The Low End Theory

A Tribe Called Quest made bass and rhythm the centre of The Low End Theory, drawing on jazz records without letting the samples overwhelm the voices. Q-Tip and Phife Dawg's exchanges give the songs a conversational ease, with jokes and sharp observations arriving inside carefully balanced grooves.

“Check the Rhime” makes their partnership especially clear, while “Scenario” opens the circle to a larger group of voices. Ron Carter's playing on “Verses from the Abstract” connects the album's jazz references to a musician working directly inside its sound.