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Ok, so Tribe Called Quest broke up since they ran out of new ideas. But to us, their first single from the "The Love Movement" LP sounded like they're back on track after the last LP. "Find A Way" is a dope mellow groove and "Steppin It Up" does just that with guest vocals by Busta Rhymes and some of the best Redman verses we've heard.

A little harder than your usual Quest track, we're not sure why this never made it to an LP. Also includes yet another Scenario remix (not the Kid Hood one.)

A masterpiece from prime era Tribe Called Quest! Midnight Maurauders was Tribe's third LP, and even though there were no tracks yet credited to the Ummah, this is pretty much the beginning of Tribe's transition to that sound – with the same mellow, laid back vibe as their best early material, but less of an overtly jazzy reference in their sound. Phife and Tip are still on point lyrically, and honestly, this is pretty much the last LP that Tribe dropped that's got nearly all hits and no misses on it. With the cuts "Award Tour", "Midnight", "Electric Relaxation", "Clap Your Hands", "Oh My God", "The Chase, Part II", and "Keep It Rollin".

The second album from the immortal Tribe Called Quest – one of the absolute essential hip hop LPs, and a record that should be an anyone's shortlist of the best albums in several subsections of hip hop – just a straight up masterpiece anyway you cut it. The album is so high up on the ladder, we're a loss to add any fresh insight o the critical consensus, so just get it. Classics one after another, steeped in bass note snapping, head nodding funk jazz beatcraft of the first order! "Buggin Out", "Excursions", "Rap Promoter", "Verses From The Abstract", "Check The Rhyme", "Everything Is Fair", "Jazz (We've Got)", "What?", "Scenario" and more.

Tracks include "Check The Rhime", "Bonita Applebum", "Award Tour", "Can I Kick It?", "Scenario", "Buggin' Out", "If The Papes Come", "Electric Relaxation", "Jazz (We've Got)", "I Left My Wallet In El Segundo", "Hot Sex", "Oh My God", "Stressed Out", "Luck Of Lucien", "Description Of A Fool", "Keeping It Moving", "Find A Way", "Sucka Ni**a", and "Vivrant Thing".

Beats, Rhymes & Life – crucial aspects of Tribe Called Quest and hip hop in general – and the fourth album by the inimitable Tribe! After a couple or three years of down time following Midnight Marauders, the Tribe returned with this extra stripped down sound, collaborating with Jay Dee and the Ummah. Titles include "Jam", the r&b crossover ready "Stressed Out" feat Faith Evans, "Motivators", the great "Phony Rappers", and "Keep It Moving", "Word Play", "The Pressure", "Word Play" and much more.

The last Tribe Called Quest LP – one of those "end of an era" type experiences for sure – and record that was fairly slept on it the time given the dizzying heights of their earlier record – and holds up today as an essential! The tracks are all produced by The Ummah featuring J Dilla, and just a solid bed of production that's a reminder of how this excellent style of hip hop production excels so sweetly at both looking forward and making 70s soul jazz beats sound forever fresh – with tracks including "Pen & Pad", "Find A Way", "Like It Like That", "Steppin' It Up" (featuring Busta Rhymes & Redman), "Rock Rock Y'all" (featuring Mos Def, Jane Doe, Punchline & Wordsworth.) As an added bonus, the CD includes six rare classic Tribe Called Quest alternate tracks and remixes that this point only ever appeared on 12-inches – including the classic "Scenario" remix, "Oh My God" remix, "Hot Sex", "One, Two Sh*t", and "Jazz (We Got)" re-recorded version.

Tracks include "Check The Rhime", "Bonita Applebum", "Award Tour", "Can I Kick It?", "Scenario", "Buggin' Out", "If The Papes Come", "Electric Relaxation", "Jazz (We've Got)", "I Left My Wallet In El Segundo", "Hot Sex", "Oh My God", "Stressed Out", "Luck Of Lucien", "Description Of A Fool", "Keeping It Moving", "Find A Way", "Sucka Ni**a", and "Vivrant Thing".

Pic sleeve single that was the first taste any of us got of the Low End Theory LP. Great stuff built around the sample from AWB's "Love Your Life", plus the excellent "Skypager". And unlike the promo version, this one actually has all the tracks listed on the cover!

