Max Comments On Selections From Billboard's Hot 100 Chart (Week Ending October 31, 2009)

That picture has nothing to do with Billboard or billboards, but it makes sense to me.

Over the past few months, I received more than one request to bring back my commentary on the Billboard charts, which showcase what songs are hot at the moment. (Okay, so I received one such request.) I realize that reviewing such a list is fleeting at best, since all Billboard truly measures is the idea of temporary popularity, which is why most songs drop off of the chart after about roughly two months, and anything that particular periodical writes about tends to be entirely irrelevant in about half that time, but in case you haven't noticed, Hip Hop Isn't Dead tends to traffic in lists, and besides, I figured this would at least be slightly entertaining.

Actually reviewing all one hundred songs on the chart would take up too much of my valuable time, and I haven't actually heard of most of these tracks regardless, since I try not to listen to the radio very often, but depending on the response to this post, I may consider sitting down to discuss it in its entirety in the future.

Anyway.

94. "MONEY TO BLOW" - BIRDMAN FEAT. LIL' WAYNE & DRAKE
This was originally a Drake song, but apparently Baby (which is one of the wackest rap names ever - it makes 'Birdman' sound damn near civilized) felt that he could only add positive ideas to the overall concept of the song, which is about, from what I understand, having money to blow. (I wasn't aware that Degrassi: The Next Generation paid that well, Aubrey.) As weird as this sounds coming from me, all three men have released better songs. (I'm almost embarrassed to write this, but I don't hate "Always Strapped", by Birdman and Wayne. It's okay, you can make fun of me in the comments if you want: there's something about that beat that makes driving pretty fucking dramatic.)

91. "I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS" - MARIAH CAREY
It's not her first cover, but it's strange that Mrs. Nick Cannon has fallen this far. Oh wait, no it isn't: I just referred to her as Mrs. Nick Cannon. Without even really trying, Marshall Mathers has won this battle. There is no need for this song to exist when Foreigner is still touring as a band.

90. "WHEELS" - FOO FIGHTERS
It's hard for me to believe that these are the same guys who brought us the masterful "Everlong". This actually sounds like Dave Grohl wrote this shit for Nickelback and decided at the last minute to keep the shit to himself. Kurt Cobain must be spinning in his grave.

89. "YOU'RE A JERK" - NEW BOYZ
Well, fuck you, too.

88. "KINGS AND QUEENS" - 30 SECONDS TO MARS
Every time I see Jared Leto performing, my mind hearkens back to Jordan Catalano on My So-Called Life (which I still believe is one of the most overrated shows in the history of television). He couldn't even fucking read! Even James Franco's character from Freaks and Geeks (a far superior show) wasn't this fucking stupid. And Angela Chase apparently equated illiteracy with depth, when we all know that, even if they did end up together, there would be no way in the real world (beyond high school, if he ever graduated) that he would ever be able to support her financially. But I digress: I like one of this band's songs. Just not this one.

75. "NUMBER ONE" - R. KELLY FEAT. KERI HILSON
"Number One"? Really? Now Kells is just making fun of that underage chick that he pissed on in that video. Which is in incredibly poor taste, but that's still not as bad as the fact that he pissed on an underage chick, caught it on video, and still wasn't found guilty. What the fuck, America?

74. "I'M GOING IN" - DRAKE FEAT. LIL' WAYNE & YOUNG JEEZY
I believe this appears on the EP release for So Far Gone and not the free mixtape that Aubrey unleashed a year of two ago. Weezy's borderline crying on the hook, which consists of, literally, "I'm going in! / And I'mma go hard!". No wonder pop culture constantly questions the sexuality of every single rapper in existence. The beat is okay, though.

69. "LOL :-)" - TREY SONGZ FEAT. GUCCI MANE & SOULJA BOY TELL'EM
One of the most retarded R&B songs I have ever had the displeasure of listening to. And I seem to have missed the memo that named Gucci Mane as the most popular rapper of 2009. When the fuck did that shit happen? Has anybody ever actually listened to a Gucci Mane song? Shit like this makes me want to give up on music. I realize that this is just a 2009 update to the concept of a song about a booty call, but that doesn't mean it insults the audience any less.

