Customer Reviews

People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Quite possibly the finest album in hip hop history. When Tribe came onto the scene in the late 80's, no one in hip hop were the using the type of beats they employed. By mixing jazz and smooth R & B, they created a totally original and innovative sound that still sounds fresh ten years later. Q-Tip is the best MC in the business and has a voice as sweet as honey. He and Phife mesh perfectly together. There is not a bad song on the album and standouts include "Push It Along", "Luck Of Lucien" & "Can I Kick It?". Tribe preach a message of positivity and pride in yourself and your culture. This album was a breath of fresh air amid all the negative vibes and anger that was coming from the hip hop community at the time. This album has stood the test of time and nothing that has come along in hip hop has yet to match it. This is not only a hip hop masterpiece, but a musical masterpiece and it can be compared with the greats of any genre.

Do you remember when a little crew called the Native Tongues stepped onto the hip-hop scene? Sure you do. Do you remember the last group to drop a debut LP? Yep, it was A Tribe Called Quest. Did this LP change the face of hip-hop? Yes. Did this LP get the recognition it deserved? Nope. Does this LP have both strong lyrics and beats? Of course. Does this album have any hits? Yes, there's "Bonita Applebum", "Can I Kick It?", "Footprints", "Push It Along", "Description Of A Fool", etc. Are there any filler tracks? Not one. Is this album just as good as The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders? Damn right. When should you get this album? RIGHT NOW!

One of the best albums of 1990, "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm" is the Tribe's most under-appreciated and over-shadowed album to date. When you think of classic ATCQ, you think "Low End Theory" and "Midnight Marauders", but what about the debut that got them started? Although the classics like "bonita applebum" and "can I kick it" are still getting recognition 16 years later, the other tracks on the album are pretty much left in the dark to be slept on & ignored. For me, this album is equal in brilliance to "Low End Theory" and "Midnight Marauders", and considering this is 1990, it is as fresh as anything they have ever done! Ali Shaheed Muhammad comes 100% correct for their debut, producing straight classics ensuring a strong foundation for Q Tip & Phife Dawg to work with. Yes, and you can bet that both MC's hit you with the non-stop hypnotizing, conscious & creative lyrics throughout. Personally, the only track that does not have as much replay value as the rest is "Ham & Eggs", but then again the concept of this song isn't meant to be dead serious so it's down to taste. Now, if you are a fan of the tribe/early 90's hiphop/Jazzy & Conscious Hiphop then this is for you. Cop this asap! You NEED it. PEACE!

>>>BEST TRACKS, in my opinion, are; Push it along (Pure excellence), Luck of Lucien, Footprints, Can I Kick It & Youthful expression<<<

Lyrics - 10/10
Beats - 10/10
Originality - 9.5/10
Replay Value - 9/10

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This CD is the first of the classic material put out by TRIBE . I must have single-handedly put at least every hip-hop fan I knew up on this cd in 90 . This group set the baseline for putting out good quality music . A tribe called quest " Best hip-hop group of all-time ".

This album is easily on the top 50 list of best rap albums of all time. The best thing about that is that it's not even Tribe's best album. The only better debut in hip-hop history is De La Soul's "3 Feet High and Rising".

The intro to the first track, "Push It Along", immediately lets the listener know that this is not your average rap album. It's also not your average Tribe album. This is the only record that has Tribe as a whole. Jarobi's interludes are the only evidence that A Tribe Called Quest actually has (had) four members. The interludes also add an extra and unique quality to the album. They make it seem to be somewhat of a "concept album".

Overall, the reason this album is so good is Q-Tip. He shines on every song. His flow is fantastic and his voice is at its most innocent. This album is also the best example of his and Tribe's good-naturedness and playfulness. From "Luck of Lucien" to "Ham and Eggs", the flat-out bizarre style of story-telling is a welcome addition to the hip-hop community.

Phife's contribution to this album is a lot smaller than it is on future releases, but, in a way, makes his parts better. "Can I Kick It" in particular shows how well he compliments the crew. The back-and-forth flow between him and Q-Tip on "Ham and Eggs" is also a good example of this.

Also a key feature to this album is Ali's scratching technique. Although some of his later productions are better, these are pretty damn good, and the inclusion of his scratching makes them better.

Included on this disc are two bonus tracks that are every bit as worthy of bein on this album as any of the other ones on it. "Go Ahead In the Rain" is one of Tip's best solos, and "Description of a Fool" shows off Ali's ability of combining several different samples to create a really great song.

Bottom line: This is a turning point in rap's history. If you don't already own this album, buy it now!

