Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest (2011) User Reviews (15)

A Tribe Called Quest shown as made up of complex, gifted, flawed human beings, not as flawless cardboard characters.

[773SleepyHollow · 8/10 · 22 July 2011]

I'm troubled that some reviewers object to the fact that this film doesn't ignore the considerable tensions that existed within A Tribe Called Quest.

This is a documentary, not a propaganda film... the backstage dynamics between the members of ATCQ over the years (both positive and negative) are highly relevant to the film, assuming that it wasn't meant as a puff piece.

If anything, Rapaport held back a bit MORE than he should have, which is part of the reason why I don't give the film an even higher rating, as I would (for example) to the brutally revealing documentary Metallica: Some Kind of Monster.

Also, anyone who watches the film and doesn't get some sense of why the group meant so much to so many of us (in its artistry and in its spirit) just wasn't paying attention.

I do hope that the DVD extras spend more time on the extended Native Tongue Family... while it certainly isn't ignored in the film, the Native Tongue Family deserves at the very least its own mini- documentary.

Nostalgic For Real Hip-Hop

[frankenbenz · 7/10 · 7 March 2013]

www.eattheblinds.com

Three Hip-Hop groups defined the way I interfaced with Hip-Hop as a kid: The Jungle Brothers, De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. Their music was the soundtrack of my youth: beats and rhymes with a positive, life-affirming vibe. To me, these groups were giants living amidst point guards; years later, when I interviewed a number of them for my Hip-Hop documentary 5 Sides of a Coin, I felt like I'd grown up, being allowed to stand face-to-face with many of my childhood idols.

I still love Hip-Hop, but nostalgia has a way of tempering things. It's been nearly 20 years since I've had an epiphanic Hip-Hop moment; the last one I remember was hearing 36 Chambers or Illmatic for the first time. Don't get me wrong, I still bump my head to a lot of what's out there...it just doesn't move me the same way it used to.

A few weeks back I watched Michael Rapaport's Beats, Rhymes and Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest and I was instantly reminded of Hip-Hop's significance in my life. Rapaport's film isn't shot on the best cameras or filmed by the most competent operators, but it really doesn't matter. This film was made by a Tribe fan for Tribe fans and whether it succeeds as therapy or mediation between Tip and Phife is irrelevant. If --somehow-- this doc has anything to do with ATCQ fulfilling their contractual obligation to produce one more album, then it's a monumental success; if not, it's still a great way for die-hard Tribe fans to reconnect with one of Hip-Hop's greatest groups.

Electric Relaxation

[krisrox · 7/10 · 19 June 2011]

A Tribe Called Quest is one the most enduring groups of hip hop's Golden Age. Combining jazzy loops with hard-hitting snares and fronted by two unique MCs/ personalities in Q-Tip and Phife Dawg, they banged out three classic albums in the early 90s. They were intelligent, innovative and had great chemistry. I can still vividly remember the news that they broke up: it confirmed the end of rap's heyday, not unlike The Beatles' break-up effectively ended the feel good 60s.

So yes, they deserved a 90-minute documentary. And "Beats, Rhymes and Life" delivers at this most basic level, telling us about the Tribe's travels in a very straightforward manner, which is good for (casual) fans. Michael Rapaport hits the right notes here: he cuts between classic songs, classic clips and solid - sometimes funny - anecdotes by the Jungle Brothers, Black Thought, Prince Paul, Jarobi, Dres, Common, De La Soul, Red Alert and Chris Lighty, to name a few. Q-Tip gets the most airtime, and the man has charisma to spare.

However, the story arc also aims to please non-fans and revolves around the break-up. It focuses heavily on the tensions within the group - especially between erstwhile best friends Q-Tip and Phife - and the drama that surrounds it until today. This setup helps avoid the dreaded "old men reminiscing about the good old days" effect found in many documentaries, but it still left me wondering: is this really the essence of the Tribe? We all know the group process can drive people crazy - we've seen it in a million rockumentaries. Meanwhile, the protagonists barely get to talk about the things that made them special: their creative vision, the development of their monumental sound, the risks they took.