62. "BODY LANGUAGE" - JESSE MCCARTNEY FEAT. T-PAIN
Proof positive that Thelonius Pain has seeped into the public consciousness. Well, it's this,"I'm On A Boat", and his iPhone app.

59. "HEY, SOUL SISTER" - TRAIN
Train is still recording music? Hey, good for them.

58. "SMILE" - UNCLE KRACKER
Uncle Kracker is still recording music? Hey, what the hell? How the fuck does this guy still have fans? What the fuck, America?

54. "I'M ALIVE" - KENNY CHESNEY FEAT. DAVE MATTHEWS
I can think of one very important reason why I will never want to listen to this song, even if I was a fan of the former Mr. Renee Zellweger.

52. "ONE LESS LONELY GIRL" - JUSTIN BIEBER
I caught the video for this on MTV earlier this week (you see, if you're up much earlier than you should be, you're rewarded with actual music videos on what is supposed to be Music Television), and I thought this guy was the kid who plays Shane Botwin on Weeds. True fact. Still not convinced that I'm wrong.

45. "I KNOW YOU WANT ME (CALLE OCHO)" - PITBULL
I will say that I can only appreciate how Pitbull creates music that is only designed to get the girls on the dance floor. All of his beats seem to have been ripped off from older European rave anthems, but I give him a pass, as his songs don't generally suck.

36. "SUCCESSFUL" - DRAKE FEAT. TREY SONGZ & LIL' WAYNE
It would appear that Drake is physically incapable of appearing on a song if his Young Money boss, Lil' Weezy, isn't by his side. Considering the fact that his "Best I Ever Had" is also on this list (I just chose to gloss over it, as I am kind of sick of that shit), I realize this isn't true, but young Aubrey really needs to find a better collaborator. I do like this song, though: the beat is atypically haunting for what you would believe to be a motivational tool, and the fact that it totally isn't one makes it even better. Trey Songz almost redeems himself in my eyes with his hook, but then he jumps back down the shitter with his version of the song, on which he performs his own verse that sets popular music back at least one thousand years. The way Drake pronounces the word "progress" also makes me giggle for no good reason.

32. "SHE WOLF" - SHAKIRA
I like Shakira (for the obvious reasons...what, some of her songs, especially the Spanish ones, are really good: what did you think I was talking about?), but this song is fucking ridiculous. The video is even goofier: her "dancing" (the quotation marks are intentional) is half sexy and half interpretative, and neither style works for her. And yet, strangely, just like most of the woman's catalog, even this track sounds better in her native language. Funny, that.

29. "HOTEL ROOM SERVICE" - PITBULL
Has anybody ever paid attention to how graphic Pitbull's lyrics get on this radio-friendly trifle? And yet, he gets the key to the city of Miami. You know, Trina hasn't ever received any kind of award from her home state. Neither has Luther Campbell.

27. "I CAN TRANSFORM YA" - CHRIS BROWN FEAT. LIL' WAYNE & SWIZZ BEATS
Since this is a brand new song, I feel it's pretty obvious that Wayne and Swizzy both hate Rihanna and have placed their trust in Chris Brown's woman-beating hands. And yet, Shawn Carter will continue to work with both of the guests. Hey, musicians continued to work with Ike Turner, too.

20. "ALREADY GONE" - KELLY CLARKSON
This is the song that Kelly Clarkson didn't want her label to release, since it sounds just like Beyonce's "Halo". And you know what? She was exactly fucking right.

18. "BREAK UP" - MARIO FEAT. GUCCI MANE & SEAN GARRETT
So this is what passes for R&B these days? Ripping off Lil' Wayne's "A Milli" staccato and throwing rap's apparent go-to guy, Gucci Mane, on it for a half-assed verse? I realize I sound like an old, embittered man by writing this, but how is this music? (And yes, I realize that argument could be levied at most of the stuff that I actually review.)

