By now, most people canonize the Low End Theory, and that’s fine with me. I would respectfully disagree, as Marauders is easily the best of ATCQ’s catalog. While both are classic, not to be missed, wonderful albums from beginning to end, I rate Midnight Marauders an A to Low End’s B+.
This is not a paean to Award Tour- a great song, certainly- but the whole album, even the stupid voiceover skits, is awesome. Here’s how to collect/listen to Tribe:
- Midnight Marauders, Low End Theory (required)
- First two songs from Beats, Rhymes and Life
- Qtip’s unreleased Kamaal the Abstract, Tribe’s first album (Peoples Instinctive Travels)
- Tribe Vibes (series of bootlegs compiling hard to find songs, guest appearances, etc)
You can skip Qtip’s Amplify album, as well as the more recent Tribe stuff…..
Diggin' in the Crates 