Beats, Rhymes & Life

What is hip-hop music about? Is the genre defined by the beefs or the brotherhood? Michael Rapaport investigates with a documentary (his directorial debut) chronicling the history and the often fractious personalities behind the seminal ’90s quartet A Tribe Called Quest.



Beats, Rhymes & Life, titled after the group’s second-to-last album, follows Tribe in their 2008 tour, which reunited the group after their break-up ten years prior. Members Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Jarobi, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad originally got together in 1985, and used their Queens neighborhood as a backdrop to rap about the political and social issues of the time.

Their pioneering sound — a mix of bass-heavy loops, Afrocentric rhymes, and positive messaging — was catchy from day one. During interviews in the film, artists like Pharell, Mary J. Blige and the Beastie Boys discuss Tribe’s significant influence on music history. But like many creative partnerships, their success has not come without struggle and a healthy dose of tension. The movie taps into that, portraying a number of the group’s vulnerabilities and questioning what’s in store for the future — which may be reason why initially, the movie didn’t sit so well with unofficial ringleader Q-Tip. He announced over Twitter before its premiere at Sundance this January that he did not support the film. But a little controversy never hurt the hype machine, right? Since then, the drama has been ironed out, and the entire band stands in support of the film. Most recently, it went over well with crowds at Tribeca and won the Audience Award for Best Documentary during the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Beats, Rhymes & Life from Sony Pictures Classic will be released in New York and Los Angeles theaters on July 8. The movie will then continue on a limited nationwide run starting July 22.

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