Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest

R

Released Jul 8, 2011

1h 37m

Documentary

Music

List

90%

62 Reviews

Tomatometer

90%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Actor Michael Rapaport examines the music of the 1990s hip-hop group as well as the conflicts that drove the band members apart.

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Critics Consensus

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

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C H

I love ATCQ and we do get very exciting looks at the birth of hip hop as a creative force of nature. And the iconoclasts, in their attitude, how they dressed, the topics they addressed in their lyrics. We also have the painful moments of the more toxic by the day band dynamics that lead to the breakup until they get back together to release a brilliant swan song album in 2016.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/05/23

Full Review

c v

I expected much more. When I was going through all the albums that ever scored the coveted 5 mics, I could not help but notice that Tribe would be a completely boring group without Q-Tip's nasally cadence. That same cadenece is what jolted me awake throughout this film when I fell asleep on this boring documentation of the Brooklyn legends. I spoke with Phife before his passing and attended a seminar where Ali was a keynote speaker, so as a hip hop head of course I got respect for the crew but this could have been helmed better; especially since it was helmed by a fellow hip-hop connessiur in Rappaport. But, since Rappaport has such a large personality himself, I expected more of him in front of the camera than behind it geeking out - and here was where I was let down.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

focusing not only on the music but also on the personal relationships between members, this is a documentary that will appeal not only to fans of the band.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I submerge myself in ATCQ albums, inject the samples in my veins and wonder in those realms for days...

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I sound like a broken record but yet again this feels like a DVD extra not a feature length documentary. I love 'Tribe' and it's interesting to hear them analysing their rise to fame and the complex group dynamics. Watching them bickering and fighting as middle aged men over money and inner squabbles is infinitely less interesting though and a little sad.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Ignore if you are not hip hop followers at the very least but for all those who are this documentary tells the tale of 'A Tribe called Quest', duly allowing the members themselves to express their personal accounts of how the influential hip hop group came to exist and prematurely disband.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

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Michael Rapaport

Director

Phife Dawg

Actor

Ali Shaheed Muhammad

Actor

Q-Tip

Actor

Jarobi White

Actor

Adam Horovitz

Actor

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Ben Sachs

Chicago Reader

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

Roger Moore

Orlando Sentinel

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

Rated: 3/4

Aug 9, 2011

Full Review

Kevin C. Johnson

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 5, 2011

Full Review

Sabrina McFarland

Common Sense Media

Greatness abounds in this truly mesmerizing film about four musical geniuses.

Rated: 4/5

May 3, 2023

Full Review

Toussaint Egan

Polygon

A fascinating and revelatory snapshot into the human dynamic behind one of the most versatile and influential hip hop acts to ever grace the mic.

Jul 7, 2021

Full Review

Allen Almachar

The MacGuffin

It shows with close detail the inner troubles of one of the most influential groups in modern hip-hop, and how they all work and strive to remain an important part of that genre's future.

Rated: A-

Aug 6, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

Actor Michael Rapaport examines the music of the 1990s hip-hop group as well as the conflicts that drove the band members apart.

Director: Michael Rapaport
Producer: Niraj Bhatia, Dan Burks
Screenwriter: Michael Rapaport
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Rival Pictures, Beats, Rhymes and Fights Productions LLC
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Documentary, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 8, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 3, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.2M
Runtime: 1h 37m

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