It begins with the Zulu Nation. You can't talk about Native Tongues without mentioning about where the concept sprung from. Zulu Nation was more than a hip hop movement. It layered religious ideology with political activism and put it all under an umbrella of vicious beats and afro-centric pride. The Universal Zulu Nation was created by the legendary DJ, Afrika Bambaataa as a way to take youth headed down a violent and dark path in crime and gang life and turn them into positive community activists. Many of these individuals were immersed in hip hop culture, they were MC's, break-dancers, graffiti artist. Through his influence, many artist from all over the five boroughs became disciples including the collective that would become known as the Native Tongues.
The regal Afrika Bambaataa (with Soul Sonic Force) performs the classic Planet Rock...
The turning point in the creation of the Natives Tongues came when DJ Red Alert brought together the group that would become A Tribe Called Quest, along with the Jungle Brothers and De La Soul they would form a like-minded collective focused on raising the consciousness of the hip hop community to higher level. These groups were the masters of crate digging... mining the endless vinyl archives for beats that would leverage a rich history that many youths of the day were out of touch with. The Jungle Brothers would introduce the world to Q-Tip on the track "Black is Black" from their first album Straight Out the Jungle which would also be the where the name A Tribe Called Quest would be coined. This is regarded as the first Native Tongues album.
Collabo number 1, "Doin' Our Own Dang" from the Jungle Brothers with NT proper... De La Soul, Tribe, Monie Love and Queen Latifah.
Many people forget that Queen Latifah was a rapper before she went mainstream. She was one of the best female MC's of the time and a formidable music force in her own right. The Queen tackled topics many of her male counterparts couldn't handle, however, she could throw a party jam together as well.
I have to hit you with "Ladies First" as its another collabo with Monie Love, plus it was one of hottest tracks from '89.
So then comes the De La. De La Soul did more to inspire many of the backpackers and indy rappers of today that potentially any other group for the exception of Tribe. De La is unique in so many ways than I could possibly cover in this post. They chose unique groups to sample from (The Turtles, Hall & Oates etc.), the wordplay in their songs tended to challenge the listener beyond going for the obvious metaphor or rhyme. Their flow was always mellow with a hint of self-deprecating humor.
The obvious pick here would be "Me, Myself and I" but again, I try not to be that obvious... instead I go with another classic from the immortal 3 Feet High and Rising the NT collabo "Buddy".
Next up is one of my favorites and yes it is the obvious pick but who cares it IS a classic. Black Sheep and "The Choice is Yours". The true illness of this song can only be appreciated if you have ever been with a group of friends on the dance floor when Dres hits the memorable line: "Engine, engine number 9 on the New York transit line, if my train falls off the track. Pick it up, pick it up, pick it up!!!!" The move is sufficiently busted, the sh#t has been dropped and it is most certainly on. Shut up and listen...
Last but not least is a little ditty by my favorite group of the Native Tongues crew. A Tribe Called Quest has done sooooo much for hip hop music. To say they are under appreciated would be an understatement. Q Tip, Phife, Ali Shaheed Muhammed (and Jarobi) have etched a permanent place in the minds of New School hip hop fans that can never be erased. Please buy, download or borrow the CD The Low End Theory, it will change your thoughts on hip hop if you aren't a fan. If you are a fan, go listen to the damn thing again because there is likely something you missed or forgot. There are so many songs I could choose so I'm giving you two ... because its my blog and I can do that.
First is "Jazz (We've Got)/Buggin Out" ...
Last is the instant classic that put Busta Rhymes on the map. Leaders of the New School was a Native Tongues affiliate but this was by all manners that count Busta's coming out party while cementing Tribe as one of the most innovative hip hop groups. The was a watershed moment for Native Tongues as they would become a source of inspiration for many groups and would later spin into yet another collative at the tail end of 90's - the Soulquarians. Several members of NT would join the Roots, D'Angelo, Bilal and Erykah Badu. We'll save this story for another day... now here we go, yo...
Parting thought: I know I have not likely done these artist justice, which I can accept because that is a daunting task and I'm only one blogger. Whether you listen to the albums these song came from or download these specific tracks then I feel like I have succeeded. I also understand that many of you are aware of these groups, which means this post was an excuse for you to enjoy some tracks you haven't heard in awhile. Others of you may have been familiar but not well versed, which I hope you got something out of this.
To those who are in the latter camp, I will recommend like-minded groups or artists that are out and available today: Little Brother, J-Live, Murs, The Foreign Exchange, Talib Kweli, the immortal J-Dilla (he will be covered on this blog), Rhymefest, Strange Fruit Project, The Unspoken Heard, the Kidz in the Hall and more...
If you listen then your ears will thank you...
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