This week we’re going way back. No really. I mean way back to 1970. This week I wanted to do something different and feature a song that has been sampled numerous times in Hip-Hop. “Hard Times” by Baby Huey & the Babysitters. I re-discovered this song while watching the opening sequence of JCVD (Dope movie by the way). The song is just made to be sampled and is dope just by itself. Some of the rappers who have sampled this particular song: Ice Cube (”The Birth”off Death Certificate), A Tribe Called Quest (”Can I Kick It?”off People’s Instinctive Travels & The Paths of Rhythm), Ghostface Killah (”Buck 50″of Supreme Clientele), and most recently Swizz Beatz (“School Of Hard Knocks”).

Baby Huey & the Babysitters worked with such artists like Donny Hathaway & Curtis Mayfield. I wish I could say that Baby Huey (Real name James Ramey) lived to make more classic music like this but he and the Babysitter only released one album (Well, one that you can find). Huey had problems with drugs as well as a weight problem and died at the age of 26 by way of a heart attack.

Check out the song and tell us what you think.

Download: Baby Huey & The Babysitters – “Hard Times”

A few weeks ago, my homie Chew let it be known that he is not too familiar with A Tribe Called Quest. I took it upon myself to help my boy out as I think that the link between the older generation of Hip-Hop and the newer generation is missing, and that’s why there is no real sense of passing the torch or embracing the new sound.

Our generation got to a certain point, and vanished from the face of the game. They became ghost writers, producers, label heads, and some stepped away completely.

So, I thought, hey, why don’t I put together a tape that kinda of tells who this legendary group is. What the fuck was I thinking? How do you sum up 20 years and somewhere around 13 cds? It’s not easy when they already have a CD that contains all the commercial hits and cult classics. Then it hit me, you Turn Yo’ Headphones Up!

I put together what I think, is a fantastic album. I wanted to get those songs that most of us know, but a lot of songs that folks slept on and even a few that people have never heard. I combed all the albums including the 2 little heard Phife Dawg albums and the unreleased Kamaal The Abstract as well as a few mixes of the songs you already know and love. I hope you dig this look into the group. I am biased, but my headphones have been on blast since I made the FINAL rip. I hope you enjoy it. So Chew, nappyafro readers, and fans of Hip-Hop, this is for you. Turn Yo Headphones Up.

Tracklist:

1. “Buggin’ Out” – The Low End Theory
2. “Flawless” – Ventilation Da LP by Phife Dawg
3. “Sucka Nigga” – The Low End Theory
4. “Verses From the Abstract” – The Low End Thoery
5. “Scenario Remix” – The Love Movement
6. “Steppin Up’” – The Love Movement
7. “Alphabet Soup” – Ventilation Da LP by Phife Dawg
8. “Bonita Applebum” – People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths Of Rhythm
9. “Butter” – The Low End Theory
10. “Keep It Moving” – Beats, Rhymes, and Life
11. “Believe” – The Renaissance by Q-Tip
12. “1nce Again” – Beats, Rhymes, and Life
13. “What” – The Low End Theory
14. “Can I Kick It?” – People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths Of Rhythm
15. “Stressed Out” – Beats, Rhymes, and Life
16. “Electric Relaxation” – Midnight Marauders
17. “Dance On Glass” – The Renaissance by Q-Tip
18. “We Fight/Love” – The Renaissance by Q-Tip
19. “Heels” – Kamaal the Abstract by Q-Tip
20. “Jazz (We’ve Got)” – Anthology

Download: Turn Yo’ Headphones Up: A Tribe Called Quest (Selected by by Saule Wright)

He is simply a legend in the game. Tip is one of those guys that just knows how to make good music. From all those years with A Tribe Called Quest (ATCQ), to his solo debut and the little heard jazzy Kamaal The Abstract, its evident that dude just gets it. He’s benefited from always having his own lane so trying to know what to expect is to your detriment. That said, what do we get with his latest offering? Let’s get Wright to it.

1. Johnny Is Dead
Produced by Q-Tip
His debut album came out in 99′, but this sounds like it picks up right where that left. Deep base, infectious dance groove and the light piano playing over the track, this is what Tip does. His delivery is classic Q-Tip on this one, and abstract indeed.

