Frenchy’s Fracas

General Description
Artist/Band: A Tribe Called Quest ||
Album Title: People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
Year: 1990

Influential To The Max!

How I Got Into This Music
A Tribe Called Quest was one of the first rap groups that really got me interested in rap. After the militant lyrics and antics of Public Enemy, the world was surprised by the more relaxed approach of the Native Tongue, a collective consisting of groups like De La Soul, The Jungle Brothers and A Tribe Called Quest. This was their first album and it made a lasting impression on my consciousness.

Google Search for reviews of this album || Album details at Artistdirect.com || Answers.com ||

But First..
This album is an incredible collection of samples. It’s a bloody education in itself to research all the tracks, and the nice people at Secondhandsongs.com did most of the hard work. If you’re interested in all kinds of sample trivia, go over to the site.

Tracks that got my attention:
Push It Along
The Boom, The Bip.. The Boom-Bip!
Crazy weird intro, followed by the mellowest of samples, can’t remember where I heard the original track. That sax during the bridge and at the end is highly enjoyable..
Sample Info

Luck Of Lucien
Not really very heavy-handed lyrics, but incredibly groovy samples, especially the chorus. Of course, Q-Tip’s nasal vocals gets the job done.
Sample Info

After Hours
Just lovelovelove that chorus, the heavy scratch-works in the background, oooooooweeee! Found out they’d sample some Sly & The Family Stone, I’m guessing it’s the guitar and bass, tasty!
Sample Info

Footprints
Starting off with Stevie Wonder’s Sir Duke, and taking us along this great laid back groove to the the awesome pay-off: an insane beat that would get your comatose granny to start dancing.
A Nubian, a Nubian, a proud one at that
Remember me? The brother who said “Black is black“
Sample Info

I Left My Wallet In El Segundo
Breakthrough single for this group, I mean, the first time I saw this clip was on an item by CNN for chrissakes. A very funny story is being told with some catchy beats and that corny guitar sample in the chorus.
TV watchers in the USA know this tracks also from the Sleeper Cell TV-series, where one of the bad guys performs this track at a karaoke bar.
Favorite lyrics (I catch myself singing/rapping these words many times, scaring my co-workers each and every time..)
..Pulled out the wallet and I saw this wicked beautiful lady,
She was a waitress there.
Put the wallet down and stared and stared.
To put me back into reality, here’s Shaheed:
“Yo, Tip, man, you got what you need?”
I checked for keys and started to step
What do you know, my wallet I forget..
Sample Info

Pubic Enemy
Public Service Anouncement about STD’s. Not one of my favorites, ’s okay. Cameo by Old School master DJ Red Alert.
Sample Info

Bonita Applebaum
Man-o-man! One of my all-time favorite tracks! It’s a great way to romance your loved one (kinda worked for me), the lyrics are funny and intelligent. The single remix used Carly Simon’s Why? and there’s a great remix that uses Grace Jones‘ Slave To The Rhythm, excellent!
38-24-37 (uh, uh, uh!)
You and me, hun, we’re a match made in heaven.
I like to kiss ya where some brothas won’t.
I like to tell ya things some brothas don’t.
Sample Info

Can I Kick It?
Their world hit. Love listening to it now, but back then, waaaay too much airplay. Legend has it that the guys didn’t clear the bass sample from Lou Reeds Walk On The Wild Side. Mr. Reed took offense and ATCQ had to pay out, leaving them with nothing on the single sales. A valuable lesson or fable, I guess..
Sample Info

Rhythm (Devoted to the Art of Moving)
I got the rhythm, you got the rhythm.. That intro.. And then when the beat kicks in, ouch! That’s the nice kind of pain..
Polyrhythmatic with a big fat boom
You have an eargasm as you start to consume
The ghetto beat with a ghetto poem
Yeah, it’s from the heart, cuz it’s from the home
Sample Info

Descrption Of A Fool
Another educational track, they’ve used a sample from the Roy Ayers track Running Away. I discovered Mr. Ayers’ music partly through this sample.
Check out Groove Armada’s remix of this track on their Back To Mine album. It’s stripped of all the music, just using the vocals and their own flavors, bloody incredible!
Sample Info

Conclusion
Like I said before, this album’s one of the most interesting albums I’ve heard. It’s a favorite because it’s got great tracks but also because of the great samples and its impact on the music scene back then. A Tribe Called Quest together with The Native Tongue collective combined great music with thought-prevoking lyrics, not being radical about their opinions and not even using swear words (in the beginning).
An open hand full of grooviness and intellect instead of the closed fist of anger and payback. Both valid means of expression, but ATCQ’s approach worked better for me in the end.

