International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam

Synopsis

A Tribe Called Quest is considered to be one of the most influential and innovative bands in hip-hop history. The group was founded in 1985 by four classmates from Queens. Michael Rapaport started filming the group on their 2008 concert tour, 10 years after the band members had suddenly decided to go their separate ways. Although they have occasionally performed since 2004, there has been no new album since 1998. Behind the scenes, old resentments soon bubble to the surface. The film intercuts conversations with the members, their colleagues and friends about the band's musical and personal history, with animations, and archive and concert footage - all set to an original soundtrack by Madlib. The fast-paced editing style evokes the atmosphere of the New York hip-hop scene in the 1980s and 1990s, when the Native Tongues collective - which included the Jungle Brothers, Latifa and De La Soul, as well as Tribe" - provided an alternative to the negative stereotypes of gangsta rap. Hip-hop fan Rapaport has made an intimate documentary that will appeal to hip-hop insiders and outsiders alike. It provides a captivating glimpse into the internal workings of a group whose deep personal bonds give it the right to call itself a tribe.