Tribe's B-More Vibe

Photo Credit: Baltimore City Paper, Jati Lindsay

Here's the Tribe Called Quest reunion gig wrap up.

Let's hope that '05 is the year of their comeback disc.

Puhleeaze?

Ray Ray

In 2002, Raphael Saadiq was uncerimoniously dropped by Universal Records just after releasing his first solo disc "Instant Vintage."

Saadiq promptly got 5 Grammy nods and stopped answering calls from the bigwigs who dissed him. That won't happen again. Saadiq's got a new joint on his own label. Since you can't really drop yourself, Saadiq is safe.

He's also safe because his phenomenal voice sounds as sweet live as it does on any record. Caught Saadiq recently at Virginia's Birchmere and here's how it went down.

I'm trying to stop myself from going on and on about this dude, but it's tough. I'm not one of those bloggers that cranks out endless paragraphs, so i'll close this one out with a peek at Saadiq's rockin' resume.

Aside from his obviously hefty credentials of unleashing lots of his own hits with Tony! Toni! Tone! & Lucy Pearl, here's a brief list of dope cuts Saadiq has either written or produced or both:

Jill Scott "Spring Summer Feeling"
Erykah Badu & Commom "Love Of My Life"
Bilal "Soul Sista"
D'Angelo "Lady"
D'Angelo "Untitled
Devin The Dude "Just A Man"

Tribe Triumphs

Hit the A Tribe Called Quest show and have answers from questions posed in my previous post. The gig was smooth like butta.

First, the basics.
>>They still have tremendous chemistry when they want to.
>>Jarobi can't rhyme, but is a solid hype man. (OK, i'm being kind here...)
>>Phife likes to use reggae inflections in lots of his live rhymes.
>>Phife is also a dope MC and has some of the best lines in any Tribe tune.

Q: Why wasn't the show promoted> (an informal survey of some local hip-hop fans turned up nobody that knew about this gig)
A: It was, but not in the DC area. The promo concentrated primarily at Baltimore Radio and everything was handled by a division of RJ Renyolds for Salem's "Stir Your Senses Tour." This also explains the unusual venue which RJR rented out for the gig.

Now, some details. Tribe was dope and had folks begging for a comeback disc. They played for 67 minutes and Q-Tip probably sweat away 5 lbs in the lights. During that time, they played 22 tunes. Here's the set list:
Buggin' Out
Oh My God
Jazz
Date Rape
Butter
The Chase Pt. II
His Name is Mutty Ranks
Sucka Nigga
Keep It Rollin
Everything Is Fair
Steve Biko (Stir It Up)
Breathe & Stop (very brief portion of it)
Vivrant Thing
Hot Sex
Find My Way
Bonita Appelbaum
Electric Relaxation
Can I Kick It?
-------------------
>>Encore Set
Scenario
Check The Rhime
Award Tour
One Two Shit (with special guest Skillz)

Will there be a reunion CD?
Q-Tip and Phife both cryptically adressed this.
After bigging up the recent reunions of Wu Tang and The Fugees, Tip said, "We about to do this shit and put this shit down."

In a freestyle during the night's last tune, Phife added this to his rap, "Tribe album one day / Just be patient."

Aiight. I'll be patient.

Full review soon via Balt. City Paper.

Tribe's Tribulations?

Looks like the Gods were listening when I made my last post begging for an A Tribe Called Quest reunion gig in the DC area. It's happening tonight at Michael's 8th Ave. (You'll love their website.)

This is a place that hasn't hosted major shows, aside from Ballroom Boxing, for a good 10 years, as far as I know. (Somebody school me on this if i'm wrong.)

Questions need to be answered tonight.

Why was this show barely promoted?

Why did it end up at a wacky wedding venue like Michael's?

Why are the guys doing spot dates and not a whole tour?

Damn...I'm flowing like Jadakiss right here...Does that mean I'm conscious?

Why won't they do an album?

Why did they have so much beef and do they still have issues?

I might not find out. They're not doing any interviews.

Whatever goes down, I'll write about it soon, so stay tuned Tribe fans.

Full Disclosure: I'm a Tribe junkie, even to this day.