Funky trumpet galore – and a lost break classic! At the time of this 1974 LP, Billy Brooks was an obscure LA trumpeter working in the Ray Charles band – and although this record didn't bring him instant fame when it was released, it's grown to become a groove classic over time – and always in demand these days! The standout cut is the sample track "Forty Days" – a masterpiece of jagged drums and floating horn work, sampled to great fame by Tribe Called Quest, and instantly famous for years after. The whole album's great, though – a funky big band mix of electronic and acoustic playing, with some really mad numbers! Tracks include "Shetter Cheeze", "Good News Blues", "Cooling It", "Black Flag", "Shetter Cheeze", and "CP Time".

A post-Blue Note effort, and Donald's changing things up a bit with his 125th Street Orchestra and Uptown Singers – funking along in a way you'd expect from the longwinded title! Byrd loostens up the smoother backgrounds of his recent Larry Mizell helmed work, and in their place are grooves that have more of a heavy slap bass sound, punchier horns and guitars! There are lotes nice moments that are a bit more restrained than the comparably full-on funk approach – and these have a spacey fusiony soul quality that reminds us of similar work that Byrd was doing with The Blackbyrds at the time. One of the best cuts is "Your Life Is My Ecstasy", which has some great bubbling Moog behind it, which creates a sound that you've heard sampled famously by Tribe Called Quest. Other nice ones are "Loving You", which features vocals by Jim Gilstrap, and a remake of Duke Pearson's "Cristo Redentor", a big hit for Don in the 60s, which is redone here in an excellent slow funk mode that feels like Bob James' work on CTI. Others include "Have You Heard The News", "In Love With Love" and "Close Your Eyes And Look Within".

This is the band's hardest funkiest album, and features the amazing breakbeat cut "Dirty Feet", which starts with hard drums, and comes in with off-kilter guitar, in a very Tribe Called Quest-y sort of way! We don't know if this has been sampled by anyone, but man oh man, it should be! The record's got some other funky tracks – like "Limp Dropper" and "Col's Dilemma" – plus a few with vocals by Kerrie Biddell, which we could do without, thank you.

The Digables certainly weren't the first or most innovative hip hop group to rely upon cooled out jazz for the backbone of their sound. In fact without Tribe Called Quest's second album, Digable Planets probably wouldn't even have existed, at least not in anything close to the same form. What they did do though was pave the trail blazed by Tribe and De La with pure gold – and Blowout Comb is a fine ride! Loads of tripped out arrangements on live instruments (a huge step after the largely sampled debut), layer upon layer of groovy vocals in addition to the easy rhymes of Butterfly, Ladybug and Doodlebug, and even an appearance by Jeru. One of the catchiest jazz-rap fusion record of the 90s, not that there's anything wrong with that! Tracks include "The May 4th Movement Starring Doodlebug", "Black Ego", "Dog It", "Jettin", "Borough Check", "Highing Fly", "Dial 7", "The Art Of Easing", "KB's Alley", "Graffiti", "Blowing Down", "9th Wonder", and "For Corners".

Genius, pure genius! It was hard for Earth, Wind & Fire to go wrong at this point – and the album's a stellar blend of jazz, funk, and soul, all done in that perfect style they'd hit by the mid 70s. And even though this one was a monster album, of the type that you see in everyone's record collection from the time, it's still got a freshness that we always forget about – and lots of nice twists and turns that show that the band hadn't lost their more sophisticated roots. Case in point is the wonderful "Brazilian Rhyme", a short little groover that you'll instantly recognize as a sample from the first Tribe Called Quest album. Other tracks include "Jupiter", "In The Marketplace", "Magic Mind", "Runnin", "Be Ever Wonderful", and "Serpentine Fire".

Genius, pure genius! It was hard for Earth, Wind & Fire to go wrong at this point – and the album's a stellar blend of jazz, funk, and soul, all done in that perfect style they'd hit by the mid 70s. And even though this one was a monster album, of the type that you see in everyone's record collection from the time, it's still got a freshness that we always forget about – and lots of nice twists and turns that show that the band hadn't lost their more sophisticated roots. Case in point is the wonderful "Brazilian Rhyme", a short little groover that you'll instantly recognize as a sample from the first Tribe Called Quest album. Other tracks include "Jupiter", "In The Marketplace", "Magic Mind", "Runnin", "Be Ever Wonderful", and "Serpentine Fire". Plus, the CD features bonus tracks "Would You Mind?", "Runnin (original Hollywood mix)", and "Brazilian Rhyme (live)".

