S. Samuel
Actor/director Michael Rapaport has continued to justify signing on to direct the upcoming A Tribe Called Quest documentary, Beats, Rhymes & Life, despite ill feelings from group member Q-Tip.
Rapaport credits the legendary hip-hop group for embarking upon uncharted territory in the rap game.
“Well, first, there’s never been a formal, proper independently-made documentary about a hip-hop group. They were one of the first acts to seamlessly use elements of jazz — taking the records that were in their parents’ record collection and putting them in hip-hop. There was a consciousness without being overbearing and fun and innocence, at the same time Public Enemy was out. Tribe’s music had inclusiveness. It was definitely soulful, black music, but it was for everybody.” (The Hollywood Reporter)
The New York native also discussed what element of the filmmaking process brought him the most fear.
“[Laughs] When I had the green light and all the elements were laid out I thought, “Oh sh*t I have to really make this happen.” I have such respect for Tribe and so do the fans. I really didn’t want to f*ck this up.” (The Hollywood Reporter)
Earlier this month, Rapaport broke silence on Q-Tip airing out his initial frustrations publicly.
“I think the reason he did his little Twitter thing was because he realized that the movie was coming to completion and going to get seen by people,” Rapaport explained in an interview. “I can’t really speak for him but I think he got a little nervous. He’s very protective of the legacy of A Tribe Called Quest and the movie is a very honest depiction of my time with them and the information that I was given in interviews and content…He was speaking on behalf of himself and his biggest request was to be protective of the legacy of Tribe. So when the film was coming to completion, he got a little bit nervous because he wants to be seen in a certain way.” (Rap Fix)
This eventually ignited a response from Tip last Friday (January 21).
“speaking of 1nce again… here i some tribe chat the director of the film cannot speak to what is in my head abt the documentary . nor can this director EVER say the i dont speak for the group. when i say i do then belive me i do … tribe is no different than any other collective. we experience bumps bruises and disagreements then and we still do. but knowing our history and our messages in our music we will NEVER be taken advantage of like we were in the past. we dont care who it is. but we are truly thankful for your interest in our music and your interest in this flattering look at our career.” (Q-Tip’s Twitter)
Check out a review of “Beats, Rhymes & Life” down below:
