Episode Summary
This week, we're dropping our first B-Side of 2024. A little quickie companion piece to episode 64, A Tribe Called Quest: Electric Relaxation. We didn't get a chance to talk about our favorite Tribe songs from each album during the episode, so you get to hear it now. We also drop our thoughts on which album that we think is better, The Low End Theory or Midnight Marauders.
Transcript
Miguel: Welcome back to They Reminisce Over You. This is one of our B-side episodes. If you're not familiar with the B-side, it's one of our smaller, bite-sized episodes of something we wanted to get off our chests, and we present it to you as a B-side.
Christina: And we haven't done one in a while.
Miguel: We have not done a B-side in over a year. So this will be the first one of 2024. So we're going to try and sprinkle in a couple more of these throughout the year. And the first one that we're going to talk about is a companion piece to an episode we did recently about A Tribe Called Quest.
Christina: So a B-side to the main episode?
Miguel: Yeah. That's how it works.
Christina: Okay.
Miguel: As if you don't know already. But like I said, we talked about A Tribe Called Quest and their discography in a previous episode. So one of the things that we didn't talk about is our favorite Tribe Called Quest songs. So what I want to know from you is what is your favorite song on each A Tribe Called Quest album? And then I will tell you mine as well.
Christina: How about we go album by album?
Miguel: Okay, let's do that.
Christina: First album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. Um, “Bonita Applebum.”
Miguel: Okay, I respect it.
Christina: Of course, I'm going to choose that.
Miguel: I would choose that, but that's the obvious answer. So I'm not going to go with that.
Christina: It's obvious because it's a good song.
Miguel: It is. It's one of my favorite songs of theirs, but I didn't want to be so obvious. So I'm going to choose “Footprints.”
Christina: Okay.
Miguel: That's going to be my choice as my favorite song on this album.
Christina: I can't even remember the song now, I remember listening to it, but off the top of my head, I can't remember which one it is.
Miguel: You definitely know it.
Christina: I listened to the album like, an hour before this.
Miguel: Yes. So on The Low End Theory, what is your favorite song?
Christina: “Check the Rhime.” “You on point, Phife? All the time, Tip.” You'd love a good call and response.
Miguel: Yeah, they do that very well.
Christina: Yes, and then they switch it later on “You on point, Tip? All the time, Phife.”
Miguel: And then they did a call back on “1nce Again.”
Christina: Yes. So I always love a good call and response.
Miguel: Yes.
Christina: It's something easy for us to, to make us feel included, I guess, because I'm not one of those people who can like, memorize entire songs and rap along with all the words and stuff. So I appreciate these little bite-sized bits that I can chime along with.
Miguel: Well, again, not wanting to go with the popular answer. I'm going to choose “Jazz (We’ve Got)” “We got the jazz, we got the jazz, we got the jazz, we got the jazz, we got the jazz.”
Christina: Well, you're not picking the popular answer. You just pick whatever you like.
Miguel: I know, but there's so many for me to choose from. And like I said in the episode we did, they're not my favorite group anymore, but they were at a time and they're 1A. So they're not number one, but they're 1A.
Christina: Okay.
Miguel: Outkast took their spot.
Christina: Right.
Miguel: But I had to push them down just a little bit.
Christina: But not, not to two.
Miguel: No, definitely not. Not to two.
Christina: All right. So, next up, Midnight Marauders.
Miguel: OK, I'm going to cheat now. Because I have two. I'm going to tell you both. And then I'm going to, in my mind, fight it out and choose one.
Christina: Okay.
Miguel: So the first is “We Can Get Down.” And my second choice is “Lyrics to Go.”
Christina: Okay.
Miguel: So I'm going to think about this for just a second.
Christina: Those are my punching sounds.
Miguel: I'm going with “Lyrics to Go.”
Christina: That wasn't much of a fight.
Miguel: Oh, you didn't hear what was going on in my head, though.
Christina: Okay.
Miguel: It was a straight up brawl going on.
Christina: All right.
Miguel: In my head.
Christina: All right. “Lyrics to Go.”
Miguel: Yes.
Christina: I had two as well.
Miguel: Okay.
Christina: It was between “Award Tour” and “Electric Relaxation.” And the way I chose was I listened to both back to back and “Award Tour” won because of the bass line.
Miguel: Okay.
Christina: I was like, okay, this one makes me want to groove a little more.
Miguel: That's fair.
Christina: So I chose that.
Miguel: All right. Next album, Beats, Rhymes and Life, featuring J Dilla and Consequence. What is your favorite song on Beats, Rhymes and Life?
Christina: Well, I initially wanted to say “Phony Rappers” because as we mentioned in the episode, like, the both of us have gotten quite the kick out of these scenarios that I've had of people like, cornering them on subways to battle. So I enjoy it as entertainment, but for, I would say my actual favorite song, I'm going to go with “1nce Again,” because you know, I like a Tammy Lucas hook.
