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Midnight Marauders

 
Album Review: Midnight Marauders

  • Artist: A Tribe Called Quest
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarStar
  • Release Date: November 09, 1993
  • Total Time: 51:12
  • Type: Contains explicit content
  • Genre: Rap

Review

Though the abstract rappers finally betrayed a few commercial ambitions for Midnight Marauders, the happy result was a smart, hooky record that may not have furthered the jazz-rap fusions of The Low End Theory, but did merge Tribe-style intelligence and reflection with some of the most inviting grooves heard on any early-'90s rap record. The productions, more funky than jazzy, were tighter overall -- but the big improvement, four years after their debut, came with Q-Tip's and Phife Dawg's raps. Focused yet funky, polished but raw, the duo was practically telepathic on "Steve Biko (Stir It Up)" and "The Chase, Pt. 2," though the mammoth track here was the pop hit "Award Tour." A worldwide call-out record with a killer riff and a great pair of individual raps from the pair, it assured that Midnight Marauders would become A Tribe Called Quest's biggest seller. The album didn't feature as many topical tracks as Tribe was known for, though the group did include an excellent, sympathetic commentary on the question of that word ("Sucka Nigga," with a key phrase: "being as we use it as a term of endearment"). Most of the time, A Tribe Called Quest was indulging in impeccably produced, next-generation games of the dozens ("We Can Get Down," "Oh My God," "Lyrics to Go"), but also took the time to illustrate sensitivity and spirituality ("God Lives Through"). A Tribe Called Quest's Midnight Marauders was commercially successful, artistically adept, and lyrically inventive; the album cemented their status as alternative rap's prime sound merchants, authors of the most original style since the Bomb Squad first exploded on wax. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Midnight Marauders Tour Guide (Lyrics) Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Malik Taylor, Jonathan Davis A Tribe Called Quest (:45)
Steve Biko (Stir It Up) Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Malik Taylor, Jonathan Davis A Tribe Called Quest (3:11)
Award Tour (Lyrics) Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Malik Taylor, Jonathan Davis A Tribe Called Quest (3:46)
8 Million Stories Skeff Anselm, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Q-Tip, Phife Dawg A Tribe Called Quest (4:21)
Sucka Nigga (Lyrics) Freddie Hubbard, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Malik Taylor, Kamaal Fareed A Tribe Called Quest (4:05)
Midnight Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Malik Taylor, Jonathan Davis A Tribe Called Quest (4:25)
We Can Get Down (Lyrics) Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Malik Taylor, Jonathan Davis A Tribe Called Quest (4:19)
Electric Relaxation (Lyrics) Ronnie Foster, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Malik Taylor, Jonathan Davis A Tribe Called Quest (4:04)
Clap Your Hands Art Neville, Bob James, Ziggy Modeliste, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Leo Nocentelli, George Porter, Jr., Malik Taylor, Jonathan Davis A Tribe Called Quest (3:16)
Oh My God (Lyrics) Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Malik Taylor, Jonathan Davis A Tribe Called Quest (3:29)
Keep It Rollin' (Lyrics) W. Mitchell, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Q-Tip, Phife Dawg A Tribe Called Quest (3:05)
The Chase, Pt. 2 Steve Arrington, Victor Godsey, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Malik Taylor, Jonathan Davis A Tribe Called Quest (4:02)
Lyrics to Go (Lyrics) Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Malik Taylor, Jonathan Davis A Tribe Called Quest (4:09)
God Lives Through Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Malik Taylor, Jonathan Davis A Tribe Called Quest (4:15)

