People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm

People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm is A Tribe Called Quest's first album. It features a lot of my favorite songs from their discography. I'm gonna write about what I like about the composition and production, as well as the samples used on the beats.

2. Luck of Lucien

I never realized the intro was The Beatles All You Need is Love. Going from that into the actual beat is really cool especially coming from the first song on the album. If you search up the sample for this song it's Forty Days by Billy Brooks. The beat loops what seems to be the 2nd bar of the intro for most of the song, and then it loops the first 4 bars of the horns section that follows. The transition from the verse to hook is neat, "You should know". The song's almost 5 minutes long with just those loops but they're strong. I love the bass and the way the guitar fits in with it rhythmically. The drums are also great in the mix, the kick drum is punchy and I noticed on the first beat of the 4 bar horn loop it's more pronounced. Just to try to show what I mean it's at 0:24

ONE two three four - one two three four - one two three four - one two three four -

7. Bonita Applebum

The start of this song is similar to Luck of Lucien. It samples Memory Band by Rotary Connection, and aside from the melodic line is used just as an intro. It works so well especially with Q-Tip's vocals over it. This song makes use of the melody at 0:19 as a transition in a similar way that Luck of Lucien used the "You Should Know". Getting to the verse, the way that the main sample, Daylight by Ramp, was processed it seems like it was split between the bass and keys. The bass sound is incredible, for a song that came out in 1990 it compares to the bass you'd hear on a song today. Again the kick drum is punchy it's not overblown or trying to compete in the low end with the bass, and the snare is warm. The drums sample Fool Yourself by Little Feat, but compared to the original are sped up. I always find that cool when drum loops are slowed down or sped up. The keys pan right and left and keep the track moving. There's also low vocals in the background that fill the space, and the reverse reverb on some of Q-Tips lines is so ahead of its time. You can hear it when he says "Bonita Applebum you gotta put me on" Another thing that sticks out to me with the vocals is the way they change for the hook. It seems like it goes from one take in the middle on the verse to two takes with one panned left and one right.

9. Youthful Expression

This song is built around one sample, Inner City Blues by Reuben Wilson. If you listen to the original the drums are hard panned left, and hard panned right is a rhythm guitar. On Youthful Expression the guitar was cut and it seems that the keys and drums were processed differently. The drums are a lot louder in the low end which lets them hit harder. To me it sounds like the sub on the bass line was boosted when the drums kick in, you can hear it if you compare the line at 0:06 and 0:19. I love the hook and the repeating key melody, and the horns that come in with it. Now I said the guitar was cut but if you listen during the hook you can hear it just way in the background, it's even there during the verses. The song has a cool outro where it begins to fade out and another sample plays, but the beat creeps back in.

13. Go Ahead in the Rain

The intro of this song is one of the most interesting on the album. It makes use of a sample from Rainy Day, Dream Away by Jimi Hendrix, a clip of rain and thunder,and apparently an excerpt from Stevie Wonder's Don't You Worry Bout a Thing. Going from this intro into the actual song is unique. You hear it a lot in music where rain is used at the start of a sad song, well Q-Tip has the Stevie sample say, "Don't you worry" then the beat kicks in. The main sample is built around Son of Slide by Slave, but compared to the original is a bit slower and pitched down. While this plays, the sample of Joy and Pain (Live in Los Angeles) by Maze feat. Frankie Beverly pans from left to right. The use of the crowd noise in between the vocals is really cool, it pans back and forth on beat 2 and 4. Another thing that sticks out is the way the low end hits when Q-Tip comes in. It seems like there's a different drum loop used, Classic Funke by Brother McDuff, that has a louder kick. I also noticed the snare has a different pattern, and the bass is louder. One more thing I wanna point out with this song is the rattle that plays on the 1st beat of each bar.

14. Description of a Fool

The final beat I'm gonna write about is also the last song on the album, Description of a Fool. All the songs on this album have great intros, I've pointed out a few, this one starts with a great drum fill. Going into the verse it's actually the same sample, Running Away by Roy Ayers Ubiquity. Compared to the original, this song is slowed and pitched down. The drums used after the fill are a loop of Still Good - Still Like It by B.T. Express. One part that stands out to me is the open hi hat on the 3rd beat of the bar, that's what makes it bounce. The song also samples a vocal line from Runnin' Away by Sly & The Family Stone. The processing is interesting, it sounds like it was pitched down. There's another sample at 0:51 of the song Don't Make Me Wait (Special Version) by The Peech Boys. It sounds like there was some sort of effect put on this, maybe chorus. There's a lot of stereo effects going on, like the way the sample goes from being more present in the sides to the middle at 3:40 into 3:48. That's what keeps the song moving. The scratching starting at 0:55 is also interesting.

Those are some of my favorite songs off of A Tribe Called Quest's first album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. I used whosampled.com for most of the knowledge on sampling. There's a lot more to the album that I didn't write about, I recommend you listen to it. Thank you for taking the time to read all this.

Check back tomorrow for a write up on reversed parts in music.