Miguel: Yes.
Christina: And they actually kept her on the album and the video this time, which sometime she doesn't get that.
Miguel: Yes, that's true.
Christina: So I'm going to go with once again. “Stressed Out” was pretty close too you because, you know, I love me some Faith.
Miguel: Right.
Christina: But again, “1nce Again” is going to be the choice for this one.
Miguel: Okay, so I am going with Jay Dee, aka J Dilla's first appearance with A Tribe Called Quest. And it's song number two, “Get a Hold.”
Christina: Okay.
Miguel: That's the one that I'm going with for this album.
Christina: Well, all right.
Miguel: The Love Movement. I think we're both going to choose the same one for this.
Christina: Since, well, “Hot Sex” doesn't really count because that's just it doesn't was added on and was out in ’92.
Miguel: Right.
Christina: So I'm going to guess that you're going to pick “Find a Way” as well.
Miguel: I am. I'm going to pick “Find a Way” and something about “Find a Way.” And I don't know if you remember this, but we saw it once before. So in the chorus, when Phife and Q-tip do the “so you caught my heart for the evening,” the music that's playing behind it is not saying the same thing that they are.
Christina: I just found that out literally today. It's like in French or something.
Miguel: I don't remember what language it's in.
Christina: It’s not English
Miguel: But it's not English.
Christina: I think it’s French.
Miguel: And it has absolutely nothing to do with what they're saying.[1]
Christina: Yeah, I actually um, I just watched a video[2] before we recorded of a person doing like, recreating the sample and they played that portion, too. So I watched the video for “Find a Way”[3] and then I saw someone in the comments say something like, you know, leave it up to Phife to make a hook that sounds exactly like a song that's not even in English. I was like, what? So then I looked it up and like I said, I found someone had recreated the sample. It's crazy.
Miguel: Yeah, I thought I had showed you that video a couple of years ago.
Christina: Maybe it's possible that I forgot, but today I watched it again. Yeah, so we should link to that because it's pretty it's pretty amazing. I mean, like the, the rest of the sampling is pretty amazing already. But the fact that that is in another language, but sounds exactly. It sounds like she at least says, “find a way.”
Miguel: Right. And that is the greatness of J Dilla. The last album, We Got It from Here…Thank You 4 Your Service. What is your favorite song from that?
Christina: “Solid Wall of Sound.”
Miguel: Okay.
Christina: I really like the back and forth between Phife and Busta Rhymes. And Busta Rhymes is not like, on 12 for once.
Miguel: Right.
Christina: But I just like the really fast rapping that they're doing, and the back and forth. So I like that one.
Miguel: Okay.
Christina: “We the People,” that hook will get you in trouble.
Miguel: It will—
Christina: If you sing it out of context in public. It's very catchy. So that was a close second. But I'm going with “Solid Wall of Sound.”
Miguel: Okay, I'm going with “Enough!!” because it has a small piece of the song that they sampled for “Bonita Applebum.” So there's the callback to that. And Jarobi is rapping his ass off on this record. So for those two reasons, yeah, I'm going with “Enough!!”
Christina: Okay.
Miguel: So this has been the biggest debate for 30 years now. What is the better album? The Low End Theory or Midnight Marauders?
Christina: For me, it's Midnight Marauders.
Miguel: Okay.
Christina: It's possibly because of when the albums were released. So I have a more personal connection to Midnight Marauders since Low End Theory came out when I was still kind of just getting into rap and hip hop. So for me, it's Midnight Marauders.
Miguel: I used to be 50/50 split on this and couldn't decide. It was like, whichever one I listened to last was the better album. But just prepping for the last episode that we did, I was listening to it in my headphones. So I was hearing a lot of stuff that I hadn't heard before. So for that reason, I'm choosing Midnight Marauders as well,
Christina: Okay.
Miguel: Because everything is just a lot more crisp and cleaner, even though The Low End Theory is great. And the samples on there are wonderful. This album is just a lot more sharp and precise and cleaner, like I said. So I'm going with Midnight Marauders, and I'm saying this publicly for the first time ever.
Christina: So you're choosing for technical reasons and I'm choosing for emotional reasons.
Miguel: Yes, the product is just better to me. That's all I got.
Christina: All right.
Miguel: And that's all we have for this B-side, the first one we've done in a couple years now. But like I said, there will be more to come. So stay tuned for that.
Christina: And I'm assuming you will make or you have made a Tribe playlist for the main Tribe episode.
Miguel: Yes. If you haven't listened to the episode, go listen to that. And then of course, listen to the playlist that I've put together for A Tribe Called Quest. And that's all I got.
Christina: Okay.
Miguel: We'll see y'all next time. Deuces, silly gooses.
Christina: Bye.