16. "OBSESSED" - MARIAH CAREY FEAT. GUCCI MANE
I posed this question on Twitter, but I'll repeat it for the folks at home: why the fuck is Mariah singing through Auto-Tune on here? She has an actual good singing voice. That fact hasn't actually mattered ever since she divorced Tommy Motolla, though, "We Belong Together" notwithstanding. And after seeing the video, Eminem must be rolling in his grave.

15. "FOREVER" - DRAKE FEAT. KANYE WEST, LIL' WAYNE, & EMINEM
Other than the expected Lil' Wayne cameo (which only furthers my argument - seriously, Drake should maybe leave his house and meet some new people), this is easily the most bizarre posse cut of 2009. And while the most exciting aspect of this track is seeing Slaughterhouse posted up behind Marshall while he performs his verse in the video clip (while I believe signing the machine to Interscope (only a rumor at this stage) would be a mistake, how fucking cool would it be to hear Royce and Em rhyming together again?), this is actually not bad. Oddly, the weak link on here is Mr. West, but even he sounds pretty good.

13. "USE SOMEBODY" - KINDS OF LEON
This song is played entirely too often on the radio. Which is good for Kings of Leon (it helps them make tons of money in royalties), but bad for the rest of the general population.

12. "EMPIRE STATE OF MIND" - JAY-Z FEAT. ALICIA KEYS
I officially withdraw the statement I made during my Gut Reaction post on The Blueprint 3: Alicia Keys does, in fact, make this song. I had changed my mind after hearing her sing her ass of at the MTV Video Music Awards, while Hova sounded hoarse and Lil' Mama was debating just when, exactly, she should interrupt the performance, Kanye-style.

11. "SWEET DREAMS" - BEYONCE
This sounds like the aural equivalent of a Jackson Pollack painting. A technique which doesn't translate well in the world of music, mind you. In other words, this is a motherfucking mess. It's funny how all of Bey's solo songs (save for "Halo", which is now stuck in my head, making me realize that it isn't all bad) have gone downhill in quality ever since Dangerously In Love dropped. Some call it "artistic growth": I see it as a singer who has no concept of what actually sounds good anymore.

10. "YOU BELONG WITH ME" - TAYLOR SWIFT
As far as I'm concerned, Kanye West did young Taylor a favor: thanks to his drunken antics, she became the first artist to ever receive a second chance to deliver an acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards, and her song now receives even more spins on the radio than it did before. And it was played a fucking lot. I found it hilarious that the media tried to take 'Ye to task for his actions, but the hip hop world had little to no comment: that was because nobody gave a fuck. This is just what Kanye West does. He's done it his entire career. It won't stop anybody from buying the man's next album.

8. "I GOTTA FEELING" - THE BLACK EYED PEAS
These jackasses hold both the number eight and nine slots on the chart ("Meet Me Halfway" is the other song, and even their insipid "Boom Boom Pow" occupies a space in the top fifty). I just hope that these assholes are saving all of the money they've earned for selling the fuck out, as their hip hop credibility falls by the wayside, since they're going to fall (it's almost predictable). I have some other shit to say about the Black Eyed Peas, but I'll save that for the day if/when I choose to write about their actual albums. So stay tuned.

7. "FIREFLIES" - OWL CITY
This is what The Postal Service would sound like if Ben Gibbard was more of a pussy.

6. "PAPARAZZI" - LADY GAGA
The video clip is all sorts of creepy (it's implied that Gaga murders someone by hanging them, and yet, this video gets regular airplay on VH-1), but damn if it isn't catchy. As far as pop music goes, you can do a lot worse than liking Lady Gaga. Like, for instance, if you were a fan of bullshit Owl City.

4. "RUN THIS TOWN" - JAY-Z FEAT. RIHANNA & KANYE WEST
Hova utters the phrase "Whassup?" at least eighteen times during this track; it seems that nobody took my "drinking game" comment from the original review for The Blueprint 3 seriously. And even with that new piece of information, thanks to endless radio play I've decided that I was wrong about this Jay-Z song, as well: Kanye does not murder his mentor on his own shit. Shawn's verses actually fit the beat better, albeit nonsensically. The video still sucks, though.

3. "PARTY IN THE U.S.A." - MILEY CYRUS
Sorry, Jay, but you just can't control the kind of folks who will listen to and relate to your music.

