tribe aren't advocating for date rape, but the sex jokes in a song with that theme flies in the face of otherwise conscious credentials
Well known album but did you know this album released the same day as Nirvana's Nevermind and RHCP Blood Sugar Sex Magik?
old school rap was just better
Reminds me so much of Hamilton the musical? Its all i could think of while listening 😭 but love it so far, did some digging and found the cultural significance, its an easz listen, would love to give it more time and attention to read up on lyrics etc
i get this is the original jazz sample album which influenced hiphop forever but it doesnt do it for me......the samples and production gets really boring and generic after a while i do recommend We Got It From Here cos it blends samples with live instrumentation which is more my style....i really love that album but low end theory...not that much
Rap and nice beats. I enjoyed listening to the whole thing
Every day I send the album I get to my best friend, and every day she’s baffled by the fact that I’ve never listened to one of the albums. My taste is all over the place and it’s not developed coherently. Anyways, wtf this album was great, from start to finish. I can’t say much about hip-hop because it’s not a genre i gravitate towards, but this for sure it’s gonna get a few re-listens and I def have to look more into it.
Listened to before? Yes Context? Considered a seminal hip-hop record, and one of the best rap records of all time. That transition into Butter was smooth…like…like butter… Sorry. Anyways. I’ve listened to this once before and I didn’t really like it. But that was before I’d really gotten into rap, or even music in general. Because of that, I sort of sighed when I got this. Five seconds in, I immediately changed my mind. The production is absolutely insane. Just super jazzy and some awesome bass. And some super fun funk elements. Man…my one problem is some of the lyrics. Which yeah, I know: 90s rap album isn’t PC. Fork found in kitchen or whatever the kids these days say. Which is why I’m just…keeping myself blissfully unaware. Just letting the ✨vibes✨ and production do the talking. They really do have the “Vibes and Stuff”. But, in the words of Mr. Quest himself: “your lyrics is BUTT.” (ALSO complete jumpscare by the Donald Trump mention. Skypager is a great song with some of the best production of the whole thing but WOW that was that scary.) Actually, the lyrics aren’t bad for all of it, though. The lyricism is good when women aren’t involved. Show Business has some awesome lyrics, as a good example. It’s just that the, uh, eighth track does not. Bro really wrote the lyrics “sweetheart we ain’t goin out like that” and thought that was something good to put out into the world. Sadly, it is then followed up by the utterly fantastic percussion on Check the Rhime. So here I am, praising misogynistic men because they made good art. Again. But yes, back to that art aspect! I can definitely see how influential the production was. It reminds me a lot of the jazzy-ness of To Pimp a Butterfly, and the general build/dynamics of the instrumental definitely seems like it could’ve been a blueprint for OutKast. Jazzy hip-hop will always be one of my favorite subgenres of hip-hop. Just the ultimate blend for smoothness. Smooth…like butter… My favorite song has to be “What?” Just a perfect mix of political and funny. Scenario and Excursions are also fantastic.
A perfect 90s hip hop album. Stripped down, smooth, jazzy, with an incredible flow. And no skits!!
I’ve listened to this album 1,000 times and it hits every. single. time. The beats are absolutely amazing and Q-Tip and Phife Dawg are ridiculous lyricists. They never get overly excited when on the mic and deliver hard hitting rhymes like they work at Fed Ex. Their song topics are contemporary and they shout out a million different artists from the industry from song to song. This is as close to a “5” without being a “5” as it gets.
One of the best hip hop albums ever made. Innovative and funky with lyrics for days full of intelligent, deep, humorous rhymes. 1991 New York City personified. The Low End Theory makes my personal top 10 albums of all time.
Amazing album. Never before have I listened to a rap album start to finish and not once wanted to skip a song or rolled my eyes at something. Smooth jazz beats and rhythms rule the day. Music draws you in straight away. Qtip's voice distinctive and bends perfectly with the music. Amazing rhymes , often playful, very immpressive and entertaining. Absolutely nothing wrong with this album. I honestly listened to it 4 times yesterday. Blown away.
Such a good rap album omg Lives the crew and what everyone bring to the songs
Vibey
impeccable…. might even go so far as to say.. flawless?? highlights: vibes and stuff, check the rhime, jazz (we’ve got) (feb 19 2026)
Listened to this twice. A great hip-hop album with elements of jazz. I thoroughly enjoyed it with a few notable songs. would absolutely listen to this again and would like to discover more. Check the Rhime or butter was maybe my standout. 4 stars
Amazing album with iconic MCs and superb beats. This is definitely the golden age of Hip Hop.
Apparently influential. But not my sort of thing.
Enjoyable
A good album, I liked Buggin' Out and Butter the most.
JAZZ 90S HIPHOP
1st album
Nostalgic for me, as I loved Tribe and in particular this album in high school. Not as good as before, but the songs are so fun and creative. It is hard to not smile to these fun laid-back yet sophisticated songs. 4.5 to 5
It can get a little monotonous at times. But overall a very jazzy, smooth, and cool listen. Likes: Excursions; Buggin Out; Butter; Verses From The Abstract; Check The Rhime; Everything Is Fair; Jazz (We’ve Got)
2.3/5
Excursions - 3.5/5 Buggin' Out - 3/5 Rap Promoter - 3/5 Butter - 3.5/5 Verses from the Abstract (feat. Vinia Mojica & Ron Carter) - 3.5/5 Show Business (feat. Diamond D, Lord Jamar & Sadat X) - 4/5 Vibes and Stuff - 3.5/5 Infamous Date Rape - 3/5 Check the Rhime - 3/5 Everything Is Fair - 3/5 Jazz (We've Got) - 3/5 Skypager - 3/5 What? - 3/5 Scenario (feat. Busta Rhymes, Dinco D & Charlie Brown) - 3/5
Smooth like butter 91 was a great year in hip hop - everything from Ice T at his most O.G to Mantronix. “The low end theory” might have gone unnoticed with its blend of jazz and hip and slower pace eschewing money and hoes for musically and lyrically interesting songs.
100% agree. Any "must-listen" list must include this album. It's impact is greater than the sum of its parts.
Not really my style, but they have a reaaly good vibe
Ohhhh thank you. I needed the answer to Ice Cube’s Predator. Yeah, this is a 5 for me. Maybe not the best composed album, though it does have its amazing moments, actually, but it is honestly a bit uneven. But I love it. I really do. I loved it as a teenager. So it’s a 4 star album that gets a bump for nostalgia. And for honestly aging well. It’s like 70’s classic rock, of a moment but for all time. Boolean rating: yes! So glad I get to hear tribe before I die.
great the whole way through
Shithop
One of the best of all time!!!!
nice thoo
Its a rap jaz album that good but i would came back to it often
Bof bof! Pas impressionnant du tout… pas mon truc… trop répétitif!
Favorite Track: Jazz
I’ve tried Tribe before, but found them a bit samey. On listening, the lyrics are really good. With a good variety of social themes
One of my favourites so far.
Always innovative this early album from the tribe suffers from lack of focus. Songs like check the rhime and scenario are magnificent and swaggering but there is not enough. Not their best work but still there are bits and pieces to enjoy
Best album of all time?
No he sido fan del Rap
Listened on 1st February 2025. Favourite song is Jazz (We've Got).
It's actually insane to me how well this album has aged, in the overall timeline of the entire of hip hop, A Tribe Called Quest are pretty much right at the start. And yet, over 30 years later this still holds up as one of the best jazz rap albums ever made. It's not hugely flashy or in your face, it's just some super simple but fantastic songs, made by some amazing rappers. The album's whole sound is so smooth and almost calming, and yet the rapping style on so many tracks still gets me really hyped up. And then the very prominent jazz influence is one of the best parts, and it really shows how ATCQ were absolute pioneers of the genre, with this still sounding like it could have come out yesterday.
Really strong album, probably deserves a more critical listen but if nothing else is great to just vibe to. Might be worth a 5 tbh.
Endlessly chill and groovy. I really like the live instrumentation on this and Q-Tip's is just so smooth and pleasant. Light and approachable, but still very artistically sound. Key tracks: Everything Is Fair Jazz (We've Got) Scenario
I've not listened to them before
This album is super fun, and I adore the cover art.
top 10 rap albums for me.
This is the real deal! Innovative and original music aligned with poetry!
I think I'm on an island here, but man i love Tribe CQ. My first car was a gold 93 Volvo a 5 cd changer in the trunk... This was in there from time to time and I could not get enough of the snare slamming on the 2 on Buggin Out. Or the horns at the VERY end of Excursions. Little moments. Q Tip cool as hell. Mostly though it's the beats. Really one of a kind sound and generally sick. Since our last review it is harder for me to ignore some of the corny raps, but I don't really care. Midnight Marauders is where they really reached their potential, hope we get there.
Bebop is not like hip hop 😉 Wasnt a big fan of the these songs. If there was one thing I liked, it was the duo approach to rap.
Ja heel goed, maar na een tijdje klinkt het wel heeel erg hetzelfde. Kan altijd maar een half album luisteren van tribe called quest
A Tribe Called Quest made some of the grooviest East Coast hiphop ever. I love jazz rap!
god zo'n heerlijk album
хороший реп мб надо послушать нормально я ща не хочу
Solid album....would listen again
What this list is teaching me is that I like hip hop
Good
lyrical and WOKE
3.75
Très bon, mais un peu répétitif et daté
nice hiphop . I like the lyrics . cool
Pretty basic but good overall
Para nada mi estilo
I love ATCQ, I think I spent more time listening to Midnight Marauders but some of their best are on this album. Phife and Q-Tip will always have a place in my playlists. Favorite track: Scenario (or Buggin Out? (or Check the Rhime?))
Nice, short funky rap album. Like the instruments with raping. Pretty same all the time. 3/5
Rate: 9.5/10. I'M BIASED pero es que me gusta demasiado el rap y A Tribe Called Quest tienen un sonido muy particular, destilan puro maldito flow.
Love the jazzy production but some of the tracks start bleeding together especially in the middle. The hand-offs and dialogue btwn the different Tribe members are as charming and funny as ever on this album though. „Scenario“ bangs like nobody‘s business and Busta Rhymes‘s feature in particular rules. „The Infamous Date Rape“ is an embarrassing track to look back on; Phife‘s verse in particular rehashes the same fears that op-eds of the time harped on. Loved „Excursions“ and „Skypager“ though.
It's worth the listen to get to The Scenario It's worth listening to The Scenario for Busta Rhymes's verse It's worth listening to Busta Rhymes's verse for his delivery of the line "rawr rawr, like a dungeon dragon."
I found this really dragged
This album was a great listening experience. This is one of those albums that resonates well with you. Great lyrical verses, flow, and the overall vibe of the album was mellow and smooth. 8.5/10. Favorite Song: Butter
I think this might be my favorite hip-hop album of all time - the apotheosis of the form, with jazzy samples, perfect beats, some of the best lines ever put to record ("I got more game than Parker Brothers" from Phife on "Butter" will always be my favorite), and, in "Scenario," a posse track for the ages. No wonder the whole Native Tongues thing struggled after this - what the hell are you supposed to for a follow-up? This album gives you the feeling of hanging out with your two smartest, coolest friends and a bunch of their equally smart and cool friends. If you haven't heard this you really owe it to yourself.
Compared to their first album I didn’t find this one as melodic. Also the lyrics were not as interesting to me.
Smart and contemplative. Love the hooks and jazz vibe. Excellent production. Tribe lives up to their legend.
me gusto, buen sonido
apenas o the low end theory né eu sou completamente suspeito nesse aqui pq gosto pra caralho de quase tudo que o a tribe called quest fez kkkk esse aqui inclusive foi meu mais ouvido de 2023 de longe absurdamente bom, revolucionário em diversos aspectos pedrada pro max
FUN FACT nunca tinha escutado esse xD forte DEMAIS. climinha gostoso demais, atmosfera mei soturna, jazzística (?). samples absurdos, só flow bacana, bão demais. estarei escutando mais vezes (e os outros albuns tbm) eh um absurdo e dá pra fragar 1000 rappers que se inspiraram nesse album aqui, btw. de fato, revolucionário. pedradíssima papai
meh
One of the greatest hip-hop album, also one of my favourite
This was one of the doorsteps for me into my love of hip hop. It’s urgent, hits hard, it’s inclusive, and still feels like you need the secret password. It’s deceptively simple, and provides subject matter insight much like a great hour of standup comedy.
Le pongo 3 estrellas porque al de los Rolling Stones de Sticky Fingers le puse 4. Al principio, apenas puse la primera canción pensé: qué estoy escuchando? Porque es un género que no escucho nunca, y si no fuera por este proyecto nunca me hubiera enterado de la existencia de esta banda. Pero al final me terminó gustando. Son canciones con buen ritmo, para escuchar algo distinto. No guardé ninguna canción en mi biblioteca pero lo disfruté, y eso es lo que me gusta de haber empezado esto: de entrar en contacto con música nueva para mí, pero que fue importante en la historia de la música.
It reminded me of the time when I was in junior high school and listening to Schadaraparr a lot.
My first old school rap, hip hop album and it exceeded my expectations, frankly I loved it. Favourite Songs: What?, Jazz (We've Got), Verses from the Abstract, Butter, Excursions
This had me from the first bass notes on the first track. And why not, when Ron Carter is playing? This is cool, bebop influenced, laid back, minimal rap. The rhymes are witty. The beats are sublime. Jazz (We've Got) is an absolute banger, but the rest of the tracks aren't far behind. Enjoyed this a lot.
Old school of hip hop with a singular mixtapes, it's good but not spectacular
Best Song: Buggin' Out. That bassline is incredible, and the complementary rap styles of Q-Tip and Phife are so perfectly on display. Worst Song: Infamous Date Rape. Even though this song handles such a dark topic with a degree of seriousness, I have to wonder if it was even worth tying to make a song like this. The word "rape" doesn't sit well in a chorus. Overall: Deeply jazzy hip-hop. Q-Tip and Phife Dawg are on their absolute peak. Lyrics alternate between irreverent and silly to pointed and socially relevant, all delivered through this buttery flow. The rhymes roll so smoothly one after another with this feeling of intoxicating inevitability, like every rhyme and beat was predetermined by the Groove. The beat hits your brain and you can't help but nod your head. All is good.
I don't do rap like this.
Smooth like butter
an album I'd give to someone who says they aren't a fan of hip-hop, in the best possible way. this works both as excellent background/work music, as active lyrical listening or anything in-between. feels like an autumn album perfect for walking in a big city. 09/04/26
we got the jazz
American rap!!! 2000s
Bastante diferente a lo que oigo normalmente, me gusto que toda la musica se siente muy colorida y es un respiro divertido a la ai moderna
Hell yeah