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General Description
Artist/Band: The Pharcyde
Album Title: Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde
Year: 1992

The title says it all!!
 
How I Got Into This Music
Hmmm.. 1992, do you know how phar back that is?!? Come on, give me a break.. Okayokay.. Round that time I guess I was into De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest and a very faithful viewer of the YO! MTV Raps program. I’m almost sure it was there that I first heard and saw these guys. It’s been almost 15 years (ouch!) but still I got some of those songs in my head. Just the different approach and style was so unbelievably refreshing! It still is fresh if you listen to it in ten years, trust me..

Review at Answers.com || Google Search: Reviews of Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde || Album credits at Artistdirect.com

Tracks that got my attention:
Oh Shit
West Coast mixed with The Bomb Squad? Can’t really describe the sound.. But the vocals and the lyrics - funny and sharp. Wicked sample of either Richard Pryor or Eddie Murphy

It’s Jigaboo Time (Skit)
Jigaboo - excellent skit!

4 Better or 4 Worse
Damn! I remember listening to the lyrics of this track - hilarious, and the phone call.. scary too! Obsessive stalker humor?

I’m That Type of Nigga
Great intro, after that it’s a very typical 90’s chant-along type of song

If I Were President (Skit)
I guess these guys were one of the first to put a piano sound at the foreground, listen to the skits on this album

Soul Flower (Remix)
Still prefer the version they had on the Heavy Rhyme Experience, Volume 1 album of The Brand New Heavies - ohwell, a great groove is a great groove..

On the DL
Wow.. The lyrics.. just the lyrics.. I mean, The Lyrics!! All about stuff you don’t tell to others easily, on the downlow.. It’s been done before, you know? Being bad-ass and all that, but here? It’s different, more intense and with a very different take on Confessional Rap..
His story’s soundin’ sad like the movie Ben
But um, anyway I’m just protectin’ my shit
‘Cause if it wasn’t me he’s killin’ then my moms mighta got it
It’s on the downlow don’t tell nobody I killed him all right?

Officer
Heheh.. This one’s so inside joke material.. The song is a parody of an epic track by Public Enemy called Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos. A very, very intense song (check out the link for more).
And these guys? They use it for their slaphappy song about getting caught by the cops for driving without a license. Now, in those times, that was almost blasphemy! Very funny blasphemy

Ya Mama
Read the lyrics, heheh.. Just do it!
Ya moma is so fat (how fat is she?)
Ya mama is so big and fat that she can get busy
with twenty-two burritos, but times are rough
I seen her in the back of Taco Bell with handcuffs

and also:
We drove into the drive-in and she didn’t have to pay
because we dressed her up to look just like a Chevrolet

So, maybe it ain’t your type of humor, but here’s some more info on the dozens (your mama jokes)

Passin’ Me By
Oh, wow.. One of my all-time favorite tracks, seriously.
I like the theme: choosing to let the girl to pass you by or not being able to prevent her from passing you by. Love versus Wisdom. Heart versus Brains. Protecting Yourself From Harm versus Naked Vulnerability. Topics include:

• Puppy love for some teacher
• Semi-fatal attraction
  I’m shootin for her heart, got my finger on the trigger
  She could be my broad, and I could be her (nigga)
• Waiting for her to dump her man
  She was kind of like a star, thinking I was like a fan
• Unrequited love letter
  Now there she goes again, the dopest Ethiopian
  And now the world around me be gets movin in slow motion
  when-ever she happens to walk by - why does the apple of my eye
  overlook and disregard my feelings no matter how much I try?
  
  And if I was your man then I would be true
  The only lying I would do is in the bed with you
  Then I signed sincerely the one who loves you dearly, PS love me tender
  The letter came back three days later: Return to Sender
  Damn!
  