2. "WHATCHA SAY" - JASON DERULO
I wonder how many fans of this song moved on to its source material, Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek". I'm betting not very many. I suppose fans of The O.C. probably aren't happy that they now have to share the track with the rest of the world, though. As for Jason, I hope his next hit single samples from The Shins, Iron & Wine, and whoever else appeared on the soundtrack to Garden State.

1. "DOWN" - JAY SEAN FEAT. LIL' WAYNE
Well, at least Drake doesn't appear on here.

See you in a few.

-Max

A Tribe Called Quest - The Love Movement (September 29, 1998)

Being a world-famous hip hop blogger has its obvious perks. With the use of only a handful of words, I can make or break newer artists trying to break into the limelight. I can mold the taste of the general public as if I were an artist with his child's Play-Doh. And with a wink of my eye (usually the right one: using th eleft one has unforeseen consequences), young women who do absolutely nothing but read my blog and drool over my recommendations peel off their tops (usually in public places, such as bookstores, clubs, and at your mom's house) with a quickness typically reserved for being on fire. Yep, the power I wield with my bare hands is mesmerizing.

But the one thing I have been unable to do is convince A Tribe Called Quest to get back together.

It's not for a lack of trying. After they announced the demise of the crew in 1998, shortly before their final album, The Love Movement, was released, Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad were hot commodities who all embarked on solo careers, but their paths continued to cross: they even recorded a reunion track of sorts, "I.C.U. (Doin' It)", with Erykah Badu, for an unreleased compilation album. But today, it's almost as if these three have no knowledge of the existence of each other. Q-Tip has had the most successful solo career, if success can be measured by the fact that he recorded three separate sophomore albums before he could finally convince a label that he might make them some money (although it's awesome, I'm fairly certain that The Renaissance hasn't sold many copies). Phife Dawg released a solo album as well, but has been sidetracked from hip hop due to both health concerns and his side business as a sports agent, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad has seen limited success both by himself and as a part of the group Lucy Pearl, but hasn't been heard from in quite a while.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The Love Movement, which was not intended to be the group's final album, became just that due to ongoing issues with their label, Jive Records (record company rule #4080: "Record company people are shaaaaaady..."). Coming off of the criticism they garnered for their fourth effort, Beats, Rhymes & Life, A Tribe Called Quest made a valiant attempt to appeal to the hip hop fans they feared they had lost, all while sticking to their positive intentions. The production collective The Ummah (Tip, Ali Shaheed, and the late J. Dilla) again provided the bulk of the album's musical backing, but this time around, they scaled back on the smooth jazz-lite from their previous work and simplified their sound, making The Love Movement sound like the most expensive underground album ever produced.

The Love Movement had the disadvantage of being released on September 29, 1998, the same day that saw numerous other hip hop albums hit the shelves, among them the more critically acclaimed Aquemini (from Outkast), the reunion album from Brand Nubian (Foundation), and one especially important disc that I will mention later on in this write-up. Reviews were generally positive, but the album didn't sell as well as I'm sure Jive was hoping, so A Tribe Called Quest ended up going out with a whimper. I don't even personally know anybody who actually owns The Love Movement, but everybody seems to agree on The Low End Theory and (especially) Midnight Marauders, which are among the best one-two punches in hip hop history.

So, is this review worth the long wait? (I'm doing much better now, thanks.)

1. START IT UP
Takes its sweet time to get things actually started, but once it does, Kamaal immediately launches into a verse that sounds much more aggressive than anything from Beats, Rhymes & Life. The Ummah's instrumental fits this introductory track well, and although Phife Dawg is nowhere to be found (not that this is the biggest deal on A Tribe Called Quest's albums, I know), this was still quite enjoyable. Still, this is light years behind The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders.

2. FIND A WAY
The first single, and the only track from The Love Movement that Tribe shot a video for (as far as I know). Q-Tip's reference to Gina teasing Martin sounds a bit unsettling when one remembers that the actress who played Gina on Martin, Tisha Campbell-Martin (weird coincidence, I know), quit the show during its final season after allegedly being sexually harassed by star Martin Lawrence, but that's just a minor quibble. Tribe has always had a way with the love rap (see: "Electric Relaxation", still one of my favorite songs of all time), but this track (produced solely by J. Dilla) has always left me feeling indifferent.

