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Quality Post
In honor of A Tribe Called Quest releasing their last album next friday, I'd like to make a definitive guide to the innovative sound of hip-hop that was co-pioneered by ATCQ. The sample heavy, eclectic track of the 90s with lyrics stuffed with positive vibes is none other than the work of the hip-hop collective Native Tongues.
As described on Wikipedia:
The Native Tongues is a collective of late 1980s and early 1990s hip-hop artists known for their positive-minded, good-natured Afrocentric lyrics, and for pioneering the use of eclectic sampling and later jazz-influenced beats. Its principal members are the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest. The collective was also closely tied to the Universal Zulu Nation
So, here's my year-by-year playbook of the records that capture this semi-underground, uplifting sound that helped define the 90s as such a prevalent decade in the music industry:
1988
Don't expect much from these groups pre-90s, the collective had not even formed until then. Still, a few artists made their early bearings here.
1989
A less slow year. Nice albums though! (Note: The De La Soul record is in the Library of Congress, and for good reason. Personally, I think it kickstarted this sound's purpose.)
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Jungle Brothers - Done by the Forces of Nature [YouTube Playlist] [Spotify]
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De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising [YouTube]
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Queen Latifah - All Hail the Queen [YouTube Playlist] [Spotify]
This is the pre-90s stuff!
1990
Holy curse word. I love Illmatic to death, but nothing says 90s more than the first few records that came out this decade. Actual masterpieces. Well, for the most part. Okay, somewhat. Not really that much 10/10s now that I think about it. Close though.
1991
I'm getting tired of writing these, all these years are solid. Kind of. Low End Theory is probably my favorite rap record of all time, fyi tmi
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De La Soul - De La Soul is Dead [YouTube]
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Black Sheep - A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing [YouTube] [Spotify]
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Leaders of the New School - A Future Without a Past... [YouTube Playlist] [Spotify]
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A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory [YouTube] [Spotify]
1992
I'm not sure if this year was much of a pick-up from the last. I feel like the second De La record and ATCQ are the only ones really remembered. They're all above average though, at least in my opinion.
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Fu-Schnickens - F.U. Don't Take It Personal [YouTube Playlist]
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The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde [YouTube] [Spotify]
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Common - Can I Borrow a Dollar? [YouTube Playlist] [Spotify]
1993
That last year was fairly dry, let's up it with some more.... well, more. 93' just seemed fun on this "underground" circuit. Shouts to ATCQ here as well.
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Jungle Brothers - J Beez Wit the Remedy [YouTube Playlist]
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A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders [YouTube] [Spotify]
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De La Soul - Buhloone Mindstate [YouTube]
This is the early 90s!
1994
Note: By this time, quite a bit of members tapped out. The last Fu-Schnickens record came out this year even. Only the more important heavy hitters from this point on.
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Brand Nubian - Everything is Everything [YouTube Playlist]
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Common - Resurrection [YouTube Playlist] [Spotify]
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The Beatnuts - Street Level [YouTube]
1995
Honesty, get violent this year especially. Tupac, Mobb Deep, etc. Was a great ass year for not-Native Tongues.
This is the mid 90s!
1996
You'll notice how spaced out these "landmark" albums are. Creativity took time to brew, at least I guess. I'm pretty much done with commentary at this point. Shouts to Common.
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A Tribe Called Quest - Beats, Rhymes and Life [YouTube] [Spotify]
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De La Soul - Stakes Is High [YouTube Playlist]
1997
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Jungle Brothers - Raw Deluxe [YouTube Playlist]
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The Beatnuts - Stone Crazy [YouTube Playlist]
1998
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Mos Def & Talib Kweli - Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star [YouTube] [Spotify]
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Brand Nubian - Foundation [YouTube Playlist] [Spotify]
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A Tribe Called Quest - The Love Movement [YouTube] [Spotify]
1999
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The Beatnuts - A Musical Massacre [YouTube Playlist] [Spotify]
This is the late 90s!
tl;dr The best records are from 1989 - 1994, in my opinion. While pretty much everything here is worth at least one listen, hip-hop really lends a better ear to gangster rap towards the mid-to-late 90s. Plus The Roots.
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wow. underrated post
Props on the post man! Native Tongues is the greatest collective talent if you ask me. Damn near every album on this is at the top of the hiphop pantheon. (My personal fav records be: B.R.L., Low End, MM, De La is Dead, Buhloone Mindatate and Stakes is High). I would also add the definitive Native Tongues song on 3 Feet High and Rising: https://youtu.be/F69dt5clGPo. Also a personal favorite of mine from Clear Lake Auditorium: https://youtu.be/0XVzFEDW-5k. So many solid joints they are the voltron of rhythm and sound. period. Peace.
It's good to try get attention on this stuff but how are you gonna call Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde "fairly dry"?
I just meant in terms of the sets of Native Records that already came out yearly, not a huge fan of Common's or Fu-Schnickens' debut albums.
Early Pharcyde is insane no matter what.
This is amazing! I'm kinda offended at the level attention this has gotten so far.
The Buddy Native Tongues Remix is one of my favorite songs. I really must've listened to this a million times. has ATCQ, Jungle Brothers, Monie Love, Queen Latifah.
This group of artists is who I would credit most with my love of hip-hop. I loved others for sure but these are a bit different for me. They really made me feel like there is space in hip-hop for someone like me. Their positive energy, feminism, afrocentrism, humor and confidence was important to me as a black girl. A perfect entry point. Most of them have at least two albums I love.
Ali Shaheed mentioned on Microphone Check that Native Tongues never quite became what they wanted it to be because of some disagreement. That's a shame but what they did manage was still exciting.
Damn, whic mic. check is that?
this is a good compilation list and all, but as a "definitive guide"....I have no idea how you feel about most of these albums, or even what any of them sound like outside of your initial description of happy and jazzy. I got a good chuckle out of
I haven't listened to most of these, but there are enough differences in the handful that I have to warrant some amount of discussion of individual album sounds
By all above average, I mean they're 6/10 minimum. The only ones absolutely worth listening to are A Tribe Called Quest, Pharcyde, Common, and the first two De La Soul records.
Wish I could sum up their sound better than happy and jazzy. Fun wordplay and attentive songwriting on behalf of the rappers, with funk/soul samples to slap in the back. Heavy drums. Good drums. De La were definitely more on the positive spectrum, whereas a group like ATCQ spent more time addressing issues in the black community. Uplifting is the best way to put it.
Thanks op this is really good
Great post for a great collective. Music from the Native Tongues paved the way for more eclectic groups that we see now.
Black on Both Sides is one of my favorite albums. Gotta rep Midnight Marauders too. Good shit man, good shit
Fantastic post OP.
I always loved the Native Tongues movement. There's some really quality records that came out back in the day.
It'll be interesting to see how these albums are received by the younger generation that may not have heard them before.
Why does no one ever mention the Bush Babeez? They had mos def pretty much as a fourth member, and had multiple songs with Q-tip and Posdnous.
“Black on both sides” is considered as inspired by Soulquarians sound, so it cannot be Native Tongues.
But anyway thank you for that effort ♥️