Jungle Brothers may have come straight out the jungles of Harlem with what would ultimately become the template for the socalled Native Tongues posse’s body of work (socially conscious rhymes, Afrocentrism, 86ing the gold jewelry), but it was Queens’ A Tribe Called Quest that perhaps most successfully tapped into hip hop’s suburban crossover potential.
Their debut—feted here on a 25th anniversary re-release that includes remixes from modern artists (Pharrell, CeeLo, J. Cole) who fl y their ATCQ colors proudly—did so in a strange way, sampling old-school jazz (Donald Byrd, Roy Ayers, Billy Brooks and more), spinning round-the-way-girl yarns (“Bonita Applebum”), funky immigrant songs (“Luck Of Lucien”) and gritty urban storytelling (“Description Of A Fool”) with equal aplomb, and showcasing two rappers—the nasal Q-Tip and Napoleonic Phife—whose styles couldn’t be more di fferent, but somehow managed to meld together like your peanut butter in my chocolate. Not their shot for greatness—that would come later— but you can hear all the magic that was right there from the very start.
—Corey duBrowa
