The Low End Theory

Infobox Album
Name = The Low End Theory
Type = studio
Artist = A Tribe Called Quest


Released = September 24, 1991
Recorded = 1991; Battery Studios
Greene Street Studios
Soudtrack Studios
(New York, New York)
Genre = Alternative hip hop, jazz rap
Length = 48:03
Label = Jive
Producer = A Tribe Called Quest, Skeff Anselm
Reviews = *Allmusic rating|5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:5v811vgjzzpa~T1 link]
*BBC (favorable) [http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/w9rg/ 9/28/07]
*Robert Christgau rating-Christgau|hm3 [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=A+Tribe+Called+Quest link]
*The Daily Vault (A) [http://www.dailyvault.com/toc.php5?review=3492 5/22/99]
*"Entertainment Weekly" (B) [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,316403,00.html 12/06/91]
*PopMatters (favorable) [http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/t/tribecalledquest-low.shtml 7/08/03]
*RapReviews (10/10) [http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/BTTL_lowendtheory.html 4/01/03]
*"Rolling Stone" (favorable) [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6599002/154_the_low_end_theory link]
*The Source rating|5|5 [http://www.listsofbests.com/list/12875/compare/teenagelobotomy link]
*Warr.org Rating|4|5 [http://www.warr.org/tribe.html#TLET link]
Last album = "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm"
(1990)
This album = "The Low End Theory"
(1991)
Next album = "Midnight Marauders"
(1993)

"The Low End Theory" is the second album by A Tribe Called Quest, released on September 24, 1991 through Jive Records. With the pairing of Q-Tip and Phife Dawg's lyrics, at turns socially charged, abstract and concretely grounded in reality, with groovy jazz samples, the album includes guests Brand Nubian, Diamond D and Leaders of the New School, the original rap group of Busta Rhymes.

Overview

The beats are widely different from the-then about-to-explode G funk sound being pioneered on the West Coast, and shares more of an influence with East Coast artists. With dominant basslines and sampled jazz horn solos, "The Low End Theory" has a distinctive sound that met the high expectations after their critically acclaimed debut "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm". "The Low End Theory" includes instrumental work from several pioneering musicians, including upright bassist Ron Carter ("Verses from the Abstract")."The Low End Theory" ranked #154 in "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", #32 in "Spin" magazine's "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s", and was the album of the year for "Spex" magazine (also #10 on the "100 Albums of the Century"). [http://hem.bredband.net/b135745/A830.htm more awards] It also made it onto the unordered "100 Best Hip-Hop Albums of All Time" by "The Source", the "100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century" by "Vibe" magazine, and "Essential Recordings of the 90s" by "Rolling Stone".

"The Low End Theory" became a watershed album in the history of hip hop music. The album established alternative hip hop as a definable genre, distinguished by aware, often abstract or political lyrics, and a light-hearted sense of humor, along with jazz and other unusual sampling sources. "The Low End Theory" transformed alternative hip hop, leading the way from the jazzy pioneers like De La Soul towards future artists like Common and The Roots. The song "Scenario" helped break future hip hop star Busta Rhymes into the mainstream, partially as a result of its popular music video on MTV. Some sources, such as Angus Crawford of mvremix.com, say that "Scenario" is the best posse cut ever. [ [http://www.mvremix.com/urban/showcase/content/best_posse.shtml MVRemix Articles and Features | The Best Posse Cuts of All Time | US and Canadian Underground Hip Hop - exclusive interviews, reviews, articles ] ]
Phife Dawg, who fans thought of as adequate but nothing special on the first album, greatly improved his style on this album. This amazing turn-around is highly respected in hip hop circles. Songs like "Buggin' out" and "Butter" showcased Phife's new confidence.

Topics include the music industry's exploitation of musicians ("Rap Promoter", "Show Business"), music ("Excursions"), date rape ("The Infamous Date Rape"), violence in hip hop ("Vibes and Stuff") and the beauty of jazz ("Jazz (We've Got)").

It was certified platinum by RIAA on February 1, 1995. [http://www.riaa.com/gp/database/default.asp]

In 2006, the album was chosen by "Time" magazine as one of the 100 best albums of all time. [ [http://www.time.com/time/2006/100albums/index.html The All-TIME 100 Albums ] ]

Track listing

All tracks produced by A Tribe Called Quest unless noted.

ingles

"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Accolades

*An asterisk (*) designates lists which are unordered.

Personnel

Main group members
*Jonathan (Kamaal Ibn John Fareed) "Q-Tip" Davis – producer, vocals
*Malik "Phife Dawg" Taylor – vocals
*Ali Shaheed Muhammad – arranger, producer, mixing DJ
*Jarobi White

Other musicians
*Charlie Brown, Lorenzo "Lord Jamar" Dechalus, Dinco D., Joseph "Diamond D" Kirkland, Vinia Mojica, Derek "Sadat X" Murphy, Trevor Tahiem "Busta Rhymes" Smith, Jr. – vocals
*Ron Carter – bass
*Pete Rock – producer (uncredited) [ [http://peterock.tribe.net/thread/032f66d2-a223-400c-a902-fe166be14676 Wax Poetic interview - Pete Rock - tribe.net ] ]

Technical contributors
*Skeff Anselm – producer
*Pete Christensen, Eric Gast, Rod Hui, Gerard Julien, Jim Kvoriac, Tim Latham, Anthony Saunders, Christopher Shaw, Marc Singleton, Jamey Staub, Dan Wood – engineers
*Tom Coyne – mastering
*Joe Grant – photography
*Bob Power – engineer, mixing
*Zombart JK – design

References