1988-89 are widely recognized as two of the greatest years in Hip Hop. Those years gave us Epmd and A Tribe Called Quest, two iconic groups. My man Dre was a die hard fan of the brother's from the Boondocks and I swore by Queens finest. Here are samples of their finest work IMO. Enjoy.
What f0llows was initially a response to a friend but I decided to share it:
Jay Dee didn't come in until the last two joints starting with Beats,Rhymes and Life. He was a co-producer hence the Ummah (he,Q-tip, and Ali collectively). I think they were most influential aside from maybe four or five other groups in Hip Hop, Tribe was definitely more influential than EPMD as far as style, sound and vibe. As far as better rappers I am torn. Because when you look back at it only one of the four mc's in both of these groups made the top 50. Q-tip # 25. Here is a short list of accolades related to the above mentioned Low End Theory: Among the accolades awarded to the album were:
5 Mic Album award from The Source (1990)
#2 in Ego Trip's Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980-98 (1999)
#53 in Blender's 100 Greatest American Albums of All time (2002)
#56 in Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Favorite Records of the 1990s (2003)
#154 in Rolling Stone's Best 500 Albums of All Time (2003)
Spin Magazine
#32 in Top 90 Albums of the 90s (1999)
#38 in Top 100 Albums of the Last 20 Years (2005)
#87 in 100 Alternative Albums (1995)
All around I think they were more diverse lyrically and conceptually. The production was better. This is one of those beatmaker v. producer discussions that will go into perpetuity. Just my thoughts.
You had mentioned the Hit Squad being better all around than the Native Tongues. Hit Squad(EPMD,Red,K-solo,Das EFX even Keith Murray) v. (Dela,Jungle Brothers,Black Sheep, Latifah,LONS and ATCQ) that's another debate.
3 comments:
EPMD vrs. Tribe...Odd but ok. Pound for pound EPMD had the better rappers but it's hard to overlook the fact that J Dilla provided the sound scape for the group and thus an entire generation of beat biters. So with that said I'd say...I still like EPMD better. J Dilla is the more important figure in HIP HOP! Phife Dog... *kanye shrug*
Tribe always reminded me of us, just some dudes who got together and kicked it while spittin' and vice versa. Phife though was just as lyrical as Erick Sermon. Check the tape. Also Tribe(Q-Tip) did all production for the first two albums. Album # 2 Low End Theory was Dre's sonic motivator for the Chronic. As I said in the Martin and Eddie you look at these groups and you can see why we gravitated toward them.
Jay Dee didn't come in until the last two joints starting with Beats,Rhymes and Life. He was a co-producer hence the Ummah (he,Q-tip, and Ali collectively). I also think that aside from maybe four or five other groups Tribe was definitely more influential than EPMD as style, sound and vibe. As far as better rappers I am torn. Because when you look back at it only one of the four mc's in both of these groups made the top 50. Q-tip # 25. Here is a short list of accolades related to the above mentioned Low End Theory: Among the accolades awarded to the album were:
5 Mic Album award from The Source (1990)
#2 in Ego Trip's Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980-98 (1999)
#53 in Blender's 100 Greatest American Albums of All time (2002)
#56 in Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Favorite Records of the 1990s (2003)
#154 in Rolling Stone's Best 500 Albums of All Time (2003)
Spin Magazine
#32 in Top 90 Albums of the 90s (1999)
#38 in Top 100 Albums of the Last 20 Years (2005)
#87 in 100 Alternative Albums (1995)
All around I think they were more diverse lyrically and conceptually. The production was better. This is one of those beatmaker v. producer discussions that will go into perpetuity. Just my thoughts.
You had mentioned the Hit Squad being better all around than the Native Tongues. Hit Squad(EPMD,Red,K-solo,Das EFX even Keith Murray) v. (Dela,Jungle Brothers,Black Sheep, Latifah,LONS and ATCQ) that's whole other debate.
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