{"id":1764,"date":"2018-12-07T19:54:59","date_gmt":"2018-12-07T19:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/parsons\/?p=1764"},"modified":"2018-12-07T19:54:59","modified_gmt":"2018-12-07T19:54:59","slug":"arachnophonia-mus-235-edition-a-tribe-called-quest-the-low-end-theory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/parsons\/2018\/12\/arachnophonia-mus-235-edition-a-tribe-called-quest-the-low-end-theory\/","title":{"rendered":"Arachnophonia – MUS 235 Edition: A Tribe Called Quest “The Low End Theory”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note:<\/strong> Arachnophonia<\/a> is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library<\/a>\u2018s collection.<\/p>\n

This special edition of Arachnophonia<\/a> features contributions from students in Dr. Joanna Love<\/a>\u2018s MUS 235 class: \u201cI Want My MTV: Music Video and the Transformation of the Music Industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question<\/a> or to additional relevant<\/a> information from<\/a> around the web<\/a>.
\nToday\u2019s installment of Arachnophonia<\/a> is by MUS 235 student Ryan and features the 1991 album The Low End Theory<\/em> by hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest<\/a>. Thanks, Ryan!<\/em> <\/p>\n

A Tribe Called Quest<\/a><\/p>\n

The Low End Theory<\/a><\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n

\"A

The cover of The Low End Theory (1991), the second album from A Tribe Called Quest<\/p><\/div>\n

In this post, I will be analyzing The Low End Theory<\/a><\/em> (Album, CD) by A Tribe Called Quest as an academic source. The Low End Theory<\/a><\/em> was the second album released by ATCQ, through Jive Records and Zomba Recording company on September 24th, 1991, and is frequently listed as one of the greatest Hip Hop albums of all time by critics. Considering that Hip Hop was still relatively young at the time, the album was fairly commercially successful. It peaked at number 45 on the U.S. Billboard charts and was certified gold within four months and platinum three years later. Much more important than its commercial success and its critical acclaim however, was its influence on the future direction of Hip Hop. Because of ATCQ\u2019s heavy use of jazz sampling and their playful and funny yet socially conscious lyricism, The Low End Theory<\/a><\/em> is an essential source for researchers examining the relationship between Jazz and Hip Hop and the rise of the popular subgenre of Conscious Rap<\/a> today, including the music of Kendrick Lamar<\/a> and J Cole<\/a>. <\/p>\n

A Tribe Called Quest was a self-proclaimed \u201cHip Hop Band\u201d consisting of members Q-Tip<\/a>, Phife Dawg<\/a>, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A

An image from the inside of the booklet in The Low End Theory CD featuring the group members. Q-Tip is on the left, Ali Shaheed Muhammad is on the right, and Phife Dawg is front and center<\/p><\/div>\n

The fourth member, Jarobi White<\/a>, left the group after their first album<\/a>, so he was not included on this album, but returned to contribute to the groups final album, We Got It From Here\u2026 Thank You 4 Your Service<\/a><\/em>, after Phife Dawg passed away in 2016. On The Low End Theory<\/a><\/em>, Ali Shaheed Muhammad was a DJ\/producer, Phife Dawg was an MC, and Q-Tip was both a producer and MC. Their sophomore album, which consists of 14 tracks and is 48 minutes in length, gets its name from both the bass, or low-end, focused instrumentals and is also a clever reference to their lowered status as black men in America. Alongside the album, ATCQ also released a music video for the track \u201cScenario<\/a>\u201d and another combined video, which I will be analyzing in my final research paper for this class, for \u201cJazz (We\u2019ve Got)\u201d and \u201cBuggin\u2019 Out.\u201d <\/p>\n