Funky DL - Marauding At Midnight: A Tribute To The Sounds Of A Tribe Called Quest

Without sampling any breaks or loops, Funky DL has created the perfect audio tribute to arguably the greatest group in Hip-Hop history by remaking the beautiful sounds of A Tribe Called Quest's 1993 classic album "Midnight Marauders". 

The original album is considered a staple in the linear of Hip-Hop history and is the album that lead Funky DL to pursue his own two-decade career in the world of rap music. DL's new tribute serves as a beautifully presented homage for A Tribe Called Quest and Funky DL fans alike.

A Tribe Called Quest-We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service...

Throughout these very dark and bewildering times, we now have the sixth and final ATCQ album We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service (the tile is apparently a reference to Veterans Day) in our ears to take our mind off this crazy World and I personally feel that it is better than expected and a fitting farewell to the late, great Phife with a few missteps that hinder the album somewhat.

It's an album with a smorgasbord of talented musicians and artists (Andre 3000, Jack White, Elton John, Anderson Paak and Busta Rhymes) along with a few others, the album sets off on a classic sounding Tribe vibe with "The Space Program" and hearing Tip and Phife trade verses and Jarobi going for broke was just pure enjoyment...that track along with "The Donald" (featuring a gruff sounding Busta Rhymes), "Solid Wall of Sound" (featuring Elton John) which is actually hard to describe but I personally think it works on all levels and "We The People" with it's fat and loud Black Sabbath drums, Q-Tip abusing the m.i.c. with lyrics of consciousness and truth are definite highlights.

"Whateva Will Be" again sounds like 90's Tribe but with a modern twist, "Dis Generation" (with an aggressive Busta Rhymes) could easily make radio, but radio is far more interested in playing and supporting cookie cutter trash made by ignorant idiots that have no business being in the industry and while I'm not huge on the Andre 3000 feature on  "Kids" it isn't the worst track on the album, no that honour goes to the "The Killing Season"...that one should have been left off the album.

Kanye's hook was just awful and I wasn't feeling Talib on this one, he wasn't wack I just...I don't know...it didn't move me at all.

The somber and very heartfelt and honest ode to their fallen comrade Phife can be found on "Lost Somebody" but in all honesty this track confuses me, why does it break into silence at 4:19? yes I get that it was to showcase Jack White but the chorus cuts off abruptly...and seems a bit odd.

"Ego" is another dope sure-shot as is "Moving Backwards" (with Anderson Paak) but "Conrad Tokyo" (featuring Kendrick Lamar) "Mobius  are fairly average fare.

I would say that this is overall a better album than The Love Movement and as a long time fan I am still quite impressed with this album, despite the missteps.

7/10

Edit:  The poppy "Enough" is actually a delicious slice of soulful Tip and is a complete ear worm with lush production.

ATCQ appeared on Saturday Night Live and honoured Phife with a superb performance.

R.I.P. Phife Dawg

Like so many around the World, I was completely stunned and at a real loss with the very sad passing (that stemmed from complications from diabetes that he had since 1990) of yet another legend in the music game, this time it was the late, great Phife aka Phife Dawg, aka The Five Foot Assassin aka Mutty Ranks aka Professor Diggy aka Dr. Pepper...An MC that loved the culture and was particular and serious about his chosen craft...as the Hip Hop Quotable from The Source mag in '91 below would attest to...

Phife was clever, witty and dope with his styles upon styles (but don't ever try to diss him, cause you don't know the half and word is born he got loose offa orange juice moneygrip!

Phife was often found guesting on Reggae/Ragga Hip Hop and R & B records and was an icon both in rhyming and Hip Hop fashion.

Phife was active in the rap game (and sport game) from 1990 to 2016 and he worked with some of the dopest MC's and Producers and before his death he was working on new material and was teaming up new talent like the dope Pro Era crew (check "Seek Well" on the compilation below) and come on who on this green Earth didn't love ATCQ?

This tremendous loss is the Beastie Boys without MCA, Run DMC without Jam Master Jay, Wu Tang Clan without Ol' Dirty Bastard, Lost Boyz without Freaky Tah etc...

