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WoRDS: SoReN BAKeR. PHoTogRAPHY: RoBeRT BeNAvIDeS/SoNY PICTuReS CLASSICS (1), DeBRA KoffLeR/SoNY PICTuReS CLASSICS (3)

Beats, Rhymes, and Strife

travels with a tribe called quest

a tribe called quest: Hip-hop pioneer Phife Dawg on the genius of partner Q-Tip and the tension accompanying the release of the first documentary on the life, times, and disbanding of the seminal New York hip-hop group.

In rap’s golden era—the period in the late ’80s and early ’90s where the genre flourished creatively and stylistically—A Tribe Called Quest emerged as one of its seminal groups. The New York-based quartet of Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and Jarobi White were revered for their politically minded rhymes, their use of untapped jazz and soul samples, and the tag-team vocal interplay between the enigmatic Q-Tip and the punchline-proficient Phife on such singles as “Can I Kick It?” and “Check The Rime.” Three years ago, native New Yorker and Tribe fan Michael Rapaport—best known for his acting in “Prison Break” and “Boston Public”—began filming their story. The resulting 95-minute film explores the group’s significance at its peak, as well as the road since they disbanded. Drawing on extensive interviews with the group and hip hop luminaries, “Beats, Rhymes and Life: Travels with A Tribe Called Quest” digs into Q-Tip’s skills as an MC and beatmaker as well as the as-yetunresolved tension between him and Phife. “The dude is borderline genius, if not genius, man,” says Phife. “I’m not going to sit here and front. Dude is nice with the rhymes. Dude is even better on the beats, as far as I’m concerned.” A Tribe Called Quest’s breakup in 1998— largely the result of the Q-Tip–Phife conflict— makes for several memorable scenes in

Rapaport’s film. “our chemistry was supposed to be like erick and Parrish, Havoc and Prodigy, Run and D, ghost and Rae,” Phife says, referencing legendary rhyme duos ePMD, Mobb Deep, RunDMC, and the Wu-Tang Clan. “But the next day, he’s treating me like it was 50 Cent verses Ja Rule or something. I never could figure that out.” Q-Tip went on to produce for Nas, Mobb Deep, and others, launching a successful solo career in the late 1990s highlighted by the singles “Breathe And Stop” and “vivrant Thing.” Muhammad formed the soul group Lucy Pearl with Raphael Saadiq and Dawn Robinson (later replaced by Joi). Phife also launched a solo career, and provided commentary for basketball video games, even as he battled diabetes (his wife donated a kidney to him in 2008 in order to save his life). Jarobi left the group after its first album and later opened his own restaurant. None of the group attended the movie’s premiere at Sundance film festival earlier this year. Phife, who is working on a solo eP and solo LP, as well as a sports talk show, “The fANalysts,” says he’s taking a wait-and-see approach: “I think it came out pretty well. I really do, because at the end of the day, you can’t have beats and rhymes without life, and you get a taste of all three,” he says. “You really get to travel with A Tribe Called Quest. I think it definitely lives up to the name.”

NYC’s finest: Phife Dawg, Q-Tip, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad.

Lights, camera, action:

, Director s cut Rapaport on set with Jarobi White; Rapaport with Q-Tip; filming with Ali Shaheed Muhammad. The film opened in New York and Los Angeles on July 8. Trailer at sonyclassics.com

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