And that’s just the lyrics.. The vocals? The first part seems like almost 15 seconds of rap without a pause to breathe.. The last part by rapper Fatlip is like a scat-singing combo when he starts to write his letter. Un-fucking-believable! Nobody ever used that style in a rap before.. Damn!
Not done yet! HellNo! There’s the music: like I said earlier in my review of Nightmares On Wax, I was totally, mega-crazed about those soft keyboards on the background. Later, much later I found out that it was a sample of Quincy Jones’ rendition of Summer In The City (screw Joe Cocker, Q’s version is almost as good as The Lovin’ Spoonful’s original). Okay.. I’m done.. Where’s my tea?

Otha Fish
Nice band-aid for the heartbreaks of the previous track. Again, that style of rapping was different, a kind of scat-singing.

Quinten’s On His Way
Weird and funny..

Pack The Pipe
A crude yet effective way of discussing one of the biggest social problems of that time: crack cocaine.

Return Of The B-Boy
Heheheh! Delicious!! Great samples (from a track of Prince’s Madhouse Project), loops and hooks. Just love the little tributes to LL Cool J and Kurtis Blow

Conclusion
I knew I would get carried away reviewing this album..
Still one of the most innovative and intelligent (rap) albums of all time: it’s party music, it’s serious music, it’s funny music, some tracks are still fresh. And.. I kinda remembered where I got this album from: thanks Hieronymus Fox!

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General Description
Artist/Band: Sergio Mendes
Album Title: Timeless
Year: 2006

Absolute Brazil
 
How I Got Into This Music
My old man, it’s all his fault, the important part of my musical education is all his fault, thanks Alte! heheh..
Yep, my dad had some of the original albums of this influential Brazilian artist, Sergio Mendes. I just remember the incredible sounds coming from all different musical directions: latin, Brazilian, jazz, pop. And those lovely vocals.. just making me wish I was on a sunny island in the tropics.. Hold on, that’s where I was when I listened to this stuff, the lovely island of Curaçao ;o)
So, a coupla months back, I was eager to rediscover some of this music. Lucky me, this album just came out..

Album credits at artistdirect.com || Google Search: Lyrics of Timeless

Tracks that got my attention:
Mas Que Nada ft. The Black Eyed Peas
First things first.. I do not like the Black Eyed Peas, period. They’re talented and inventive musicians and performers, but.. it just doesn’t work for me, to the point that I just zap away whenever there’s a video of them on the tele. But.. this is Sergio Mendes, so.. Nobody can screw up Mas Que Nada, not even Will I Am

That Heat ft. Erykah Badu
Saw the video, had to listen to the album. Miss Badu gets way too little airplay on this track.

Berimbau/Consolacao ft. Stevie Wonder
Wow.. It’s been a long time since I heard Stevie Wonder on the harmonica (The Eurythmics’ track ‘There Must Be An Angel’ to be precise).. Sweet..
Also when the beat and the vocals follow up the intro: deeeeeeelicious!! Miss Gracinha Leporace does let you feel that Brazilian groove, and the Mendes piano gets you right between the ribs!

The Frog ft. Q-Tip
The Abstract from A Tribe Called Quest on a groovy track, kinda works, too bad about the other guy.. The keyboards are so laidback.

Let Me ft. Jill Scott
Power vocalist extreme, Jill Scott, doing the nice and sweet stuff, love it!

Surfboard ft. Will I Am
sigh.. Fair’s fair: this track rocks! Again I’m guessing it’s the piano doing the hard work.

Samba De Brenco ft. Marcelo D2
Sweet, soft and lazy with groove-ass lyrics (don’t understand most of it, but it just gels..)

Timeless ft. India Arie
Third songstress on this album, excellent selection of artists! India Arie’s voice so incredibly strong and warm..

Loose Ends ft. Justin Timberlake and Pharoahe Monch
Strong message, lovely song, and that guy Timberlake keeps surprising me: damn, his vocals are fine!

Conclusion
Almost every track that has got Will I Am gets on my nerves, it’s usually the other performers that make those tracks bearable, with special exception for Surfboard coz there it all works perfectly. Let’s be honest here, this guy worked his sweet fanny off to make this album, so credit to him for that
But that sure as hell ain’t enough for me: it’s the excellent performances by Jill Scott, India Arie, Justin Timberlake and last but not least the great man himself: Sergio Mendes. Great album to reintroduce a lot of people to classic Brazilian music. Great album for those sunny days at the beach!
Ooooooh.. He’s gonna be at North Sea Jazz Festival this summer!