I did plan to write up a lengthy tribute but there have already been many really well written articles out there already.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/a-tribe-called-quests-phife-dawg-dead-at-45-20160323
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/mar/23/phife-dawg-tribe-called-quest-good-vibes
http://variety.com/2016/music/news/phife-dawg-dead-tribe-called-quest-appreciation-hip-hop-1201737996
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/03/phife-dawgs-walk-on-the-wild-side/475029
http://www.mtv.com/news/2798094/phife-dawg-tribe-called-quest-rip
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/24/arts/music/phife-dawg-tribe-called-quest.html?_r=0
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/phife-dawg-farewell-to-the-five-foot-assassin-with-the-roughneck-business
www.newyorker.com/culture/culture.../postscript-phife-dawg-1970-2016
http://au.complex.com/music/2016/03/how-phife-dawg-changed-my-life-and-probably-yours-too
http://theboombox.com/a-tribe-called-quests-10-greatest-videos-a-tribe-ute-to-phife-dawg
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-0324-phife-dawg-appreciation-20160324-story.html
http://www.postingandtoasting.com/2016/3/23/11290460/the-eternal-connection-between-phife-dawg-new-york-hip-hop-and-the
http://www.factmag.com/2016/03/23/phife-dawg-a-tribe-called-quest
http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/7271838/talib-kweli-phife-dawg-tribute-essay
http://www.vulture.com/2016/03/remembering-phife-dawg-who-mattered-to-everyone.html#
http://www.spin.com/2016/03/phife-dawg-tribe-called-quest-eulogy-rip
http://www.theroot.com/blogs/the_grapevine/2016/03/the_most_dope_tribe_ed_out_social_media_reactions_to_phife_dawg_s_passing.html
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/simon-sweetman/78234162/a-beginning-guide-to-phifedom
http://hazlitt.net/feature/grab-mic-and-talk-some-shit-indelible-phife-dawg
http://theboombox.com/a-tribe-called-quest-reflect-on-the-life-phife-dawg
http://www.egotripland.com/other-peoples-posts-r-i-p-phife-dawg-edition

To be honest though...with the birth of our beautiful daughter Abbie (whom my Wife and I just love to bits :) finding time to update this blog has been a factor but I have some spare time now and I wanted to offer a compilation of some great Phife tracks, it would be all too easy to just go with the standard ATCQ classics so I have gone with some dope remixes, unreleased tracks, guest appearances and solo joints...I think every track here (36 tracks deep, so you can rock The Five Footer in your headphones while at work) represents (represents, represents) exactly how much of a loss Phife is to Hip Hop and entertainment in general.

Rest easy Malik...there will be another with the ill raspy voice or skills that you possessed and yes there is definitely a place in the Hip Hop hall of fame for you, you were such a huge part of my music listening through 1990 up to today.

Leave a comment below and say what Phife meant to you...

Jaz

2016-J.M.S.-Presents R.I.P. Phife

1-Phife Dawg-Dear Dilla

2-Phife Dawg-Flawless

3-Will I Am ft Phife-Nah Mean
4-Phife Dawg-Thought U Wuz Nice
5-Slum Village ft Phife, Dilla and Pos-Scheming
6-ATCQ ft Busta Rhymes-One, Two Shit
7-ATCQ-Mr Incognito
8-ATCQ-His Name Is Mutty Ranks
9-ATCQ-Peace, Prosperity and Paper
10-ATCQ-Jazz (We've Got) (Re-Recording)
11-Fu-Schnickens-La Schmoove (Remix)
12-Phife Dawg-Miscellaneous (Hi-Tek Luv Boat Mix)
13-ATCQ-Check The Rime (Mr Muhammad's Mix)
14-Adriana Evans ft Phife Dawg-Never Say Goodbye
15-CJ Fly ft A La $ole and Phife Dawg-Seek Well
16-Diamond D ft Pete Rock and Phife Dawg-Painz and Strife
17-Phife Dawg-Lemme Find Out
18-Oh No ft Jose James and Phife Dawg-Dues N Don'ts
19-Phife Dawg-Game Day
20-Truth Enola ft Phife Dawg-How Its Gonna Be
21-Phife Dawg ft Slick and Rose-U Know U Want It
22-Bun ft Phife Dawg-What The Deal
23-De La Soul ft ATCQ-Sh. Fe. MC's
24-Next Evidence and Phife Dawg-It's Only Right
25-Science Of Sound ft Phife Dawg-Who Got The Funk?
26-K-Mel ft Phife Dawg-Solo Movement
27-ATCQ ft L.O.N.S. and Kid Hood-Scenario (Remix)
28-Phife Dawg ft. Hawkeye-Diggy Dialect
29-Dwele ft. Phife Dawg-What Profit? (Remix)

