As we get closer and closer to March Madness, and I whimper to the reverberations of confirmation that Little Brother will put out there last album this year I thought this would be a good time not only to start this series of articles called The Starting 5, but to focus this first edition on Groups in Hip-Hop. The premise of the series is simple, who/what would be my starting 5 in a particular category. So come with me as I unveil my Starting 5: The Group Edition.

Point Guard: A Tribe Called Quest
The Point Guard (PG) job is to distribute the ball, call the plays, see the court, control the tempo and when needed to, score (of course, depends on the player.) The ideal PG is fast AND quick, makes good decisions, and can spread the floor with his quicks and range. This position is embodied in the music of A Tribe Called Quest. When you thought they were going to sound a certain way, they sounded different. When you thought they would do this, they did something different. Each album they came with made folks take a new notice of who they were while never compromising quality. With music that was clearly influenced by blue lights and smokey evenings, and lyrics that were the product of dedication and the long lost ability to construct a rhyme that even at bar 40 still has relation to bar 1 while not being so complex you had to pause and rewind just to “Check The Rhyme”, this group is one of the standards of group mastery not only in Hip-Hop, but in music. When you think about what other groups ATCQ has brought us or touched, this choice becomes even clearer. There were the Jungle Brothers and De La Soul which with ATCQ formed the Native Tongues. You also had classic work with Leaders Of The New School, Mos Def, Common, Queen Latifah, Monie Love, and Black Sheep. Nuff’ said.

Shooting Guard: N.W.A.
Typically, one of the best fusions of offensive skill on the court, the Shooting Guard (SG) is often asked to be the first scoring option for the team. They tend to have the ability to slash or hit the jumper, they have some handle and can pass well, and are generally the ideal look outside of the paint. With the primary goal being offense, I have to go with N.W.A. I wrote about them before in Classic Material but I’m not sure you understand. This group is probably the toughest group on record, period. I don’t mean that in any colorful, creative way nor is there any cryptic meaning behind that choice. Simply put, nobody has come harder or more direct than N.W.A. The way they played the game, they influenced the ENTIRE Hip-Hop culture and STILL have lasting impact well after the group has since disbanded and lost a core member in Eazy-E. Disagree, but lets check out a few rappers you may know that were influenced by or involved in this group shall we? Notorious B.I.G., Jay Z, Lil Wayne, Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, The Game, Eminem, and 50 Cent to name a few. How are they connected? Before N.W.A. Made gangster cool to mainstream America, this type of thuggery was only known locally. Gunplay and lyrics were dating before, but now they were married. Drugs and the dark life of the hood were myths before, but now they were fact. You can debate it all you want, but the idea of what it meant to be black and what it meant to love this Hip-Hop was not understood by the outsiders until N.W.A. With their best defense being offense and offensive, I’d have no other group shooting the rock….

Small Forward: Outkast
We can debate this one, but in my opinion, the Small Forward or Shooting Guard is the most important position on the court. The SF has to be able to not just shoot the J, but play with his back to the basket. He needs to be able to handle the rock inside as well as make the open pass. He needs to be offensively capable as well as be defensively minded. Let’s not forget they often have to be able to get the rebound as well as lead the break. This position is for someone who can do whatever you need done. Insert Outkast here. For my money, Outkast is the greatest group of all time. From the moment they touched the mic and blessed us with “Player’s Ball” from the classic album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, it was undeniable that we were in the era of Outkast. If you look forward from that album, they went on to give us what is largely regarded as 3 more classic albums. It’s hard to argue with over 25 million albums sold and 6 Grammy Awards. As many groups and artists do, they are responsible for putting their city on the map, Atlanta. The flip side is that they put an entire region (The Dirty South) on the map as well. I have all of their music and had to chop some stuff out to make it fit on one CD to play in the car. I had that CD in there so long, I had to press the eject button SEVERAL times to get it out. I don’t have anything negative to say about them or the music at all and for those of you that slept on Speakerboxxx, your loss.

Power Forward: Run DMC
One of the two largest players on the court traditionally, the Power Forward (PF) may have more responsibility to score or rebound depending on the team and player skill set. Someone like a Tim Duncan is the Point Guard of the big men where someone like Bosh is more of a Shooting Guard up top. Either way, they have to be able to pick up the pieces, occasionally score, but at all times contest anything around the paint. Run DMC (the first mainstream rap supergroup) is the Tim Duncan of Hip-Hop Groups. They are consistent, seemingly un-hyped in most “greatest” discussions, but easily have carried the genre further than any other group in the game (similar to how many players have won rings with Duncan at PF). They are the alpha of groups success in Hip-Hop and one of the cornerstones of the very culture we adore. With a group of firsts that would challenge even the most stubborn critic, there is no denying the greatness of this group.

Center: Public Enemy
The Center is usually the largest and strongest player on the team. They are often asked to score inside 5 feet of the hoop, control any rebound and defend any shot taken in the same area. Of course there are variations a’la Shaq and Yao Ming, but the thing all successful centers have in common, the ability to dominate. With a focus on defense and defensive rebounding, no group is more of an obvious choice than Public Enemy. I don’t think there has ever been a more militant or socially conscious visible group in Hip-Hop than PE. Their focus was clearly set on the struggle and strife of the voice of Hip-Hop in a world that had us on mute. They weren’t the gangsters of the West Coast, the flashy, braggart thugs of the East Coast, the different jazzy sound of the Couth, nor the pop funboys of the genre that some other groups were. They were The Voice of a people, the Voice of a culture. Public Enemy probably helped sell as many leather Africa medallions as Run DMC did Adidas and Kangol Kid did Kangols. Before PE, we had no one to spearhead the lyrical Black Panther movement and say what we wanted to say in the same arena we wanted to say it. The music of PE in the music industry (largely controlled by the same people that oppress the common folks) was the collective fuck you to the bosses that had the knees on their knees on our neck when we got to work at 9:01am even though they knew about the accident on the highway and that you took that route to get to work.

Notable Subs: (PG) De La Soul, (SG) Little Brother, (SF) The Roots, (PF) Wu-Tang*, ( C) Blackstar

*there are two reasons WU is a sub and not a starter, 1) I don’t think they have near the accomplishments of any of the previous 5 mentioned, and 2) they weren’t as much as a they were a collection of artists…kinda like a label. That’s my opinion I guess, but I think RZA said something like this too.

Anyway, who are your starting 5?

I’ll be real. I f@cking hate Christmas time. Call me “Scrooge” or whatever, but most of the time during the holiday season, I’m broke, tired, and stressed out. And I think that’s the case with a lotta of us during this time of the year. So, if you didn’t already figure it out, this will not be the obvious Song of the Week post with X-Mas related songs, this is the one that gives you songs to (hopefully) relieve some stress. The first is Joell Ortiz & Novel going over Drake & Trey’s hit with “Stressful” (Off the upcoming mixtape Defying The Predictable). The second is the classic A Tribe Called Quest/Faith collaboration “Stressed Out” (Off 1996’s Beats, Rhymes And Life). Enjoy and calm down.

Sidenote: Dude on the left = Killing it!

Download: Joell Ortiz & Novel feat. Cri$tyle aka The Ink – “Stressful”
Download: A Tribe Called Quest feat. Consequence & Faith Evans – “Stressed Out”

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)

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)