In the evolution of a musical genre, there has always followed a pattern of style that would set the precedent for everything to come afterward. Certain bands or groups would reinvent the species of the music, and set the bar to fantastical standards. If these standards are not met, up and comers to the style can never hope to receive acclaim.
Jazz had Miles Davis, punk rock had Black Flag, heavy metal had Metallica and hip-hop had A Tribe Called Quest. The group consisting of Q-Tip (Kamaal Ibn John Fareed) Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor) and Ali Shaheed Muhammad created a style in the late 1980s that was unprecedented at the time.
Inspired by the music of DJ Red Alert, A Tribe Called Quest had pushed its way to the top of the charts and into the realm of hip-hop legend in less than 10 years.
The documentary "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest," directed by Michael Rappaport ("The War at Home," "Bamboozled"), chronicles the rise to fame that ATCQ achieved, and its essential downfall as key members Q-Tip and Phife Dawg grew apart artistically.
"Beats, Rhymes & Life" is essentially a "VH1 Behind the Music"-style documentary. The film takes into consideration that many of the audience members may not have been ATCQ fans before viewing the film. It begins with the formation of the group in 1985, which arose from Q-Tip and Phife's childhood friendship growing up in Queens, N.Y.
After doing a number of solo shows as MC Love Child, Q-Tip eventually teamed with Muhammad and Phife Dawg soon thereafter.
Starting out as "A Group Called Quest," members of the Jungle Brothers had suggested changing it to Tribe. In less than a year they released their first album, entitled "Peoples Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm." The album was different then what most fans of the genre were used to at that time. The lyrics did not touch on issues of politics, or militant social aspects. Rather, ATCQ decided to rap about playful lyrics. Coupled with an unusual clothing style and the use of jazzy/funky musical characteristics, the band was unique.
The group was very open about their feelings to the camera in the film. Although this is basically another "Behind the Music" film, what separates it from the others is that it is the first of its kind to introduce the hip-hop genre into the fold.
An aspect I found intriguing was that the falling out of the members was not due to drugs or alcohol, which is something you almost often see in these types of documentaries. It seemed to me to be a clear-cut case of individual members of the group becoming bigger than the group itself, which inevitably leads to dissension in the ranks, leaving others to suffer in the middle.
In the end though, the friendships that were made and the bonds that were formed from almost 20 years of success shine through brilliantly in the film. The brotherhood and humanity that comes out in the filming makes "Beats, Rhymes & Life" a cut above the rest.
Ever since the day he was the proud owner of a letterbox copy of "Pulp Fiction" on VHS, Casey Buchanan has always been a cinema nut. He has no hang-ups about what type of movie he can watch. The terrible, as well as the acclaimed, are all in the ballpark.
A movie collection spanning over 15 years of digging in Goodwill bargain bins and garage sale shoe boxes to acquire such gems as "The Rock and Roll Wrestling Woman Versus the Aztec Mummy Monster" and "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed up Zombies," Casey does not discriminate when it comes to anything that can be recorded on film.
When Casey is not hunkered down on the couch for the usual "Zombie Nightmare Triple Feature" the former Army infantryman is on Water Street, either working the door protecting you from dirt balls, or sucking back High Life and cheap whiskey singing all the words to every Dropkick Murphy's song.
It's never a dull moment when you have the "Death Proof" logo tattooed on your leg.
