153 - A Tribe Called Quest - Low End Theory

[csberry]

Maybe my recent listens to Paul's Boutique is to blame, but what stuck out for me about Low End Theory is how spare it is. At a time where sampling had evolved past what a DJ with two-turntables could perform live, the use of just a few samples as a bed for rapping and reserving most vocal and fanciful sampling for instrumental fills between verses.

While I'm not one to pay a lot of attention to lyrics, I was surprised with how Q-Tip pulled me in with lots of his lines. He delivered cool, measured, abstract verses, seemingly more interested in painting a picture than using his time at the mic for narrative. Fife is much more straight forward in his delivery. I see a lot of similarities between the personalities and combination of Q-Tip and Phife and the pairing of Big Boi and Andre' in Outkast where the cool, artsy guy shares the mic with the cool, jock guy.

Songs I Knew I Liked: “Check the Rhime,” “Jazz (We've Got),” and “Scenario”

Songs I Now Like: “Buggin' Out,” “Butter,” and “Everything is Fair”

Songs I Don't Want to Ever Hear Again: None