3. DA BOOTY
I never cared for this track. The Ummah's beat isn't a good fit for either Kamaal or Phife Dawg, and they both appear to be uncomfortable behind the mic, which is never a good characteristic for a rap group who is five albums deep into their career.

4. STEPPIN' IT UP (FEAT BUSTA RHYMES & REDMAN)
Funnier than either version of "Scenario" and more enjoyable than "Show Business" by a hair, for two very important reasons: (1) Busta Rhymes, a longtime associate of Q-Tip and company, wishes that he had an extra dick, not so he could fuck two groupies at once or double-penetrate all in a single bound (like a normal person), but simply so that he can hold onto one of them while the other is doing its own thing, up to and including passing some Courvoisier, to help best facilitate the next DUI charge, and (2) Reggie Noble's line "best believe I went through more trees than Sonny [Bono]", which is both goofy and mean-spirited, and I would expect nothing less from Redman. Q-Tip and Phife Dawg are both overshadowed, which is a shame, but they don't seem to mind one bit, as they appear to be enjoying this track as much as any Tribe fan would (and will). And hey, how many times will I use the phrase "double-penetrate" when writing about A Tribe Called Quest?

5. LIKE IT LIKE THAT
The second single. At least, I'm fairly certain it was: there was never a video shot, and I never heard this song on the radio around my way, but I possess a promo-only CD single for this track that contains both a radio edit and an instrumental. I've always liked the smooth sound of this song, as it is a much better attempt at a love rap than "Find A Way". The hook is a bit too simple, but the song is catchy. If you never cared for "Like It Like That" before, I urge you to give it another spin. Go ahead, I can wait.

6. COMMON GROUND (GET IT GOIN' ON)
This is some jazzy shit right here. Tip and Phife pose questions and provide their own responses in lieu of waiting for the studio audience, and they do so over The Ummah's instrumental work, which bobs and weaves throughout the conversation like a prizefighter. This could be seen as a precursor to Q-Tip's awesome solo song "You", except with much more of a positive tone. Overall, I liked it.

7. 4 MOMS (FEAT SPANKY)
Tribe gets the late Chalmers "Spanky" Alford, a well-reknowned jazz guitarist, to provide an instrumental interlude, albeit one which becomes more than a little bit tiresome before its one-minute-and-forty-eight-seconds is complete.

8. HIS NAME IS MUTTY RANKS
Phife Dawg's solo shot, which, as per usual, proves that Q-Tip isn't the only formidable emcee in A Tribe Called Quest. His playful verses have always acted as a perfect counterpoint to Kamaal's abstract poetic rhetoric. It ends far too soon, though.

9. GIVE ME (FEAT NOREAGA)
This song sucks motherfucking koala balls. And koalas are all tainted with syphilis (true fact), so you should take that mental image to its natural conclusion. The beat is bland, Q-Tip's hook is uncharacteristically ridiculous (for a Tribe song, anyway), and, probably most offensively, Noreaga appears on this shit. Now Nore and Tribe hail from the same general vicinity, so it isn't unfathomable for them to work together, but you know what? There are many other rappers from Queens that they could have used to fill that slot.

10. PAD & PEN
This was the type of song that I believed The Love Movement would be filled with when it was first announced. Instead, "Pad & Pen" ended up being the only track of its kind on the album. Regardless, this is enjoyable enough, as it is a throwback to a simpler time in Tribe's career. Also, Phife's line about "emcees sounding moist like vagina juice" is funny, and Kamaal's mention of slipping in a smile every now and then is telling for the kind of rap group A Tribe Called Quest has always been.

11. BUSTA'S LAMENT
I have to admit, working a Busta Rhymes vocal sample into the actual beat is pretty clever, and putting the man's name int the title is brilliant. The only thing that could have made this track better is if Tribe had included Busta himself on the song. But maybe that's just me.

