BEATS, RHYMES, & LIFE – The Review

The show business biographical documentary has become a staple of cable TV in recent years. They popped up frequently on MTV and it’s sister channel VH1 who soon established a regular series called “Behind the Music”. The Arts and Entertainment Channel and E! followed . There’s even a Biography Channel which delves into the careers of popular music makers. Still many music documentaries will make it to cinemas usually as part of the concert movie featuring either classic bands like The Rolling Stones or U2 or teen-oriented acts like Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber. In this new film actor turned director Michael Rapaport turns his camera on the seminal hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest and while there’s an abundance of performance footage, this film really delves into the lives of the performers. The end result is a modern spin on the old tale of the pressures of success in the entertainment world.

Rapaport begins this intimate portrait backstage after a recent reunion concert with Tribe founder Q-Tip announcing the end of the group. We’re then taken on the long journey to this point starting back in Queens, NY in the 1980’s. Radio was still a powerful force in music and several young men in the neighborhood were inspired by the new trend dubbed hip hop. While attending an inner city high school Q-Tip along with friends Phife Dawg, Ali, and Jarobi form A Tribe Called Quest and record their first single. Like many recording artists before him, Q-Tip recalls the thrill of hearing his music over the radio for the first. From there it’s contract negotiations with record labels, hours in the recording studios, and live performances in front of wildly enthusiastic audiences. Rapaport uses family photos, old home videos, and record cover art to chronicle this rise to fame. He also includes many interviews with record label executives and music contemporaries like Mos Def and The Beastie Boys.

At about the half way point the film illustrated the old adage ” Mo’ money, mo’ problems”. Ali and Jarobi step aside to make way for the conflicts between Q-Tip and Phife Dawg. Personality clashes are nothing new in a music group, but we usually hear about the rock and roll bands like Van Halen or The Beatles . And of course there are the comedy team feuds-supposedly Abbott and Costello never spoke to each other offstage, and the Dean Martin Jerry Lewis split is a Hollywood legend. The introspective , music researcher Q-Tip seems to position himself as the creative leader of Tribe which seems to irk his childhood pal, the gregarious, feisty Phife. Similar to the Sherman Brothers ( the song writing duo  profiled in last year’s excellent documentary THE BOYS ), the won’t pinpoint the start of the conflict-“I don’t know what I did to upset him” Oh, he knows what he did!”. This provides the main drama in the film along with Dog’s health issues ( there’s a clip from Dennis Miller’s old late night talk show in which Miller explains Dog’s absence from the Tribe that night ).

Much like raising children in a divorce, the group’s success means that the two men can’t completely stop contact with each other. We get to witness a blow-up backstage just before one of their reunion concerts. I’m not that familiar with the hip hop world, but that doesn’t prevent me from appreciating this film that is not only a celebration of Tribe , but a very personal story of these guys from Queens who decided to follow their dreams. Kudos to Rapaport on his documentary debut.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars