Music Review

Beats, Rhymes and Life

Phife Dawg, A Tribe Called Quest
Reviewed by Cheo Tyehimba | Aug 09, 1996
EW's GRADE
A

Details Lead Performances: Phife Dawg and A Tribe Called Quest; Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap

The fourth CD by these lyrically abstract, battle-ready MCs already has heads buzzing about the return of playful yet potent hip-hop. This time, A Tribe Called Quest tackles everything from O.J. to spirituality with trademark originality. Cuts like ''Stressed Out'' (with R&B lovely Faith Evans cooing between the crew's vernacular) and the ebullient ''The Hop'' surpass expectation. Can they still kick it? Beats, Rhymes and Life proves that yes, they can. A

Originally posted Aug 09, 1996 Published in issue #339 Aug 09, 1996 Order article reprints

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