Still, recommended for everybody, especially fans of Seaman's furniture. The music will win you over - Madlib's original soundtrack also rocks!

Good times.....I said I wouldn't cry!!!

[dutchbeats · 10/10 · 12 November 2011]

If you grew up with rap and were a fan when Tribe was in their prime, you absolutely will not want to miss this. Michael Rapaport and crew brilliantly document this most ubiquitous, inventive and also accessible group of it's generation. I had to hold back the tears as I revisited those special times of my youth. Being a rap fan and beat maker since the 80's, I now know who was the man behind the productions of their first three legendary(understatement) albums, as the credits on their records always attributed production to the Tribe itself and not one person(that person is Q-Tip). Not that Ali is not also an incredible musician and producer in his own right as evidenced in his post-Tribe super group Lucy Pearl and other production works. As for Phife, you'll just have to see his remarkable story for yourself...

Speaking of Ali, one thing that really stayed with me, his statement about the spiritual and creative benefit of moving on, trying something new, not forgetting the past but working towards the future. In fact, this motto has been employed by all members of the Tribe beginning with Jarobi, who early in the 90's when the Tribe was on the rise decided to leave the group(albeit with an open door policy) to pursue another passion of his that has rewarded him success and happiness.

Many times our most celebrated creative heroes end up on a downward self destructive path and fall from grace, or they refuse to leave behind their formulas and habits at a detriment to their growth and their health, but these guys are champions in life, they are all leading rewarding lives doing some unexpected things, yet still make time to go on tour together. The time during which rap music was truly GREAT was short lived, maybe just a couple years....and it flashed past in the blink of an eye. This documentary will take you there, so much so you won't want to come back!

BTW I really, really, REALLY hope this isn't the last of Michael Rapaport's documentaries on Hip-Hop, clearly he is the man for the job.

Best Hip-Hop documentary ever!!!

[quizote · 10/10 · 19 October 2011]

First off, a big thank you to Michael Rapaport for doing this. And he truly directed a wonderful documentary. I grew up on a tribe called quest, however, I am an African,living in Africa and those were the days before the Internet, so I really never heard any news surrounding the group. This documentary fills in all these gaps for me, finally made me understand what made ATCQ tick and such a brilliant hip-hop group. The director really did a great job balancing the views from both protagonists, Q-tip and Phife. Q-tip really comes across as a musical genius and Phife as the real funky diabetic (never understood this until watching this movie) and I had never heard Ali Shaheed speak, but I was hanging on to every word of his. I think M. Rapaport should have given Ali more time. And Jarobi, the y. Nice dude, from the documentary I'd wish, he had not left the group when he did, he fitted in just like anybody else.

Finally, the live shows were amazing. I wish I had had the opportunity to attend just one of them, anyway, if ATCQ ever come to Accra, Ghana, I'll be the first in line to buy tickets.

Great documentary, great story-telling from the director, highly recommended to any music lover out there.

The rise & fall of one of the most prolific hip hop groups

[jtmytake3 · 22 August 2011]

If you haven't heard of A Tribe Called Quest where the heck have you been for the last twenty years arguably one of the most respected and commercially successful groups in hip hop's rich history the band were composed of Q-Tip (Kamaal Ibn John Fareed), Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor), DJ Producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White. The group have been widely lauded as the saviours of hip hop along with the other members of the Native Tongues Posse which comprised of a group of like minded individuals who talked, walked and rhymed with the same attitude. Quests was the most commercially successful group from this self proclaimed troupe and have influenced many of hip hop's most prevalent artists of today which include Kanye West & Common. The tale of their meteoric rise to the forefront of hip hop had never chronicled until actor, director and self confessed fan Michael Rapaport picked up a camera and filmed the group's headlining of the Rock the Bells concerts across America in 2008. It's the footage behind the scenes however and the account of the group's inception that gives an insight into the groups break up in 1998.

