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Originally Posted by noisereductions
all good buddy.
I listened to Low End and MM last night back-to-back. I have to say this passing has hurt me more than any musician I can recall in a very long time. No disrespect to any other lost ones of course. But Tribe has meant so much to me since I was like 12. I discovered their music at such an important and formative time in my life. Not only did they lead me to so much other hip hop, but their samples and liner notes also exposed me to so much jazz. As a teen, the arrival of Beats Rhymes And Life and The Love Movement where treated like... I don't even have an analog. All I can say is that a new Tribe album back then was pretty much the biggest musical event that could happen to me. Y'know? They were one of those groups where I had to have everything. When I was 15 or 16 I imported the Revised Quest For The Seasoned Traveler remix album... I also amassed a rather ridiculous collection of ATCQ singles on cassette, vinyl, CD... I mean I'd even buy every compilation or soundtrack that had a new Tribe song on it. I was serious.
Y'all know that I put Q-Tip on a giant pedestal. There's no denying that. And for good reason I think - having his hands in helping craft Illmatic and The Infamous; co-forming The Ummah w/ Dilla; etc. BUT... while I've followed his solo career post-Tribe, it's always been my wish that there would be another Tribe album. I love Q-Tip, But I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing him juxtaposed w/ Phife & Ali. And I spent the years after Love Movement always having a feeling in the back of my mind that this could be the year. I always expected that one day, out of the blue, Tribe would just surprise drop a new album on us. I think that part of what has hit me so hard about this is that now I know that can't ever happen. This naive fantasy that I've had since I was like 17 is gone. And now the teenager in me has to finally let go and admit that Tribe is truly over forever.
Real sad day.
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Yeah, this one feels big. I was probably personally more shattered by Lou Reed's death (I still haven't fully come to grips with the fact that we're living in a Lou-less world), but this affects me on a personal level more than most.
Clearly you and I have some similarities in how we handle our fandom. I too am a "collect them all!" kind of guy when it comes to my favorite groups. You said you did this with Dipset too, correct? I've always been like that. Definitely a completist when it comes to my true favorites.
Tribe was one of the first hip-hop groups I ever got into. For me, ATCQ was always an untouchable force. I know I've long argued in favor of Wu-Tang being the Beatle of hip hop, but I've changed my stance on that. It's certainly Tribe, at least for that era.. As a group they influenced hip-hop more than any other group or collective, and they popped up just in time to set the tone for an entire generation of rap and hip-hop artists (gangsta rappers aside) who pursued sonic exploration and blended genres. All of the game's true "artists" have Tribe to thank for making hip-hop a musical genre instead of simply a vocal one. Hip-hop instead of just "rap."
Phife's passing is unexpected and hits home. I'm sure there are almost no hip-hop fans in our age group who won't be affected by this. It's sad shit.