Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest

Critics Consensus

This documentary focuses less on the music and more on the personality clashes and in-group tensions to great, compelling effect.

90%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 59

90%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 4,008
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Movie Info

A documentary film directed by Michael Rapaport about one of the most influential and groundbreaking musical groups in hip-hop history. Having released five gold and platinum selling albums within eight years, A Tribe Called Quest has been one of the most commercially successful and artistically significant musical groups in recent history, and regarded as iconic pioneers of hip hop. The band's sudden break-up in 1998 shocked the industry and saddened the scores of fans, whose appetite for the group's innovative musical stylings never seems to diminish. A hard-core fan himself, Rapaport sets out on tour with A Tribe Called Quest in 2008, when they reunited to perform sold-out concerts across the country, almost ten years after the release of their last album, The Love Movement. -- (C) Sony Classics

Cast

Q-Tip
as Q-Tip
A Tribe Called Quest
Phife Dawg
as Phife Dawg
Ali Shaheed Muhammad
as Ali Shaheed Muhammad
Jarobi White
as Jarobi White
Adam Yauch
as Adam Yauch
Mike D
as Mike D
Adam Horovitz
as Adam Horovitz
Pharrell Williams
as Pharrell Williams
DJ Red Alert
as DJ Red Alert
Prince Paul
as Prince Paul
Large Professor
as Large Professor
Pete Rock and CL Smooth
as Pete Rock and CL Smooth
Barry Weiss
as Barry Weiss
Common
as Common
Busta Rhymes
as Busta Rhymes
Mary J. Blige
as Mary J. Blige
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Critic Reviews for Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest

All Critics (59) | Top Critics (25) | Fresh (53) | Rotten (6)

  • This authorized documentary is more of a celebration of the legendary Queens quartet than a serious exploration of their art. But considering how brilliant they were at their peak, it's hard to disagree with the general sentiment.

    Sep 15, 2011 | Full Review…

    Ben Sachs

    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic

  • Rapaport gets at the dynamics of a group that struggles even now to get along well enough to get paid - again.

    Aug 9, 2011 | Rating: 3/4

    Roger Moore

    Orlando Sentinel
    Top Critic

  • Despite accusations of nearly succumbing to spotlighting beefs over beats, the film comes off as an honest representation of a great group that's not to be forgotten.

    Aug 5, 2011 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Kevin C. Johnson

    St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Top Critic

  • A combination of timing, access, a visual aesthetic that reflects ATCQ's Afrocentric "surface philosophy" (as the crew's look is described) and, most importantly, story-conscious editing elevates the doc above the norm.

    Aug 5, 2011 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Jennie Punter

    Globe and Mail
    Top Critic

  • Thanks to a particularly even-handed job by director Michael Rapaport, the story emerges as compelling, even for non-fans in the audience.

    Aug 4, 2011 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

    Randy Cordova

    Arizona Republic
    Top Critic

  • The movie gets the beats and rhymes down pat, but the life part is a little messy. Oh well, two out of three ain't bad.

    Jul 29, 2011 | Rating: B | Full Review…

    Adam Graham

    Detroit News
    Top Critic
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Audience Reviews for Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest

  • Jan 19, 2012
    If you're a huge fan of Tribe you will wet your pants watching this. If you're just a regular hip-hop fan like me it's aight, fun enough. You get a playful, frank, intimate look into their origins, rise, and fall, and into the relationships between the members and particularly the tension between the brilliant, messianic, somewhat oblivious Q-Tip and the headstrong, straight-talking, more human and relatable Phife Dawg, whose close childhood friendship and complementary talents generate much of the energy and vibe of the band, but whose irreconcilable differences ultimately lead to the demise of the group.
    Letitia L Super Reviewer
  • Jan 19, 2012
    A well-rounded, even documentary that provides the viewer with some insight to how people sometimes spawn dissension from what seems like nothing. There's nothing mindblowing here, but it's definitely an interesting watch, even if you're not a fan. You just might have a bit more appreciation for the contributions of the group to hip hop if you are.
    Idrees K Super Reviewer
  • Jan 19, 2012
    If you're a fan, this is a must see.
    Josh G Super Reviewer
  • Jan 19, 2012
    What I liked most was that rather than spend most of the film having other artists and critics talk about their work and why it was so influential and important (although there is some of that), they instead decided to focus on the group dynamic which produces some rather candid discussion about some of the serious personal problems they have with one another.
    Alec B Super Reviewer
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