This movie is a testament to a group that changed the parameters of hip hop for a whole generation, not concerned with the gangster rap of the period a Tribe Called Quest like their Native Tongues associates were more interested in the eclectic music and intellectual styled lyrics. The movie has interviews with some of the other members of the Native Tongues movement and many other notable hip hop artists including the Beastie Boys and Common who give credence to the music that Tribe produced. The camera gives an unnerving and sometimes brutally honest look into the lives of the young men from New York who made up the group.

The last true American art from after jazz, hip hop with its turntables as instruments is an analogy for America its mesh of cultures and beliefs, creeds and colours which brought about a collective superiority unrivalled in any other music form. I cannot speak with enough enthusiasm about how great this movie is as a documentation of a nostalgic time within hip hop when it was still new, fresh and effervescent. A time when four guys from the New York boroughs came together and created something truly amazing that has, and most likely will stand the test of time. Bittersweet in many parts but filled with a vibrant energy that encompassed everything that was and remains still true to the tribe and everything they stood for.....real innovative, engaging and thought provocative hip hop that defined a generation and spurned a new talented group of hip hop artists and producers that occupy the mainstream today.

I cannot speak with enough enthusiasm about how great this movie is as a documentation of the story behind the genius that was a Tribe Called Quest and Rapaport has excellently captured the lives and troubles of real people fraught with human frailties and insecurities like you and me. There is so much drama here that all is needed at times is for Rapaport to simply point the camera and shoot and like a confessional the group members and the people in their lives outpour their feelings. This thereby humanises their tale so that it resonates with every single one of us. Some of the groups most profound thoughts and feelings are captured for the first time which makes this movie simply riveting from start to finish and with the foot tapping soundtrack from the group's back catalogue the movie is like a chronicle of not just the groups fantastic rise but also a generation crying out for music of worth. One of the most memorable lines of the movie comes from Phife Dawg who states "the way hip hop is going right now I could do with it or without it" this sentiment is echoed as the story unfolds and we reminisce on a time when we were growing up and life was simpler than it is right now. Perhaps that is its appeal it has something for us all and in its most ardent revelations it almost shakes the foundations of hip hop. If I haven't suitably summed up the need for you to see this movie then perhaps my highest rating yet will encourage you 4 ½ out of 5 this movie is a must see, not just for lovers of A Tribe Called Quest & hip hop......but for anyone concerned with the inner machinations of a musical groups highs and lows. Beats, Rhymes and Life is due a release later in the year and when it gets a date I'll be the first to give you the heads up.

You're going to wet your pants watching this if you're a huge Tribe fan.

[eminkl · 7/10 · 14 November 2019]

You're going to wet your pants watching this if you're a huge Tribe fan. If you're just like me a regular hip-hop fan, it's eight, it's fun. You get a playful, frank, intimate look at their origins, their rise and fall, and the relationships between the members and, in particular, the tension between the brilliant, messianic, somewhat oblivious Q-Tip and the headstrong, straightforward, more humane and related Phife Dawg, whose close childhood friendship and complementary talents generate much of the band's energy and atmosphere, but w

A pretty in depth, admirable glimpse into the world of a landmark group

[wellthatswhatithinkanyway · 9/10 · 10 October 2012]

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Acclaimed director and massive ATCQ fan Michael Rapaport delves into the origins and history of A Tribe Called Quest, one of the most pioneering, influential hip hop groups to emerge since rap burst onto the mainstream with Rapper's Delight in the late 70s/early 80s. Rapaport charts how the groups evolvement started when they met up as friends, to mix beats in their spare time, and how they tried to just be simple entertainment, in contrast to some of the more inflamatory, anti-authoritarian hip hop groups that went before them (as well as explaining the origins of their odd name) before catching up with them on their 2008 reunion tour, where member Phife Dawg has made a comeback after treatment for diabetes.