12. HOT 4 U
A Tribe Called Quest has never shied away from the sex rap (especially since sex would, ostensibly, be one of the more positive outcomes from a love rap). I liked this track back in the day, but for some reason, even with the peaceful Ummah beat and the more-than-credible verses from Phife and Tip, today the whole is not greater than the sum of its parts.

13. AGAINST THE WORLD
Meh.

14. THE LOVE
I've always liked this song, although it is a bit depressing to hear Q-Tip rhyme about making music because he loves to do it, and then know that his next project would end up being his overly-commercial solo debut Amplified. But the track still works, somehow. Phife is missed on here, though.

15. ROCK ROCK Y'ALL (FEAT PUNCHLINE, WORDSWORTH, JANE DOE, & MOS DEF)
Because both albums were released on the same day, I've always felt that this song had a spiritual connection to "Twice Inna Lifetime" off of Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, and not simply because that was also the last song on that album: it helps that both songs feature many of the same players (Talib Kweli is replaced by Q-Tip on here). I don't know if the end of Tribe was looming when this track was recorded, but this Lyricist Lounge update of "Scenario" serves as the perfect passing of the torch to a new generation of rappers, and Tip, Phife (who fails to appear on the last original song on the final A Tribe Called Quest album), and Ali Shaheed gracefully bow out.

The Love Movement's first pressing is (supposedly) the only one to include six bonus tracks following the original program.

16. SCENARIO (REMIX) (FEAT KID HOOD & LEADERS OF THE NEW SCHOOL)
Finally, the remix to the classic posse cut "Scenario" makes its way to compact disc. The late Kid Hood, who passed away shortly after recording his verse (hence Busta's reference to one of the participants being of a "spiritual essence" in his intro), unleashes an electrifying opening verse, and both Tribe and the Leaders provide all new verses over a catchy instrumental from the original song. Possibly one of the best hip hop remixes ever fucking made. Period.

17. MONEY MAKER
For me, anyway, A Tribe Called Quest is as known for their music that wasn't officially released as they are for their actual albums. A handful of their singles feature a crew called Know Naim, which I'm about eighty-five percent sure is just Tribe in disguise (they're also referenced on The Love Movement, and one of its members supposedly co-produced "Busta's Lament"), and Q-Tip also (allegedly) recorded some solo tracks using the name The Lone Ranger, none of which I have found, save for this one (obviously). The fact that Kamaal references Puff Daddy on this solo track places this song in a more recent timeframe than Midnight Marauders, which confounds me even more as to whether this Lone Ranger rumor is actually true, but fuck it: this song rocks. Yes, it's a precursor to the blingy "Vivrant Thing" that Q-Tip would later record, but the man isn't aiming for the rafters here: this song is for Tribe fans, and I, for one, appreciate it.

18. HOT SEX
If you're a Tribe fan that lives outside of the United States, then "Hot Sex" isn't much of a bonus track, since it was tacked on to the end of international pressings of Midnight Marauders. It's also one of the most maligned songs in A Tribe Called Quest's entire catalog. But I still like it: the beat is catchy, and the lyrics are entertaining, although I will concede that the hook is really fucking stupid.

19. OH MY GOD (REMIX)
Tribe applies some fine sandpaper to the original "Oh My God" and, possibly inadvertently, erases the Busta Rhymes sample that gave the song its title. I prefer the original (from Midnight Marauders), but this version is alright. For some reason, this time around I paif more attention to Phife's admission that he "used to have a crush on Dawn from En Vogue": that just makes the fact that Ali Shaheed Muhammad formed Lucy Pearl (after Tribe disbanded) with Raphael Saadiq and Dawn from En Vogue even funnier.

20. JAZZ (WE'VE GOT) (RE-RECORDING RADIO)
For this track, the qualifier "re-recording" apparently means "brand new song", as this sounds absoluetly nothing like the original (from The Low End Theory). (This song also appeared on the technically-unreleased-in-the-United-States Revised Quest For The Seasoned Traveler, a remix compilation.) It's still pretty entertaining, though, even with the more aggressive lyrics from Phife and (especially) Q-Tip. This version can definitely score a hyper house party, high on coke, in a pinch, unlike the first recording, which is good smoking music.