3(you know why it’s not a 4..)/5

EDIT 11-JUN-2006: I just keep enjoying this album more and more, almost forgetting BEP are on it. Songs like Berimbau/Consolacao, Timeless and Loose Ends have almost permenantly been in my head for quite some weeks now. So.. I reckon I’ll have to change the points:

Rating: (when it’s good, it’s good..)

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General Description
Artist/Band: The Jungle Brothers
Album Title: Straight Out The Jungle
Year: 1988

Original Native Tongue, Humor and Heart

How I Got Into This Music
Just like with De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, the Jungle Brothers arrived on the rap scene like a breath of fresh air. I discovered the group as the third part of the Native Tongues group. Their approach was their own distinctive mix of fun and seriousness. Calling your band like that meant you knew how to use words, associations and perceptions. I remember taping the album and playing it for days and days..

Album credits at ArtistsDirect.com
|| Lyrics at Song-teksten.com

Tracks that got my attention:

Straight out the Jungle
Man.. Just the opening: the scratch, the beat and African chants.. And then the smooth flowing rap. The nasty Melly Melle’s “The Message” mention, perfect!
Men killing men just because of one’s color
In this lifetime, I’ve seen nothing dumber

What’s Going On?
Still remember playing this at home for a mate of mine (Oomen-chama) to listen to. His reaction to this track was that of pure indignation: How can they sample Marvin Gaye?!? You just don’t do that!!
I then realized a coupla things, first off: I was almost 20 and still hadn’t listen to Marvin Gaye’s work.
Second, people can really get worked up by the use of samples..
The track itself still is one of my all-time favorites: a totally different take on the question of a black identity in the US. Showing the problems without blaming others and a great way of changing a popular children’s prayer:
Now I lay me down to sleep
I give the Lord for my soul to keep
If I should die before I wake
Take me to Heaven cuz I need a break

Black Is Black
Judged by both my race and colour
Don’t you know we need each other
There’s no way I can explain how strongly I felt about what was said on this track. It’s incredible how you can identify with a situation you’ve never ever really been in.. The lyrics rule this song, but the whole musical setup is also very good, especially that out of the blue sample of Prince’s Controversy at the end.
I went out of my mind trying to find out where the sample used in the chorus came from (remember, boyz-n-girlz, there was no Internet back then..). So I went to a DJ I knew and just started singing that bit, not caring if I was making a damn fool of myself. The answer: Gil Scott-Heron with “The Bottle”!

Jimbrowski
Okay, after all that serious stuff, some fine and funny material about.. uhm.. well.. How can I explain it? Just read or listen to the lyrics, it’s obvious, heheh.. Good luck finding the lyrics on the net btw ;o)

I’m Gonna Do You
Ooooh.. the laziest beat with the sweetest nasty-assed lyrics ever!!
You said you have a boyfriend, but like you said, he is a boy
I am the real thing and he is just a toy
Something that you pick, play with and put down
But girl, you can have me all year round

I’ll House You
Still their biggest hit ever, one of the first rap-n-house (original track’s by Royal House, can’t remember the title though..) hybrids and also still one of the best! Another mate of mine (TomTom) and me knew the lyrics by heart and no one would be safe while we sang along this one!
Feel the vibe, feel the vibe, feel the bass

On The Run
Love the bass groove on this track. And that break halfway the song, love it!

Behind the Bush
Crazy smooth love track. And with “love” I mean the making thereof..

Because I Got it Like That

Can’t remember the original track for the beat loop, okay song..

Conclusion
No gold chains or crotch grabbing stances, but intelligent positive afro-centric music and lyrics.
Without taking the sell-out road or the “by any means necessary” path, these guys knew how to put together a fantastic combo of a great party atmosphere with conscious social commentary.
The last three-four tracks are just a bit below par, which is why it didn’t get into my “Favorites” category, but this still is one of the influential rap albums in my collection.

Rating: (and a lil’ bit more)

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General Description
Artist/Band: A Tribe Called Quest
Album Title: Midnight Marauders, Volume 1
Year: 1993

Mature rap and all that! Oh, and name all the faces on the cover - I’ll help you out a bit: Beastie Boys, De La Soul, Ice-T, Afrika Bambaata, Kool Moe D..
 