Credits

A Tribe Called Quest (Producer), A Tribe Called Quest (Engineer), A Tribe Called Quest (Main Performer), A Tribe Called Quest (Mixing), Skeff Anselm (Producer), Busta Rhymes (?), Pete Christensen (Assistant Engineer), Patrick Derivaz (Assistant Engineer), Chris Flam (Assistant Engineer), Eric Gast (Assistant Engineer), Gerard Julien (Assistant Engineer), Large Professor (Producer), Tim Latham (Engineer), Hoover Le (Assistant Engineer), Ali Shaheed Muhammad (DJ), Bob Power (Engineer), Bob Power (Mixing), Q-Tip (Vocals), Raphael Wiggins (?), Tom Coyne (Mastering), George Spatta (Assistant Engineer), Brad Schmidt (Assistant Engineer), Carol Weinberg (Photography), Phife Dawg (Vocals)
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Wikipedia: Midnight Marauders
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Midnight Marauders
Studio album by A Tribe Called Quest
Released November 9, 1993 (1993-11-09)
Recorded 1993
Genre Alternative hip hop
Length 51:12
Label Jive
Producer A Tribe Called Quest, Large Professor, Skeff Anselm
Professional reviews
A Tribe Called Quest chronology
The Low End Theory
(1991)
Midnight Marauders
(1993)
Beats, Rhymes and Life
(1996)
Singles from Midnight Marauders
  1. "Award Tour"
    Released: November 1993
  2. "Electric Relaxation"
    Released: 1993
  3. "Oh My God"
    Released: May 30, 1994

Midnight Marauders is the third album by hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, released November 9, 1993 on Jive Records.

Contents

Background

The album Midnight Marauders was a critical and commercial success, especially the hit single "Award Tour".

The listener is guided through the program by a robotic voiced woman played by Laurel Dann. As this voice tells the listener at the end of "Award Tour", the meaning of the album's title derives from a figure that "seven times out of ten, we listen to our music at night", hence the "Midnight", and that the word maraud means to loot, and A Tribe Called Quest are "maraud[ing] for ears".[1]

It is one of three A Tribe Called Quest albums on The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums.[2] It is also one of three A Tribe Called Quest albums to be certified platinum by the RIAA.[3]

The only video for this album that is fully displayed in full color is "Oh My God". The song "Electric Relaxation" was used during the opening theme for the WB sitcom Wayans Bros.. The original version of "The Chase Part Two", called "The Chase" uses the same beat, but instead has one verse by Consequence in it.

Track listing

# Title Producer(s) Length
1. "Midnight Marauders Tour Guide"   A Tribe Called Quest 0:45
2. "Steve Biko (Stir It Up)"   A Tribe Called Quest 3:11
3. "Award Tour" (ft. Trugoy the Dove) A Tribe Called Quest 3:46
4. "8 Million Stories"   Skeff Anselm 4:30
5. "Sucka Nigga"   A Tribe Called Quest 4:05
6. "Midnight" (ft. Raphael Wiggins) A Tribe Called Quest 3:49
7. "We Can Get Down"   A Tribe Called Quest 4:19
8. "Electric Relaxation"   A Tribe Called Quest 4:04
9. "Clap Your Hands"   A Tribe Called Quest 3:16
10. "Oh My God" (ft. Busta Rhymes) A Tribe Called Quest 3:29
11. "Keep It Rollin'" (ft. Large Professor) Large Professor 3:05
12. "The Chase, Part II"   A Tribe Called Quest 4:02
13. "Lyrics to Go"   A Tribe Called Quest 4:09
14. "God Lives Through"   A Tribe Called Quest 4:15
European Bonus Track
# Title Producer(s) Length
15. "Hot Sex"   A Tribe Called Quest 2:45

Additional credits

# Title Notes
1 "Midnight Marauders Tour Guide"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor
Sample: "Aquarius" by Cal Tjader

2 "Steve Biko (Stir It Up)"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor
Sample: "Ekim" by Michal Urbaniak Group

3 "Award Tour"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor
Sample: "We Gettin' Down" by Weldon Irvine
Sample: "Lowdown" by Charles Earland
Sample: "Olinga" by Milt Jackson
Sample: "Hobo Scratch" by Malcolm McLaren

