The All-TIME 100 Albums: The Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest

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The All-TIME 100 Albums

28 of 101

By Josh Tyrangiel Published: November 13, 2006

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ALBUM: The Low End Theory

YEAR RELEASED: 1991 LABEL: Jive ARTIST: A Tribe Called Quest

TIME 100 ALBUMS PODCASTS

PODCAST: Welcome to the All-TIME 100 Albums - the musical compilations of the last half-century that need no introduction. That said, listen in below as music critics Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light introduce the list and talk about the top albums of the 1950s and '60s.

PODCAST: We know. Twenty-nine of the 100 greatest albums of all time come in the 1970s, and Pink Floyd isn't there. Play this podcast to learn why we picked the titles we did, and if you have something to say, tell us about it using the talkback link below.

PODCAST: Maybe it's a Sign O' The Times that you're listening to critics' audio recordings about great music, but this podcast about how we chose the best albums of the 1980s really is a Thriller. Give it a listen below.

PODCAST: Here's music even the younger set will know by heart. Listen to selected clips from the 1990s through present day as music critic Josh Tyrangiel discusses his picks.

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The link between rap and jazz has always been more wishful thinking on the part of critics than anything actual, with one grand exception: The Low End Theory. Tribe's DJ, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, used lots of jazz bass samples (and one notable live contribution from upright master Ron Carter) but the connection was more atmospheric than specific. "Buggin' Out" and "Check the Rhime" are studies in minimalism that feel like smoky rooms where cool guys, like rappers Phife Dawg and Q-Tip, say cool things. (Phife: "I float like gravity, never had a cavity/Got more rhymes than the Winans got family." Q-Tip: "If knowledge is the key then just show me the lock/ Got the scrawny legs but move just like Lou Brock"). The album was socially conscious without being dull and closed with "Scenario", a group free-for-all every bit as hip and improvised as bebop.