30-Mint Condition ft. Phife-Let Me Be The One (Ummah Remix)
31-ATCQ-Oh My God (Remix)
32-Whitey Don- ft Chip Fu and Phife Dawg-Article

33-De La Soul-Buddy (Native Tongue Decision Version) (feat. Jungle Brothers, Q-Tip, Phife, Queen Latifah and Monie Love)
34-Chi Ali ft Phife, Dres, Trugoy and Fashion-Let The Horns Blow' 92-Radio Edit
35-Phife Dawg-Ya Heard Me
36-Mastermind ft Phife Dawg and Nefarius-Hold Ya Karna

November 9th, 1993-A Tribe Called Quest-Midnight Marauders 20 years on...

 

But hold up (wait a minute) The Wu's Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) was not the only classic album released on November 9th, 1993, Native Tongue's A Tribe Called Quest released their third album Midnight Marauders and it was an album that made a lot of top 10 lists by the years end and cemented Tribe as one of the greatest groups along with the Wu to ever grace Hip Hop.

 









What made the album so special other than the great music was the cover made up of a who's who of Hip Hop legends, I recall an old Friend attending photography school and a group of us recreated the cover, that was a wild and amusing day but the poster has long gone sadly.

 

Midnight Maruaders was ATCQ's trifecta and a superb follow up to the classic Low End Theory (1991) album and was just generally a great feel good album filled with positivity and dope jazz loops, crisp drum breaks and funk and soul samples supplied by Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Skeff Anslem (he gets props too) and Q-Tip with Q-Tip and Phife dropping some of their greatest verses of their careers and had "the funky diabetic" Phife telling us that his fave rap group in the World was EPMD (I agreed) and that "if he ever went solo my favourite MC would be me"

The LP will most likely be remembered for the dope Large Professor produced and guested track "Keep It Rollin" where Large Pro announced his solo album and for us to "buy the album when I drop it", as fans will know this album was never officially released due to label politics and b.s.

 
I remember taping the "Award Tour" video off TV and playing it pretty much every night (along with a ton of '93 classics that I had compiled on VHS tapes) and eventually heading to Allan's CD's to pick up the CD.

 

I picked up this album (from memory) around 2 weeks after the US release on import, needless to it was on constant rotation but "Sucka N--a" was the track the stood out to me the most after "Award Tour" & "Midnight" but in all honesty there wasn't a weak track on Midnight Marauders and the album has definitely stood the test of time.

I had a few Friends that picked up the album on vinyl and we thought it was dope that there were different versions of the cover and that they changed up who appeared on the cover and it was a great way to past the time to pick them all out, I raise a toast to the great ATCQ for blessing us with great and timeless music and for the legacy they leave in Hip Hop after their final tour in 2013.






 Check the links...

atcqs-midnight-marauders-turns-20-delve-into-the-story-of-its-arwork-and-the-intricacies-of-its-sonics
20th-anniversary-focus-a-tribe-called-quest-midnight-marauders-jive-1993
uncovered-tribe-called-quest-midnight-marauders-cover-art-director-nick-gamma
today_in_hip-hop_a_tribe_called_quest_midnight_marauders_turns_twenty
tribe-called-quest-midnight-marauders samples
a-tribe-called-quest-midnight-marauders


 
Big props to DJ Sav One and Mark 563 and Slurg for some of the scans used in this post.

"Seven times out of ten, we listen to our music at night"

Keep bouncin'...
 
This post is dedicated to the late Rob Arona, sadly this old Friend passed before the release of this album and I knew he would have loved it as he was a huge Tribe fan.