4 "8 Million Stories"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor, S. Anselm
Sample: "Bettina" by Bola Sete

5 "Sucka Nigga"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor, H. Hubbard
Sample: "Red Clay" by Jack Wilkins

6 "Midnight"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor
Sample: "Psychadelic Shack" by Albino Gorilla

7 "We Can Get Down"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor
Sample: "Martin's Funeral" by Bill Cosby
Sample: "My Melody" by Eric B. and Rakim

8 "Electric Relaxation"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor
Sample: "Mystic Brew" by Ronnie Foster
Sample: "Outside Love" by Brethren
Sample: "Dreams" by Ramsey Lewis

9 "Clap Your Hands"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor, B. James, Norcentelli, Porter, Neville, Modeliste
Sample: "Nautilus" by Bob James
Sample: "Hand Clapping Song" by The Meters
Sample: "Ode to Billy Joe" by Lou Donaldson

10 "Oh My God"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor
Sample: "Who's Gonna Take Weight" by Kool & The Gang
Sample: "Why Can't People Be Colors Too?" by The Whatnauts
Sample: "Absolutions" by Lee Morgan

11 "Keep It Rollin'"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor, W. Mitchell
Sample: "Feel Like Making Love" by Roy Ayers

12 "The Chase, Part II"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor, S. Arrington, V. Godsey, B. Hankerson
Sample: "Beddie Bye" by Steve Arrington
Sample: "Nobody Beats the Biz" by Biz Markie

13 "Lyrics to Go"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor
Sample: "Just Enough Room for Storage" by James Brown
Sample: "Inside My Love" by Minnie Ripperton
Sample: "Mixed Up Cup" by Clyde McPhatter

14 "God Lives Through"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor
Sample: "Dig It On" by Jimmy McGriff
Sample: "On Love" by David T. Walker
Sample: "Oh My God" by A Tribe Called Quest

* "Hot Sex"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor

Accolades

The information is taken from Acclaimedmusic.net[4]and other website links below.

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Ego Trip USA Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980-98 1999 #2
Exclaim! Canada 100 Records that Rocked 100 Issues 2000 *
Pitchfork USA Top 100 Favorite Records of the 1990s 2003 #75
The Source USA The Source 100 Best Hip-Hop Albums of All Time 1998 *
The Guardian UK 100 Albums that Don't Appear in All Other Top 100 Album Lists 1999 #98
The New Nation UK Top 100 Albums by Black Artists #11
OOR Moordlijst Netherlands 10 The 100 Best Albums of 1991-1995 1995 #31
Spex Germany 1001 The 100 Albums of the Century 1999 #19

( * ) designates lists which are unordered.

Cover art

The back vinyl cover of Midnight Marauders

Widely respected and admired for their success and artistry throughout the hip hop scene, and preternaturally inclined to accept this adulation with grace and humility, the group elected to summon fellow hip hoppers whose work as artists and actions as human beings they respected, and photographed headshots of each for arrangement on the album's cover and liner-notes insert. And like The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, it serves as a time capsule of the era; a who's who of hip hop circa 1993.

According to ego trip's Book of Rap Lists, there are a reported 71 different hip hop luminaries and radio DJ's who adorned Midnight Marauders. The cover was issued in three different color schemes- red, black, and green (with black being the rarest). The book goes into detail as to which artists were on which particular album cover using a number scheme to easily identify each artist. The complete list of artists is as follows:

The album artwork of Midnight Marauders was the source of inspiration for a collection of products released by the Air Jordan Brand that includes t-shirts and sneakers.

References

  1. ^ Stated by 'Tour Guide' at the end of "Award Tour" This end before "Lyrics to Go".
  2. ^ ~~~~ www.rocklist.net ~~~~
  3. ^ http://www.riaa.com/gp/database/default.asp
  4. ^ "Midnight Marauders at AcclaimedMusic.net". http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/061024/A899.htm. Retrieved June 23, 2007. 

 
 

 

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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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