2. Won’t Trade
Produced by Mark Ronson & Q-Tip
Ronson lends his award winning skills to this track and it works out okay. The loop and repeat of this track and the previous track are a bit more noticeable since they are back to back, but they still are okay. Musically, both tracks are pretty cool. Q-Tip playfully weaves metaphors about relationships with sports in this tale with a sample that sings “I wouldn’t trade it for nothing”. This is the quintessential feel good song.

3. Getting’ Up
produced by Q-Tip
Gone but not forgotten…Dilla’s influence is all over this single. The R&B and jazz influence is undeniable as musically, this is probably the deepest track on the album. The feel of this track is a lot like the feeling you got when you heard “Bonita Applebomb” for the first time. Again, lyrically, it fits with all of his previous work and if it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it.

4. Official
Produced by Q-Tip
After a seamless transition from the previous track and continuation of scratching leads us into “Official”. The music on this track and the last are like, twin siblings as nothing is lost and the groove plays on. Tip finesses this one just as well with lines like “I raise the bar…for that I hit a chin up” and “I feel what the beat does/People fuck with me cause/When the song ends I become what the beat was.” He flips shit like this so effortlessly that most of the new Hip-Hop generation sleep on him hard. I really dig this track.

5. You
Produced by Q-Tip
Ever been in a relationship where you knew they were lying to you, but you couldn’t get away? Here’s is the track for you; it’s you…at the end of it all is you. Tip even cuts a deal with “We’ll make amends if you admit it/We can ascend if you committed” but we all know how that ends. The piano laced track is infused with a rhythmic snare that becomes the heartbeat of this love song when paired with the bass. This is one of my favorite songs on the album.

6. We Fight/We Love
Featuring Raphael Saadiq; Produced by Q-Tip
Just the idea of Deeky and Tip on a track seems right. They are two of the most abstract yet futuristic and pure musicians in their respective fields, neither knowing what it means to drop a bad album. The hook “Fightin’ (just a little bit) Lovin’ (just a little bit) Fightin’ (just a little bit) Lovin’ (just a little bit more)” is infectious and you will find yourself woppin’ and singing along before it’s over. Musically, it sounds like a Michael Jackson sample but I can’t pick up the song right off the bat. It’s well played and the groove factor on this track is high; I expect to hear this one in the grown up circuit quite regularly.

7. Manwomanboogie
Featuring Amanda Diva; Produced by Q-Tip
No doubt, this is a club jam; let the shaking begin. The title is no mistake as this one sounds very “Vibrant Thing” influenced, very uptempo. This song is strictly to make you move your ass, but Tip still finds a way to lace us with some pretty smooth lyrics.

8. Move
Produced by J Dilla
More Jackson influence on this one as Tip gives us another dance track. As with his previous songs, it’s hard to impossible to deny this one. I am not even a real big fan of the track, but the beat is hard to resist. I think the odd scratching and pulling of MJ’s voice throughout the track start to grate my nerves then the song changes. Around the 2:49 mark this song becomes the title track “The Renaissance”. The track is totally different and makes you quickly forget about the music before it. Good save.

9. Dance On Glass
Produced by Q-Tip
Music is art…this is Tip’s painting. Probably one of the hottest intro/lead in flows to any song as Tip rips it acapella for the first minute of this offering. The idea behind the track is stop submitting to the label heads and ringtone rap and be ready for some “real” music that is true to the essence and roots of Hip-Hop. The track is very sparse but it works with the entirety of the song. Get back to the lyrics. MESSAGE.

10. Life Is Better
Featuring Norah Jones; Produced by Q-Tip
Norah Jones has a great voice and Tip makes some great music; this should be good. Her voice lends itself nicely to a boom bap of a Hip-Hop track. Norah may have a great second career singing on the hooks of songs like this if she wants it. The song is about how much better life/Hip-Hop is with the blessings of some musical legends that Tip lists with his signature flow. I guess you can say that this is Tips love letter to Hip-Hop.

11. Believe
Featuring D’Angelo; Produced by Q-Tip
We get another well played collabo as “Soul-Hop” reigns supreme once again. D’s vocals and musical fingerprint are all over this track. I’ve can’t remember hearing one word flipped this many times in a song without getting boring. Tip flexes his lyrical dexterity all over this brisk 2:57 track. It seems a LOT shorter than it is, as 3:00 seems to be about average nowadays.

