2B - Thursday, March 8, 2007T M g a m nd c

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 0

T-E VAUTJ 'PEOPLE'S INSTINCTIVE TRAVELS AND THE
PATHS OF RHYTHM' (1990)
Hip hop's gloried past

ENTERTAINMENT BRIEFS

By ANTHONY BABER
DailyArts Writer
In recent years of popular hip
hop, lyrical content has taken a
backseat to fly and flashy rhymes of
diamonds, grills, rims, hoes and, of
course, the almighty dollar - usu-
ally by illegal means.
But back inthe early'90s, the rap
scene had a different feel. Groups
like A Tribe Called Quest, De La
Soul and The Leaders of the New
School held rap to a standard that
at least half of today's MCs couldn't
touch. If you weren't saying some-
thing that everyone could feel, no
one was going to listen to you, and
no catchy phrase or dance move
was going to save you. A Tribe
CalledQuest ownedthe '90s,where
everything from The Low End
Theory up to The Anthology was
widely accepted in the streets. But
the album that opened them up to
the industry was their 1990 debut,
People's Instinctive Travels and the
Paths ofRhythm.
Of the many dynamic hip-hop
combos to come from New York
around that time, Tribe created a
rhythm so unique and electric they
stood in a category of their own.
Their smooth and catchy jazz feel
coupled with the heavy bass beats
and creative sampling gave them
a form and technique to which

even the best couldn't compare.
The Afrocentric lyrics and smooth
flow - from Q-Tip with the quick
rhymes and clever wordplay from
Phife Dawg tied to the masterful
mixes and beats from Ali Shaheed
Mohammad - make for classics.
People's Instinctive Travels and
the Paths ofRhythm is also respon-
sible for some of the hits that have
garnered so much acclaim. "Bonita
Applebum," which compares a girl
to a hip-hop song, is smoother than

any aver
nants of
mental.
heart av
exagger,
W1
to c
hip hop,
tactics f
of propf
It," Tip a
of theirj
through
ing off o
anythin;
bug, and

rage love ballad with rem- renaion testing Quest as a studio
soul and jazz in the instru- conveyor and hip-hop savior.
Q-Tip's attempt at Bonita's Though Rolling Stone's Chuck
oids the customary sexual Eddy called it "one of the least
ations typically standard in danceable albums" in hip hop, it
was an impressive start and led to
even greater success for the group.
hat happened The tag-team talents of Tip and
Phife gave the album a mixed feel
ontent-driven as one style greatly accented the
. other. With the occasional perfor-
hip hop? mance from Jarobi White and some
quick background vocals from Luc-
ien Revolucien, the album features
Tribe at its peak and holds them
going no further than his there for years to come.
or satisfaction and an array To flourish in hip hop today, you
hylactics. On "Can I Kick don't have to care much about the
nd Phife explore the depth content of your songwriting, but
rhyming skills - they flow with a catchy hook, you're good to
full verses while rhym- go. But if you ever get tired of the
f one word. Q-Tip rhymes mindless, flossy-flossy garbage that
g from funk buzz to jitter- clogs the airwaves today, you might
I Phife Dawg gives his own want to give this album a shot.

INJURED
Will Smith is recovering from a
strained shoulder injury suffered
on the set of his
new film, "I Am
Legend." Smith
received treat-
ment at the Hos-
pital for Special
Surgery in New
York. His spokes-
woman claimed SMITH
the injury is "not something major
or life-threatening," but failed to
indicate whether the irony of the
film's title had done any damage to
the actor's trademark hubris.
CHARGED
Wannabe reality "star" Jason
Wahler ("The Hills," "Laguna
Beach") has pleaded no contest
to battery charges in Los Angeles
after punching a tow-truck driver
while inebriated. Wahler has been
sentenced to 60 days in prison
and will also be required to attend
Alcoholics Anonymous and anger
management classes.
FAMILY MATTERS
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
wish to add another child to their
already growing brood. A Vietnam
official confirmed Jolie has begun
filing the preliminary papers nec-
essary to adopt a child from Viet-
nam. Angelina apparently wishes
to adopt a child from Vietnam to
"balance the races" in her house-
hold. Raising children and interior
design have never been so closely

related.
TELL-ALL
Former pop star Lance Bass
plans to pen his own autobiogra-
phy. According to Bass, he plans to
reveal all about "his life, his music
and his sexuality";' sadly, there
will be no mention of an 'NSYNC
reunion. The book is slated to be in
stores by October.
HOSPITALIZED
Nicole Richie was hospital-
ized for dehydration while filming
"The Simple Life." Never one to be
slowed down by health concerns,
Richie was reportedly in the hospi-
tal for a total of 15 minutes before
being released.
DRUGGED
Maybe it's time for Naomi
Campbell to lay off the drugs. The
famously aggressive supermodel
pleaded guilty to assaulting a for-
mer maid and will now be forced
to swallow her pride. A Man-
hattan Criminal Court official
confirmed Campbell would
be required to mop floors at
a Sanitation Department
warehouse on the Lower
East Side from March 19
to 23. Fun.
NEW HOST
For those of you clamor-
ing for more Star Jones in
your life, she'll host her own
show this summer on Court TV.
The show has been described as

a mix of criminal justice and pop
culture and will be a homecoming
of sorts for Jones, who was a long-
time lawyer before fate intervened
and set her up as co-host on Bar-
bara Walter's "The View."
FINISHED
After 66 years of fighting
crime in the name of the stars
and stripes, Captain America
finally met his comic-book demise
in the lens of a sniper as he left a
courthouse, according to the New
York Daily News. While the news
crushed the Captain's 93-year-old
co-creator Joe Simon - "We really
need him now," he told the paper
- there's a Captain America film in
the works.
SHERI JANKELOVITZ


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