How I Got Into This Music
How? Well, waaaay back when De La Soul blasted the rap world with a new take on the rap performance arts, it turned out that De La was part of a collective called Native Tongues Posse. A posse that wasn’t showing off their gold chain necklace and grabbing their crotch, but a group of artists conveying a certain reality in a myriad of positive, realistic and funny ways.
A Tribe Called Quest (ATCQ) was one of the bands that were part of that posse. My first impression of ATCQ was based on the weird video of “Left My Wallet In El Segundo”, and they piqued my interest seriously. To be honest: ATCQ is the only rap group of which I have all of their albums, and each one is a ride!
The “Midnight Marauders” album is their third and it probably shows the band at their peak.

Tracks that got my attention:
(well, all of them actually, but still..)

Midnight Marauders Tour Guide
Informational skit where the MC of the album introduces herself.

Steve Biko (Stir It Up)
Oooohh.. just the horns sample in the intro with Phife Dawg’s raspy voice kicking off the track!

Award Tour
Guest vocals by De La Soul, but the strength of this track’s in the lyrics and the catchiness of the loops. And as I witnessed with my very own eyes and ears at the Paradiso in Amsterdam this year, it still works on a dance floor!
Well my track record’s longer than a DC20 aircraft’s..

8 Million Stories
Another of Phife’s funny lyrical works, all about having the rottest of luck.. Spaced out effects at the end of the track!

Sucka Nigga
As part of the positive vibe several rap groups were staying away from using curse words or any other derogatory language, and ATCQ signed on for that approach for a while. But with this track they set out to change that approach.. Still a great track with a groove low-assed bass..
Great skit at the end:
You’re not any less of a man if you don’t pull the trigger
You’re not necessarily a man if you do..

Midnight
Great beats and samples on the background!
Sun is on a midnight run, like DeNiro

We Can Get Down
Group chant song, my least favorite track

Electric Relaxation
Now this is excellent! It’s the combo of the lyrics and the sounds, creating an atmosphere of, well.. electric relaxation, I guess ;o)
Honey, check it out, you got me mesmerized
With your black hair and your phat-assed thighes..
Q-Tip at his best!

They know the abstract is really soul on ice
The character is of men, never ever of mice
Shorty let me tell you about my only vice
It has to do with lots of lovin and it ain’t nuthin nice

Clap Your Hands
The driest of drum beats, delicious!
Like um, ralph up to potsie, brooklyn to dodger
Laverne to shirley, rerun to roger
Ren to the stimpy, laurel to hardy
Q-tip and phifer, they mashed up the party

Oh My God
A simple sample from a track of a previous album by crazy Busta Rhymes. Highly enjoyable song with a lazy bass, nice!

Keep It Rollin’
Aiyyo swing swing swing, to chop chop chop
Yo that’s the sound when mc’s get mopped
Heheh.. Great rap lyrics by the Dawg again! Moody, jazz-moody groove on the track..

Chase, Pt. 2
Not really impressive, but sometimes it gets me in a fun mood!

Lyrics to Go
Strong, very strong track: crazy sample and beats programmed by Ali Shaheed Mohammed (DJ and soundman of ATCQ, went to set up the Lucy Pearl projects later on)
A tribe called quest we on the run for whatever
Trials and tribulations that we have to endeavor

God Lives Through
This track shows why I think Phife Dawg’s one of the best lyricist of the business, just love it!!!
Picture Phife losin a battle, come on, get off it
Put down the microphone son, surrender forfeit
Did I hear somethin bout a crew? what they wanna do?
You better call mister Babyface, so he can bring out the cool in you
Or it’ll be a sad love song being sung by Toni Braxton
And I’ll dissect you like a fraction

Conclusion
What I like about this band and this album is the incredible mix of great sounds and beats with funny, sharp and intelligent lyrics (thanks to the people at Lyred.com for the online lyrics).
This album still works for me and I remember it even worked for my Dutch ex-girlfriend, coz she listened to it and took me to see the band in Amsterdam, way back in the mid-nineties. That’s a crossover effect no band or music label dreamt of, I’m sure, or maybe she just was being nice, heheh..
The band grew out of its format later on with egos clashing and such, but for me A Tribe Called Quest remains one of the most important rap groups I took the time to listen to..

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