12. Shaka
produced by Q-Tip
This HAS to be a lost track from the ATCQ days. It fits in perfectly with Low End Theory and is a dope way to end the album. The track dances the line of familiar and futuristic. When you first hear it, it doesn’t seem to work, but as it plays on, you find what Q found when he put it together. Shaka is another dedication track and a well done one at that.

Bottom Line:
This album is a great “follow up” to his debut album and another feather in the cap of one of Hip-Hop’s finest. Tip has perfected his craft and found a way to make his voice become part of the track on anything he touches. He has the ability to make simple dance songs sound like the deepest intellectual song ever made while justifying you giving him a pass on a song that you normally wouldn’t give a spin too. He is one of the purest in the game that has managed to create his own lane effortlessly and managed to make some of the most timeless music period. Essentially, Tip has had 2 music careers from ATCQ to his solo career, and doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. This is definitely worth a purchase and another offering that makes Hip-Hop cool for older cats too.

Download: Q-Tip – “You”

Since real Hip-Hop music and culture is currently being appreciated with special showings of Yo! MTV Raps episodes, clips, and videos, I thought that this would be the perfect time for me to introduce a new section to the nappyafro categories called Rewind Reviews. This section will be specifically for reviewing previously released albums covering various genres from Hip-Hop/Rap to R&B to Soul to Funk and more. So in kicking off the Rewind Reviews properly I thought I would start with a classic album from A Tribe Called Quest in their 1991 release The Low End Theory. So “Can I Kick It?”

1. Excursions
Featuring The Last Poets; Produced by A Tribe Called Quest
The bassline that starts off the song immediately sets the tone for the rest of the album with that Jazz-sounding Hip-Hop that has come to define A Tribe Called Quest and most of their earlier works. Q-Tip drops some ill rhymes while backed by The Last Poets; kind of how Common used them in his song “The Corner”. This is a great way to kick off the album.

2. Buggin’ Out
Produced by A Tribe Called Quest
Such a fitting title to this song as the bouncy bassline and drums definitely make you start buggin’ out while listening to this song. Phife Dawg put what I’m mean so fittingly when he rhymes:

Yo, when you bug out, you usually have a reason for the action/Sometimes you don’t it’s just for mere satisfaction/Tip and Phife continue with the ill flavor remembered from this album with this song.

3. Rap Promoter
Produced by A Tribe Called Quest
This is the type of songs that are truly missing from today’s Hip-Hop music in those that actually speak about something in their rhymes. This is a great song with a great message from Q-Tip on the topic of the music industry’s exploitation of musicians and artists. To all the promoters and label owners/executives: STOP SCREWING YOUR ARTISTS AND START GIVING THEM THEIR DUES!!! RAPPING AIN’T FREE!!!

4. Butter
Produced by A Tribe Called Quest
Just as the title of this song suggests, this track is pure butter. From the beat to the rhymes delivered by Phife it doesn’t get much better than this. The beat break in this song is absolutely incredible. Tribe had a great ear for the samples that they used as they just make the songs complete. This ain’t margarine, so don’t say you can’t believe it’s not butter cause that’s exactly what it is.

5. Verses From The Abstract
Featuring Ron Carter & Vinia Mojica; Produced by A Tribe Called Quest
Another great song from Q-Tip backed by an excellent jazz-based Hip-Hop beat. This song featured Tip doing exactly what he does best is dropping some dope, intellectual rhymes. Q-Tip’s vocal tone and flow makes it that much easier to listen to rhyming. It’s great to hear Vinia Mojica singing on the hook pre-Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek times. Her soulful singing makes it even greater.

6. Show Business
Featuring Lord Jamar, Sadat X, & Diamond D; Produced by Skeff Anselm; Co-Produced by A Tribe Called Quest
This is another song in the same vein as “Rap Promoter” that came earlier in the album with the topic of the music industry’s exploitations of those within it that make it what it is. This song is even better than “Rap Promoter” because of the other artists that a featured on the track with Q-Tip and Phife like Lord Jamar, Sadat X, and Diamond D. Each rapper does their thing and don’t really outshine each other in delivering a great message in the song. The extra bouncy beat also gives life to this song. Props to “Wicki Wacky” by The Fatback Band for the sample used in this beat. Check that out if you don’t know about it…Extra Funky!!!