This album is a definetly a timeless classic. Even up to this day I pump it in my stereo! They don't make rap music like that anymore. 'TRIBE' possessed a talent and an ability that very few rap artists have.Today, hip-hop can sometimes sound monotonous, but on this album 'instintive tavels' they showed the world that it's alright to be different;it's alright to'be off the beaten path'. When you listen to songs like 'FOOTPRINTS' and 'DESCRIPTION OF A FOOL' you can hear that they were educating the urban youths of that time (especially black youths as I was at the time) to love and stick by each other;to be proud; not to be engrossed in violence toward each other like so many of young black people today are in. This album is not just for black youths, it's for anyone who loves pure, unadulterated hip-hop, with a twist. That 'twist' is something that can't be explained, it's something they've mastered. Something they've unknowingly mastered.It's a talent they were born with. This album has an innocence and humor such as on the track 'BONITA APPLEBUM'in which the artist Q-TIP rhymes about escapades with the female persuasion, and yet there are songs like 'PUBLIC ENEMY'that put us back in check. And who can forget the classic 'Can I kick it.' I miss these guys! The group is not together anymore, but they are immortal through this album they left us and four others that are great as well. Thanx Q-tip, Phife, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and Jarobi, for broadening our conciousness, giving us a fly beats and lyrics with substance and meaning!

Don't believe the hype of the latecomers. This is A Tribe Called Quest's best album. Everyone talks about "The Low End Theory" being their best, and yes, it is a great album, but no way quite as innovative and earth shatteringly new as this one. The production on Travels is even more remarkable when you realize it is really the first album to touch upon jazz and seventies soul as the foundation of the groove. It has only an occassional nod to the stereotype of mixing hip hop with funk samples.

It is also their best album because there isn't a dud song on it. The next two albums by them have numerous duds and filler tracks, not this one. It sits so well as an album that its almost foolish to recommend individual songs. Put this album in for some lovemaking...yessuh! This is the album that convinced me that hip hop was a real art. And is easily one of the best hip hop albums of all time.

A Tribe Called Quest's (Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Phife Dawg) debut album "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (1990) is an outstanding release. Q-Tip and Phife deliver intelligent rhymes, while Ali Shaheed Muhammad provides impressive production. The albums opener is the seven-minute "Push It Along" a track where the Tribe MC's deliver memorable and insightful rhymes backed a solid production (feeling the Jazz Guitar). "Luck of Lucien" flows through well, then Tribe shines again on "After Hours", love the scratching and lyrics to this cut. The smooth "Footprints" and dope "I Left My Wallet In El Segundo" follow. The laidback "Bonita Applebum" is a beautiful track, which has the Tribe talking to the ladies. "Can I Kick It" is a distinctive Hip Hop anthem in itself and Tribe keeps it moving on "Rhythm (Devoted To The Art Of Moving Butts)". The tracks that follow are all unique in their own way. When people talk about Tribe they often mention their classics "The Low End Theory" and "Midnight Marauders", they sometimes forget about the dope album that preceeded those two releases, "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm" is an album to have in the collection.

Late spring of '90, I was stationed in Panama and keeping up with the latest hip-hop was challenging down there. Luckily, select members of my unit deployed to Florida to assist some Army Reservists in a training event, and I was one of them. After a couple days there, I was walking around in our billeting area and I noticed this tape on a fellow Soldiers' cot with this unusually catchy cover. I picked it up and was like "Who in the hell is Tribe Called Quest?" The guy whose tape it was just said "listen to it". I put that tape in my Walkman (LOL!) and haven't been the same since. Listening to that tape of 'People's Instinctive Travels.." was like a cave man discovering fire during the ice age - He knew he was missing SOMETHING but didn't know what that SOMETHING was until it manifested. I immediately went out and bought the tape and in the words of Notorius BIG, "I let me tape rock till my tape popped!" Then went out and bought another one.
Well now I have this gem in CD and mp3 format so I don't have to worry about that anymore. Skip the comparisons to '3 Feet High', 'Low End', and 'Midnight'. 'People's Instinctive' was the elevation and natural forward progression of '3 Feet High' and I'm sure the Native Tongues don't see it as anything else. It laid the groundwork for 'Low End' and 'Midnight' - bottomline is they wouldn't be the classics they are without it. As a guy who has been following hip-hop continuously since 1977 I say to all true lovers of the genre not familar with Tribe Called Quest and to all hip-hop newcomers get this CD and experience the real essence of the urban innovation called hip-hop. Then get their next 2 CDs. You will not be disappointed because of all the groups over the years, no one captured that essence in its pure form better than A Tribe Called Quest.

Ok, all you young thugs cranking the same "holla" raps need to listen up. I used to love Hip Hop. Then it got played out, thug heavy, uncreative and plutocracized (look it up bitches)by P-Ditty and Wu-Family schlock. Nothing can compare to Tribe Called Quest at their peak. This album was the pinnacle of stylistic raps, groovy rhythms and a track lineage that works as a full album.
They dont make them like this anymore.