Soul Strut 100: # 15 - A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory

RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,783 Posts
edited June 2013 in The Soul Strut 100
I will slowly be unveiling the Top 100 Soul Strut Related Records as Voted by the Strutters Themselves.

# 15 - A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory



The list so far:

# 100 - Jr. and His Soulettes - Psychodelic Sounds
# 99 - Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul
# 98 - Donny Hathaway - S/T (1971)
# 97 - Bernard Wright - ???Nard
# 96 - Tom Scott - Honeysuckle Breeze
# 95 - People Under the Stairs - Question in the Form of an Answer
# 94 - Harlem River Drive
# 93 - Black Moon - Enta Da Stage
# 92 - Marvin Gaye - Here, My Dear
# 91 - Muddy Waters - Electric Mud
# 90 - Les McCann - Layers
# 89 - Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
# 88 - Leroy Hutson - Hutson (1975)
# 87 - ESG - S/T (1981)
# 86 - Can - Tago Mago
# 85 - Bohannon - Stop & Go
# 84 - WILLIAM DEVAUGHN - Be Thankful For What You Got
# 83 - Power of Zeus - The Gospel According to Zeus
# 82 - Gang Starr - Hard To Earn
# 81 - The J.B.???s - Doing It to Death
# 80 - Parliament - Osmium
# 79 - McNeal & Niles - Thrust
# 78 - The Lafayette Afro Rock Band - Malik
# 77 - Earth, Wind, and Fire (1971)
# 76 - Dr. Dre - The Chronic
# 75 - Black Sabbath (1970)
# 74 - Trap Door / An International Psychedelic Mystery Mix (2006)
# 73 - Bob James - One
# 72 - Matthew Larkin Cassell - Pieces
# 71 - The Beginning Of The End - Funky Nassau
# 70 - Big Bear - Doin??? Thangs
# 69 - Steely Dan - Aja
# 68 - Quasimoto - The Unseen
# 67 - Curtis Mayfield - Curtis/Live! (1971)
# 66 - Al Green - Im still in love with you
# 65 - The Beatnuts - Street Level
# 64 - Archie Whitewater - Archie Whitewater (1970)
# 63 - Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Mecca & the Soul Brother
# 62 - Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die
# 61 - The J.B.???s - Food For Thought
# 60 - Don Blackman (1982)
# 59 - Niagara - (Tiddies)
# 58 - Can - Ege Bamyasi
# 57 - Whatnauts - On the Rocks
# 56 - The Mohawks - Champ
# 55 - McDonald and Giles (1971)
# 54 - Darondo - Let My People Go
# 53 - Dorothy Ashby - Afro Harping
# 52 - Beastie Boys - Paul???s Boutique
# 51 - Mulatu Astatke - Mulatu of Ethiopia
# 50 - Lyman Woodard Organization - Saturday Night Special
# 49 - Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul
# 48 - Lyn Collins - Think (About It)
# 47 - James Brown - In The Jungle Groove
# 46 - Bill Withers - Still Bill
# 45 - Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
# 44 - Silver Apples - S/T
# 43 - Mobb Deep - The Infamous
# 42 - Lyn Christopher (1973)
# 41 - Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire de Melody Nelson
# 40 - Gang Starr - Step in the Arena
# 39 - Diamond D - Stunts, Blunts, & Hip Hop
# 38 - Terry Callier - What Color is Love
# 37 - David Axelrod - Song of Innocence
# 36 - The Invaders - Spacing Out
# 35 - Leo Sayer - Endless Flight
# 34 - Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
# 33 - DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist - Brainfreeze (Mix)
# 32 - Michael Jackson - Thriller
# 31 - DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
# 30 - De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising
# 29 - Ray Barretto - Acid
# 28 - The Sylvers - II
# 27 - Donald Byrd - Places and Spaces
# 26 - Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information
# 25 - Nas - Illmatic
# 24 - The Baby Huey Story - The Living Legend
# 23 - Roy Ayers - He???s Coming
# 22 - Kool and the Gang (album) (1969)
# 21 - Demon Fuzz - Afreaka!
# 20 - Curtis Mayfield - Curtis!
#19 - Eugene McDaniels - Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse
# 18 - Incredible Bongo Band - Bongo Rock
# 17 - Placebo - Ball of Eyes
# 16 - Arthur Verocai - Arthur Verocai (1972)

Please discuss your reactions to this record. The thread will be archived later here.

About

The Low End Theory helped shape alternative hip hop in the 1990s.[18][19] It established the musical, cultural, and historical link between hip hop and jazz.[20] The album was considered an instant classic with a 5 mics rating in The Source. Reviewer Reef lauded their "progressive sound" and "streetwise edge".[15] Writer Oliver Wang called the album "a consummate link between generations", which took the essence of jazz and hip hop, and "showing they originated from the same black center."[21] The group's "mellow innovations" helped jazz rap gain significant exposure from 1992 to 1993.[22] Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 154 in "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", stating that "people connected the dots between hip-hop and jazz -- both were revolutionary forms of black music based in improvisation and flow -- but A Tribe Called Quest's second album drew the entire picture."[23]

In Time magazine's "ALL-TIME 100" albums, Josh Tyrangiel called the record an exception to jazz rap often being "wishful thinking on the part of critics". He described the album as "socially conscious without being dull" and likened a few tracks to "smoky rooms where cool guys ... say cool things."[24]The Low End Theory was voted at number thirty-two in The Village Voice's 1991 Pazz & Jop critics poll.[25] Allmusic writer John Bush, who declared it "the most consistent and flowing hip-hop album ever recorded",[26] summed up the record as "an unqualified success, the perfect marriage of intelligent, flowing raps to nuanced, groove-centered productions."[9] On February 1, 1995, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album platinum.[27] In 2005, comedian Chris Rock ranked it ninth on his Top 25 Hip-Hop Albums.[citation needed] Electronica artist James Lavelle cited The Low End Theory as one of his favorite albums.[28]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Low_End_Theory

Related Threads

Low End Theory VS. Midnight Marauders.

Tribe called quest???s first Demo Tape

Records that changed your life???.

Media



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  Comments


  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Oh shit, probably the greatest rap album ever!

  • HarveyCanal said:
    Oh shit, probably the greatest rap album ever!

    Agreed! This one's timeless.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Excellent and timeless.

    I liked how they stripped down their sound compared to the debut, but I kinda wish they still rocked the dashikis and shit.

    Hold the mayo - Skypager

  • DustedDonDustedDon 830 Posts
    My fave Tribe LP. Front to back heat.

  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Classic album referenced in a classic Masta Ace verse (Jeep Ass Niguh/Born to Roll)..."Low End Theory tape in, bass crazy kickin' in."

  • Controller_7Controller_7 4,052 Posts
    Mr. Attention said:
    HarveyCanal said:
    Oh shit, probably the greatest rap album ever!

    Agreed! This one's timeless.

    The YouTube thumbnails above provide a nice point of reference. Those video stills look fairly dated, but the music on this album never gets old.

    The sound is so nice on this record. Q tip has a funny/interesting story about how he ended up with Bob Power in that recent Red Bull lecture.

  • DJ_EnkiDJ_Enki 6,475 Posts
    DustedDon said:
    My fave Tribe LP. Front to back heat.

    Yuuuuuuuup.

    Also: I enjoy the sloppiness of "Check the Rhime," how the Grover Washington snares fall out of sync with the snares in the Minnie Riperton loop.
    ketan

  • Beats.

    Also, I heard Q-TIP lost his record collection in a house fire sometime after Beats, Rhymes, and Life. Heard that is why Love Movement sounds so different then the previous albums. Maybe a just a rumor. Not sure....

  • rootlesscosmorootlesscosmo 12,848 Posts
    classique. soundtrack to my 8th grade and freshman HS yrs.

  • GibboGibbo 124 Posts
    Yep, it's pretty much untouchable as a long player front to back.

  • HollafameHollafame 844 Posts
    Unfuckwithable. Check the Rhime being one of my favourite tracks of all time.