There doesn't seem to be an awful lot of variety in music these days, with everything pretty interchangeable from everything else, and a lot of new stuff not having the confidence to break away from what went before it and trying to branch out on it's own. So it's a shame that a lot of this samey music does contain a strong hip hop flavour to it, since we have a film here that tries to tell the story of a group from a time when rap was coming into it's own as an art form and spreading it's wings and flying in the charts. There was a genuine, truthful message either way to it, whether they be ardent political statements or just spreading a message of chilling out and getting down.

It's clear Rapaport's a fan, and there is a genuine air of passion and depth about his subjects. But, as is clear in any group of friends, they were obviously some conflicting personalities and, while they managed to work together as a group, tensions could and did inevitably combust back stage. While neither Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammed or Jarobi White exactly gave off a Tupac Shakur vibe about them, it's clear their 'street attitude' was still there and they weren't afraid to throw the f word around liberally. Still, ATCQ were hardly a group that especially glamourized the nastier things in life, while not exactly spreading a message of peace, just distracting the youth from getting into trouble with their funky, jammy beats.

As a suburban white kid (but quite a big fan) there are some aspects of the culture groups like ATCQ represented that will probably always be anathema to me, but that's not to say it's hard to see why groups like them became as successful as they did or grew the fan base they did. ****

An excellent look at the classic hip-hop group that is an excellent experience for any music fan.

[Jared9001 · 7/10 · 28 July 2017]

"Beats, Rhymes, and Life" does a very good job of exploring A Tribe Called Quest's beginnings as well as it's influence, and is the type of music documentary that all others should look to when trying to tell an artist's story in a impactful and informative way, and it checks off all of the boxes that one should expect such a movie to go through, but it doesn't just cover the group as a whole- it covers all of the members personal lives in a good yet relevant way. The reason why it works better than many other films in this genre is that it covers the bands breakup and fallings out as those things are actually happening; not everything is current and not everything is in hindsight-it's a really healthy and good mix, and that's something I really admire it for. In addition to that, interviews from other musicians that've been impacted by the group's influence do a decent (albeit sometimes generic) job of informing the viewer on the impact the group has actually had. My biggest issue with this film is that it feels a little too long, and sometimes there are interviews that don't feel entirely necessary, and become a little boring and inflate the running time, when what I really want to see is more info from the actual members of the tribe. Overall, I really enjoyed this film and would easily recommend it. 7.4/10

Beats, Rhymes and A Great Documentary

[Sweet_Tweet · 10/10 · 11 July 2011]

I enjoyed this film tremendously.

Beats, Rhymes and Life tells the story of a tremendous pioneer in the art form of Hip Hop and young men that grew up together as a creative entity. The ultimate success and longevity of any group is driven by the interpersonal relationship.

Micheal Rapaport shows the complexity of the personal relationships as the group matured and it's impact on the business.

I was a casual fan of "A Tribe Called Quest" going in ... I feel much more connected to the music and the group upon leaving the theater.

I highly recommend this film for anyone, casual or committed fan or if you've never heard of this group.

Awesome movie

[bradtheman18 · 8/10 · 6 April 2012]

I've always been a hip hop fan and was always interested in A Tribe Called Quest. Before watching it, I knew a couple of their songs, but not enough. I was hoping to leave the movie theater ending up a huge Quest fan. Unfortunately, this didn't happen immediately, because the documentary didn't focus on the music as much as I would have liked it to. This movie did inspire me to do some research and about 3 weeks later, I have learned pretty much everything about A Tribe Called Quest. I was surprised about how much drama and how many problems behind the scenes they had. Phife Dawg (the 2nd MC of A Tribe Called Quest) suffers from diabetes and Q-Tip (the leader of A Tribe Called Quest) "took the gym teacher approach with Phife" and that eventually broke the group up. Q-Tip would push Phife into working-out and eating right, but Phife couldn't get over his food/sugar addictions and he resented Q-Tip for this. This resentment eventually escalates to the point where they could not and should not stay as a group. If their no love, they should split up. Unfortunately, Ali (a 3rd member of Quest) was stuck in the middle of these arguments and just watch friendships end. The story has an upsetting ending, but I now understand why the group has broken up. A Tribe Called Quest was really a revolutionary group for hip hop and they made incredible music.

