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Track: The Pressure
Artist: A Tribe Called Quest
Album: Beats, Rhymes & Life

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A Tribe Called Quest Image

Name: A Tribe Called Quest
Spotify Genres: jazz rap, east coast hip hop, hip hop, old school hip hop
Followers: 2,387,151
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68/100

Biography

A Tribe Called Quest was a critically acclaimed rap group comprised initially of [a=Q-Tip] (b. Jonathan Davis ― later changed to Kamaal Ibn John Fareed in the mid-1990s upon conversion to Islam ― 10 April 1970, New York, USA), DJ [a=Ali Shaheed Muhammad] (b. 11 August 1970, Brooklyn, New York City, USA), [a=Jarobi] and [a=Phife Dawg] (b. Malik Taylor, 20 November 1970, Brooklyn, New York City, USA; d. 22 March 2016, USA). The group formed in high school in 1988 in Queens, New York City, NY, where they started as part of the Native Tongues Posse, with [a=Queen Latifah], [a=De La Soul], [a=Black Sheep], [a=Monie Love], and the [a=Jungle Brothers], and were given their name by [a=Afrika Baby Bambaataa] of the Jungle Brothers. Following their August 1989 debut, "Description Of A Fool," they had a hit with "Bonita Applebum" a year later, based on a classmate from their school. Their most significant success came the following year with the laid-back "Can I Kick It?" demonstrative of their refined jazz/hip-hop blend. This release earned the first ever "5-star" award from Source Magazine. Q-Tip also appeared on Deee-Lite's August 1990 hit, "Groove Is In The Heart." While their debut, "People's Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm," was more eclectic and even self-consciously jokey, "The Low-End Theory" (recorded as a trio following the departure of Jarobi) blended boom bap beats with carefully selected jazz, funk, and soul melodies. ATCQ was helped considerably by jazz bass player [a=Ron Carter] (who had worked with [a=Miles Davis] and [a=John Coltrane]). Tracks such as "The Infamous Date Rape" stoked controversy, while samples from [a=Lou Reed], [a=Stevie Wonder], and [a=Earth, Wind & Fire] were used frugally and intelligently. Q-Tip appeared in the 1993 movie "Poetic Justice" opposite [a=Janet Jackson]. ATCQ was awarded the "Group Of The Year" after the release of 1993's "Midnight Marauders" at the inaugural Source Magazine Hip Hop Award Show in 1994 before being moved off stage by the arrival of [a=2Pac] and his Thug Life crew, who were attempting to steal some publicity. It was later determined this was an accident on 2Pac's behalf. In 1996 "Beats, Rhymes And Life" debuted at number 1 on the Billboard album chart with highly evolved lyrics addressing issues with greater clarity than their past recordings. "The Love Movement," which debuted at US number 3 in October 1998, was another mature, stylish collection of material. However, it lacked the spark of their earlier works. ATCQ released "We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service" on November 4, 2016, nearly 18 years after "The Love Movement" album. While recording verses for the album and his solo album, Phife Dawg passed away on March 22, 2016. During its first month of release, "We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service" was greeted with critical acclaim and fan support. The group has been awarded the Founders Award at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards and was honored at the 4th VH1 Hip-Hop Honors. In 2017, the group was awarded the Brit Award for International Group. In 2024, the group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

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Release: A Tribe Called Quest - Beats, Rhymes And Life
Year: 1996
Genres: Hip Hop
Styles: Conscious

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Source: MusicBrainz

LYRICS

In this American metropolis filled with MC's
A Tribe Called Quest came to drop jewels wit' ease
Plus make you party, we do this music thing for everybody
Black, White, Latino and Asian, we cold raisin'
The stakes of hip-hop to a new plateau
To bridge gaps in generations for future plantations
A god-fearin' folk cos we all from the yolk
Of one breed, one seed, to good goals we proceed
Nowadays I strive to be a very good influence
Even though not too long ago I was a truant
Now I'm droppin' it on this and many broad topics
From man's obsession with money to holy prophets
Like Mohammed, yo, you know the scene is so freaky
Enemies they denounce me and my own try to sweep me
Now I got hip-hop acts posin' like fat cats
Lex and a Rolex, Moet and a top hat
But what about your contract, slick? Is you proper?
It's time we turned the tables of this hip-hop fable
I be strivin yo', tryna bang these joints out my skillet
And fulfil it, think about these kids, we can't kill it


Now every dog has his day, but eff that, it's my year
All you gat pullin' MC's could never come near
All that bogus type chatter, please put it to rest
It's the Phifer from Quest leavin' venues a mess
So I even start to (Rap) when you know you have no (Haps)
Wit' your simpleton (Lyrics), your light-hearted (Act)
Step back, me no have no time for dat
I'm blowin' up the spot for all you ras clot idi-ots
In a world where you have like a zillion MC's
Ninety percent of all you suckers have filthy LPs
Bitch this, trick that, come on, act like you know
I be that up north MC who never chose to play the down-low
(His name is Phife Dawg) I label myself as The Boss (True dat)
Same height as Little Vicious, yet I'm shorter than Kriss Kross
Queens representation, son, you know how we do
While Light' and Sha, they represent BK to the fullest
I be the sidekick to The Abstract, so get ready for combat
Yo, what about about them biters? Errr! Me not like that
My motto is to wreck shop, I do it on the non-stop
Come on party people, you must give me my props
Cos y'all know good and damn well that the style has been mastered
So head for the border you peasy-haired bastards
Before I start to put it on ya, come on now, must I warn ya?
Queens is in the house so all MC's go hold their corner


We feelin' pressures in here
You know we feelin' pressures
Feelin' pressures in here
You know we feelin' pressures
We gotta stand clear
Jus' gotta stand clear
Gotta gotta stand clear of the pressure
The what?