  • piedpiperpiedpiper 1,279 Posts
    so good. and this one aged well. also, an album a lot of non-rap people like.

  • skullsnapsskullsnaps 138 Posts
    Lucky to have worked with these guys doing PR for this LP and their debut. Had great times hangin' in the studio during the production of Low End Theory and getting to chill with the whole native tongues crew during this period. De La, The Jungle Bros, Black Sheep, Monie Love were all in the studio at various times hangin out. Got to watch Bob Power work his magic too. One favorite memory is going digging for records with Q-Tip & The Large Professor in NJ around this time. The high point of hip hop for me. Here's a shot of me & Tip around 1990
    Attached files

  • skullsnapsskullsnaps 138 Posts
    CratesGatsby said:
    Beats.

    Also, I heard Q-TIP lost his record collection in a house fire sometime after Beats, Rhymes, and Life. Heard that is why Love Movement sounds so different then the previous albums. Maybe a just a rumor. Not sure....






    Can't remember exactly when, but it's true story, Tip did lose most of his vinyl in a fire in NJ

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    skullsnaps said:
    CratesGatsby said:
    Beats.

    Also, I heard Q-TIP lost his record collection in a house fire sometime after Beats, Rhymes, and Life. Heard that is why Love Movement sounds so different then the previous albums. Maybe a just a rumor. Not sure....


    Can't remember exactly when, but it's true story, Tip did lose most of his vinyl in a fire in NJ

    It was when he was dating Angie Martinez. When she was popular on Hot 97.

  • HarveyCanal said:
    unquestionably the greatest rap album ever!

  • BallzDeepBallzDeep 612 Posts
    wow those videos take me back.
    i miss those days.

  • VeeEightVeeEight 325 Posts
    ill still be listening to this lp ten years from now. classic


  • DanteDante 371 Posts
    HOLLAFAME said:
    Unfuckwithable.

  • dukeofdelridgedukeofdelridge urgent.monkey.mice 2,453 Posts
    yes.

  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,960 Posts
    Never stopped listening to this.

    Even the Mrs. knows all the lyrics.

    "The Rap album for people who don't like rap"?

    [meant like Kind of Blue is?]

  • DJ_EnkiDJ_Enki 6,475 Posts
    batmon said:
    Excellent and timeless.

    Most definitely. It is interesting, though, that as timeless as the music is, some of the sentiments expressed on this album (screaming on bootleggers, "rap is not pop, if you call it that then stop") are largely unacceptable today.

  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Um, Mr. Tip, we're going to require you to seek counseling over that industry rule #4080 line. Frankly, you sound like a terrorist...and look like one too.


  • Yeah it's a pretty good album.

  • LoopDreamsLoopDreams 1,195 Posts
    When I'm scrolling through the 8 gig chip of music in my ride and am sick of it ALL and can't find anything to fit my mood inevitably I come to Hip Hop > Tribe > Low End of Theory or Midnight Marauders and at that point I couldn't give a shit because I know I'm home free.

  • BowlsBowls 28 Posts
    This album put Grant Green Alive! on my radar and I'm forever in debt for that.

    Can't decide between "Vibes and Stuff," "Excursions," or "Butter" as my favorite track. Unbelievable rap record.

  • DawhudDawhud 213 Posts
    I've bought that album SO many times over and over. Tape, CD (twice), LP etc. And when I see it used somewhere I want to cop it eventhough I have pleny. It's just so GOOD. I 1st had the tape and would listen to it when I had to get up at 5am and do my paper route when I was 13. Man... that ish is classic. Such a great record.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts


    Fav cd art

  • Bon VivantBon Vivant The Eye of the Storm 2,018 Posts
    Loved this album when it came out, still love it.

  • francois parkerfrancois parker formerly know as Parkz. 125 Posts
    Love this album, classic and timeless for sure but in the same breath I haven't pulled it out for years and probably wont for many more due a handful of the tracks getting played to death since release, yes I love them but don't need to be hearing the any time soon.
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