Movie Review: Beats, Rhymes & Life

In the early 1990s a new wave of rap seemed to emerge just as I entered college.  Groups like Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers and De La Soul produced hip-hop that was intelligent while fun and some what cheeky.  The samples and music tracks referenced broad sources - jazz, soul, even Lou Reed to create a unique sonic landscape for the quick-witted rhymes.  Tribe Called Quest was at the epicenter of this movement.  They opened up a whole new genre to me, a suburban white kid.  

In the documentary, Beat, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, we revisit the group and the community they created.  Really, the movie tells the story of two boys from Linden Boulevard, Jamaica, Queens - how they grew up together.  Q-Tip and Fife Dawg formed their friendship as children.  Their different personalities created a relationship in which they learned from each other and fostered each other's strengths.  This energy fed the foundations of Tribe Called Quest and larger community they became involved with.  

As music documentaries go, of course there was strife.  There would be no movie without drama and strife.  Fife Dawg dealt with diabetes and a serious addiction to sugar.  In the landscape of rockumentaries, it may sound funny to hear about a fruit punch addiction when we're used to tales of heroine.  But Fife's illness led to major touring issues, dialysis and eventually a kidney transplant.  And along with the fame, of course comes the divergence of opinions and interests.  As the key relationship holding the group together fell apart, so did the group.  

The most enjoyable parts of the film are those when the members talk about their passions - the samples, the rhymes, the beats.  Each person speaks with passion about the discoveries and lessons learned.  Truly, Tribe Called Quest was a band of brothers (with all the normal sibling rivalry) and it's about time they receive the credit they deserve.