7. Vibes And Stuff
Produced by A Tribe Called Quest
This is one of my favorite songs on this album. I was hooked to this song when I heard the first 2 seconds from the ill Grant Green sample used at the start. From there Tip and Phife drop some really nice rhymes displaying their skill and ability as emcees. It’s crazy how a lot of what they were rapping back in ’91 can still be applied in 2008. SMH! Say Word Q-Tip:

The industry is luck, winning with the fake raps/Peace to the crews, who pump the real Hip-Hop/Not sellin’ out from hardrock to disc jock

8. The Infamous Date Rape
Produced by A Tribe Called Quest
OMG! The beat on this song is so crazy. This has got to be one of the illest vibes on the entire album, and not one you would expect from the title of the song. This is an example of another type of great song with an equally great message that is missing in much of today’s Hip-Hop/Rap music. Who really talks about the topic of date rape or rape in general in today’s music, expect for Lupe Fiasco on “Intruder Alert” (At least he’s keeping it real). Halfway through the album and it hasn’t disappointed yet. Much more than I can say for today’s albums, which are done for after the first couple tracks.

9. Check The Rhime
Produced by A Tribe Called Quest
What a better way to follow up a great song with another equally great song. This song, which was the first single on the album, is a great head-nodding vibe with fantastic rhymes from Q-Tip and Phife. I can’t tell why this song was picked as a single for the album. Plus, don’t forget this is what introduced us to Industry Rule #4080…“Record company people are shady” (Still).

10. Everything Is Fair
Produced by Skeff Anselm; Co-Produced by A Tribe Called Quest
This is yet another great song by the Tribe following the mood and tone of the album backed by a Funkadelic sampled beat. What more could you expect with a pairing of those two artists, straight funky.

11. Jazz (We’ve Got)
Produced by A Tribe Called Quest & Pete Rock
This is one of my other favorite tracks on this album. Who couldn’t absolutely dig the straight jazz-based beat hooked up for this song to perfectly fit the rhymes and title of the song. Tribe definitely had the jazz and skills needed to make this song a gem. It was interesting reading in a Pete Rock interview though that he actually had created this beat in his studio and Q-Tip picked up on it while visiting one day and re-created it identically for Tribe and never got credit for it. Peep the Pete Rock shout-out at the end of the track by Q-Tip. He actually says “Pete Rock for the beat”. (Weird)

12. Skypager
Produced by A Tribe Called Quest
This is an interesting track by the Tribe as they tell about Skypagers, which were very popular in the 90’s, and what the name Skypagers means (The “S” in Skypage really stands for sex). This song sounds it could have been used for a commercial or promotional ad for Skypagers. It definitely might have worked for me back then to pick up one.

13. What?
Produced by A Tribe Called Quest
This is a great concept type song from Q-Tip asking questions in his rhymes fueled by the word “What?”. This song can be viewed as the original to “The Questions” by Common and “Why?” by Jadakiss. Just as those song were great ones, this one is equally great and deserves some answers to Tip’s questions.

14. Scenario
Featuring Leaders Of The New School; Produced by A Tribe Called Quest
Ah yes! We have reached the last track and finale of the album with the posse cut song “Scenario” featuring the Leaders Of The New School. This song has become the fan favorite of the album. Fueled by a high energetic beat and a great group of emcees, this song properly introduced an equally highly energetic Busta Rhymes to the public. His verse in this song is probably the most memorable as he drops hectic rhymes like:

Watch, as I combine all the juice from the mind/Heel up, wheel up, bring it back, come rewind/Powerful impact, BOOM! from the cannon/…/RRRRRROAW RRRRRROAW like a dungeon dragon/Change your little drawers cause your pants are saggin’

Bottom Line:
This album is a certified classic and has earned that title deservingly as evident in listening to the album in its entirety. From “Show Business” to “Vibes And Stuff” to “The Infamous Date Rape” to “Jazz (We’ve Got)”, Tribe executes these songs in perfect form with the perfect formula of great beats + great rhymes which equals perfect results. As the sequel to People’s Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm and the predecessor of Midnight Marauders, A Tribe Called Quest offers an excellent blueprint to how classic albums should be done. You could call them Hip-Hop’s Chicago Bulls of the 90’s in the three-peat of classic albums they were able to deliver back-to-back-to-back. If you don’t already have this album in your collection, do yourself a favor and get it IMMEDIATELY. This is what Hip-Hop needs to move back to. Tribe asked “Can I kick it?” and without a doubt I answer “Yes you can”.

nappyPicks: The entire album. (Listen to this in its entire; don’t even reach for the skip button)