21. ONE TWO SHIT (FEAT BUSTA RHYMES)
I already had this song (it's a B-side from the single for "Oh My God"), so its inclusion was disappointing for me, but I'm a collector and most folks aren't, so there you go. I always felt that this track was one of the lesser ones in Tribe's catalog: it sounds like a throwaway song that Tip and Phife may have recorded for a Busta Rhymes solo album that never existed. Ends The Love Movement on a down note, but then again, the actual album ended six songs ago.

FINAL THOUGHTS: The Love Movement was supposed to be A Tribe Called Quest's celebration of love in all of its incarnations, but it ended up showing Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad in love with the idea of love (and, oddly, Noreaga, for seemingly no reason). It wasn't intended as a swan song, but it is impossible to listen to it without thinking about the breakup of Tribe, and based on that connection, The Love Movement is actually better than most critics give it credit for. (Sadly, we will never know how this album would have been received had the crew stuck to their guns and continued to create music together.) The Ummah's production has been toned down severely from their Beats, Rhymes & Life contributions (this is meant in a good way), and Q-Tip and Phife rhyme as well as they always have, ensuring their legacy and effectively asking all of their fans to seek out other like-minded acts to fill the void left in the genre. Also, the fact that Tribe threw in some bonus goodies for the diehards always sits well with me: the "Scenario" remix is worth the price of admission all by its fucking self.

BUY OR BURN? I recommend a purchase, but you have to make sure you pick up the version with the six bonus songs (to be honest, I've never seen a pressing without the extras, so this may be an easy feat). When combined with the actual album, the total package offers an undeniably entertaining listening experience, for Tribe fans and hip hop fanatics from a bygone era. Also, because nobody else seems to actively admit to liking this CD, you'll probably get a really good deal on it, so there.

BEST TRACKS: "Scenario (Remix)"; "Like It Like That"; "Steppin' It Up"; "Rock Rock Y'all"; "Money Maker"; "Jazz (We've Got) (Re-Recording Radio)"; "Pad & Pen"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Read up on the rest of A Tribe Called Quest's albums by clicking here.

Diversionary Tactics: Zzzzzzzz........

That's probably the graphic that you two expected at the beginning of the month.

Anyway, I learned something over the past sixty-one days: two months is waaaaay too long to stunt blog. When all of the music starts sounding the same, and you don't look forward to throwing another CD into the stereo, you have a problem, especially if you write a hip hop-themed blog that is all about listening to stuff and then writing about it.

I'm not quitting or anything, but it's time for a rest. So that's exactly what I'm going to do, and hopefully during my vacay, I will be able to gather some different albums that may inspire me much more than, say, fucking Rapper Noyd.

And now, a question from the audience:

Why the hell didn't you write about either Q-Tip or Ghostface Killah's new albums?

The answer is simple: major labels don't send me advance copies (yet), so any Gut Reaction pieces that appear are representative of my actual purchase of the album (unless I specifically mention otherwise). Unfortunately, to my chagrin, other shit kept getting in the way in September, so while I was able to swing Raekwon and Hova, everything else was put on the backburner. (Considering how good the Raekwon joint was, I feel I made the right choice.) I was considering reviewing the older version of Kamaal The Abstract that leaked to the Interweb almost a decade ago, but I figured that would be doing a disservice to Q-Tip, who finally convinced a label to release his jazz project. As for Ghostface, I can't say that I'm one hundred percent thrilled to listen to what is supposed to be his 'R&B' album, but as a Wu stan, it's a given that I will get to it soon.

Thanks for sticking around for the past two months. Drop me a line if you enjoyed the stunt and want to see something similar happen in the future (nothing before 2010, though: this shit took a lot out of me), or if you have any other suggestions for albums or artists that I should cover.

In the meantime, here's a link to the September posts, in case you missed any. And for completion's sake, here's the link to the August posts, as well. Tell your friends, and be sure to leave some comments.

I'll be back in a bit.

Love,

Max

PS. If you have a submission for the next Reader Review series, you can still send them to the e-mail address in the top right. Truth be told, when I pick this back up, I'll probably be running those with more regularity until I get back up to speed, so...