Summary
For a band documentary, there is precious little music in "Beats Rhymes and Life," the film about pioneering hip-hop act A Tribe Called Quest. Directed by actor and avowed ATCQ fan Michael Rapaport, the film shuttles between a history of the band, appreciation of its music and an exploration of the tensions between co-founders and childhood friends Q-Tip (born Jonathan Davis) and Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor) as they navigate the group's reunion tour.
The most interesting parts of "Beats Rhymes & Life" focus on the founding of the band, its early history and impact. Q-Tip and Phife grew up together in Queens, N.Y., in the 1980s, and came of age as the nearby hip-hop act Run-D.M.C. were breaking as a nationwide sensation. The group they founded, along with DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White (who left the band), broke new ground in hip-hop, unifying the genre with jazz and soul through the use of samples and innovative beats.See the full content of this document
Extract
Hip-Hop 'Feud' Gets Bad Rap in Documentary
More than that, the rappers pioneered a brand of hip-hop that contrasted starkly with the gangster style that was ga...
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