Just came from a screening and q&a with the director, Michael Rapaport’s “Beats Rhymes and LIfe: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest.”
If you’re a hip hop head, having grown up in the 90′s listening to the likes of Tribe, De La, Jungle Bros., then this is a a film for you. As much as the film documents the origins of one of the most influential hip hop groups ever, their rise, inter personal issues, and eventual break up… this film is much bigger than them. It’s really an ode to an era of hip hop, and tells the story of innocence and growth beyond where anybody ever expected it to go. Tribe is merely a vehicle in my opinion here.
There are the expected cliched stories of egos (or perceived) run amuck, but the purity of the Native Tongues movement still comes through. Rapaport does a great job of sticking to the script so to speak, of telling the story he, and I think a lot of people want to see. A straight forward and sober portrait of a group that was instrumental in not only elevating a genre, but I’d argue, preceded and paved the way for the likes of Black Eyed Peas to make fun party jams that all races could get down together on. The interesting thing is that ATCQ was really afrocentric in their whole persona, and at the same time, all about peace and love. They don’t get enough props for that.
Big up, go see the film, big up to Michael Rapaport for clearly pouring his heart into a small doc that is an important piece of history… Now as Rapaport said in the Q&A, who’s going to do the WU doc? “It would take like 7 directors and they’d all lose their minds.”
LETS DO IT!
Beats Rhymes and Life: ATCQ Doc
Just came from a screening and q&a with the director, Michael Rapaport’s “Beats Rhymes and LIfe: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest.”
If you’re a hip hop head, having grown up in the 90′s listening to the likes of Tribe, De La, Jungle Bros., then this is a a film for you. As much as the film documents the origins of one of the most influential hip hop groups ever, their rise, inter personal issues, and eventual break up… this film is much bigger than them. It’s really an ode to an era of hip hop, and tells the story of innocence and growth beyond where anybody ever expected it to go. Tribe is merely a vehicle in my opinion here.
There are the expected cliched stories of egos (or perceived) run amuck, but the purity of the Native Tongues movement still comes through. Rapaport does a great job of sticking to the script so to speak, of telling the story he, and I think a lot of people want to see. A straight forward and sober portrait of a group that was instrumental in not only elevating a genre, but I’d argue, preceded and paved the way for the likes of Black Eyed Peas to make fun party jams that all races could get down together on. The interesting thing is that ATCQ was really afrocentric in their whole persona, and at the same time, all about peace and love. They don’t get enough props for that.
Big up, go see the film, big up to Michael Rapaport for clearly pouring his heart into a small doc that is an important piece of history… Now as Rapaport said in the Q&A, who’s going to do the WU doc? “It would take like 7 directors and they’d all lose their minds.”
LETS DO IT!