A Tribe Called Quest - Beats, Rhymes and Life

Beats, Rhymes and Life is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. Released on July 30, 1996, by Jive Records, it followed three years after the highly regarded and successful Midnight Marauders.

Produced by The Ummah, the album is a departure from the joyful, positive vibe of the group's earlier albums and is regarded as their darkest album in content. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on October 27, 1998.

For Beats, Rhymes and Life, The Ummah created a minimalist sound reminiscent of The Low End Theory, which Ali Shaheed Muhammad described as "nothing extravagant, nothing far out." Miles Marshall Lewis of The Source praised The Ummah for being "the most proficient in the rap game at using samples as instruments in themselves."

Regarding Jay Dee's five contributions to the album, Q-Tip stated, "He would just send me the beats and then I would lay them." One of his contributions, the lead single "1nce Again", was hailed as "one of the few successes" on the album and a "surprising R&B crossover." Lyrically, the group addresses "everything from O.J. to spirituality" and were recognised for the complexity of their messages. However, they were criticised for sounding "bored", "confused, hostile, and occasionally paranoid." In the song "Keeping It Moving", Q-Tip responds to the diss comments made about him in MC Hammer's songs "Break 'Em Off Somethin' Proper" and "Funky Headhunter", as well as Westside Connection's song "Cross 'Em out and Put a K". In the first verse, he says that comments previously made about the West Coast were not intended to be a diss and that people should not misinterpret his lyrics. Looking back now this still stands up as another great album from the Tribe.