Their are also a lot of interviews from producers and other hip hop artists/groups like: Common, De La Soul, Mos Def, and more.

The documentary also has a cool part where Q-Tip uses vinyl 2 turntables to create the beat for Can I Kick It? (their most popular song). I was very impressed with Q-Tip's creativity and intelligence.

On a Quest

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 19 August 2020]

I never really thought about the name of the group, but of course if you do a documentary and have such a weird band name, that will be one of the things explored. While this was to be expected, seeing so many high profile musicians giving their insight on how Quest affected them or the music landscape overall, is quite interesting to say the least.

And all that by one of the whitest Dudes/actors on this planet. Michael Rappaport created this and he really did good. I would think through the friends he has, he had quite the connections to other artists. Nicely edited, with a coherent line to follow for anyone watching. This could have been an episode of the Netflix show that explores Hip Hop, but let's just see this as an added extra

Nicely produced and full of content

[Hallelujah289 · 10/10 · 18 June 2021]

Great documentary full of beats in all corners, from the groovy animation style to the way the interviewee rappers talk having a rhythm in everything they say, to the actual song samples that are wedged in to many scene transitions.

Love the animation style of the intro and throughout the documentary film. Very colorful and jazz like, full of shakes and bumps.

The documentary has a good flow and explores the history of A Tribe Called Quest in a cohesive way while also constructing dramatic tension. What's more the documentary covers subjects who clearly have a strong and loving bond which each other despite their differences, which is always nice to see within the rap world which glorifies argument and the so-called "beef." Everyone here is in touch with their feelings and articulate and they try to be honest with viewers instead of throwing shade. Whether or not Q-Tip is self centered as Phife Dawg claims (RIP) is up for debate, and which the documentary doesn't manage to fully resolve, but I imagine that's something difficult to establish in real life anyway.

I could have wished for some more analysis of the creation of the songs themselves, and how they came about, and were produced, but there were bits and pieces throughout. What also would've been helpful is to compare with other hip hop music that existed at the time.

All in all solid documentary, and a good foundation for other deep dives should you be interested in other facets of the phenomenonal A Tribe Called Quest.

Traveling Back to a Beloved Time

[view_and_review · 9/10 · 13 December 2021]

Hearing the music and seeing the videos in this documentary instantly transported me to a familiar and beloved time and place. ATCQ was one of those defining groups of the 90's. To this day "Scenario" is my favorite collaborative rap song.

"Beats, Rhyme & Life" chronicles ATCQ's formation through to their disbanding. Sadder than their disbanding was the beef between Q-Tip and Fife Dawg. As a fan you never want to hear that there are problems in paradise. You want all of your favorite groups to love each other as much as you love them and never separate, but the truth is that families have fights and sometimes never speak again. It was definitely the more difficult part of the documentary to watch.

All in all though, I loved the documentary. ATCQ is one of my favorite groups and you don't really see rap groups anymore. They came up in an era when groups were common, and now the only rap group I know is Migos. Things have certainly changed, so I was glad to see this documentary to remind me of how things used to be.

Exciting looks at the birth of hip hop as a creative force of nature

[a-Me-with-a-You · 8/10 · 5 July 2023]

I love ATCQ and we do get very exciting looks at the birth of hip hop as a creative force of nature. And the iconoclasts, in their attitude, how they dressed, the topics they addressed in their lyrics. We also have the painful moments of the more toxic by the day band dynamics that lead to the breakup until they get back together to release a brilliant swan song album in 2016.

I don't think the rift between the two band members is completely made clear in the documentary except it's about one of them feeling disrespected and egos and I think there was more there to unearth by a more skilled film maker. But Rapaport made this film with love.