A box set edition of the 90s classic by The Pharcyde – the group's high water mark – and one of the greatest hip hop albums of the era! Along with Del and the Souls Of Mischief, Pharcyde were one of the few west coast units to achieve any kind of widespread popularity using the uniquely loopy, funhouse vibe of De La Soul, Black Sheep and Tribe Called Quest in their lighter moments. The original album tracks include the classics "Passing Me By", "Soul Flower", "Ya Mama", "I'm That Type Of Ni@*a", "Officer", "4 Better Or 4 Worse", "Return Of The B-Boys", and lots more. This box set edition featuring the original album, full instrumentals, remixes & more on 3CDs – plus detailed liner notes & vintage photos – in a great-looking little box! Disc 2 features the full instrumentals. Disc 3 – Remixes/B-Cydes – includes "Pork", "Soul Flower (Remix) (Brand New Heavies Version)", "Ya Mama (Matt Dike Remix)", "Ya Mama (Kenny Dope Remix)", "Other Fish (LA Jay Remix)", "Passin' Me By (Fly As A Pie Mix)" and more.

The early 90s classic by The Pharcyde – the group's high water mark – and one of the greatest hip hop albums of the era! Along with Del and the Souls Of Mischief, Pharcyde were one of the few West Coast units to achieve any kind of widespread popularity using the uniquely loopy, funhouse kinda of vibe of De La Soul, Black Sheep and Tribe Called Quest in their lighter moments. This has always been a tough one to find on wax, particularly in the high quality 2 LP incarnation, so we're thrilled to see this one back on the market! Features the classics "Passing Me By", "Soul Flower", "Ya Mama", "I'm That Type Of Ni@*a", "Officer", "4 Better Or 4 Worse", "Return Of The B-Boys", and lots more!

One of the best Rotary Connection albums for Cadet – with an incredible baroque spacey soul sound that still feels very fresh today! The group's vocals are especially eerie – and float around these wild arrangements by Charles Stepney, peppered with strings, soul, fuzzy guitars, and even slight bits of electronics. The album features their incredible cut "Memory Band" – the one that begins with those cool sitar riffs that have been sampled by Tribe Called Quest and The Fugees. Other tracks include "Ruby Tuesday", "Soul Man", "Amen", "Rapid Transit", and "Black Noise".

A nice little mid 70s set from Sly – one recorded without the Family Stone, but still grooving wonderfully with lots of funky edges! Sly's expanded his sound nicely here – pushing past the shorter funk of earlier years to work in some complicated instrumentation that keeps things really sounding fresh. Great examples of this are the frenetic horn bits on "Crossword", which you'll recognize from its famous Tribe Called Quest sample – or the sweeping strings on the mellow groover "That's Lovin You". The whole thing's great – and other tracks include "I Get High on You", "So Good to Me", "Le Lo Li", "Green Eyed Monster Girl", and "Organize".

A great groover by Reuben Wilson – and one of his best albums ever! The funky organist really takes off from the sound of his earlier Blue Note albums here – hitting a vibe that's sharper, darker, and plenty darn righteous – still small combo jazz funk, but with a depth that we wouldn't have expected a few years before! The group's a great one – with Ramon Morris laying down some great lines on tenor sax, plus Bill Hardman on trumpet, Lloyd Davis on guitar, Mickey Bass on bass, and Thomas Derrick on tightly funky drums. The album features Reuben's amazing cover of "Inner City Blues" – which has a great jagged groove that was sampled years back by Tribe Called Quest – and it also includes the groovy cut "Creampuff", plus "Never Can Say Goodbye", "Sugar", "I'll Take You There", and "The Sweet Life".

An amazing tribute to London's Acid Jazz label – an imprint that's had an undeniable influence on all the things we do here at Dusty Groove! The massive package is way more than just a collection of the label's classics – and instead, it offers up a range of sounds that influenced the acid jazz scene in the UK at the end of the 80s – and others that go on to show the development of funk and soul in London as the 90s moved on. The package features a 52 page hardcover book, filled with Acid Jazz artwork and images; another 20 page book with the story of the label; a DVD with an interview and video footage of Snowboy, James Taylor Quartet, and other label stars; a 7" single with two unreleased tracks – "Never Stop" by The Brand New Heavies with Jan Kincaid and "Rock Steady (inst)" by The Brand New Heavies; and 4CDs worth of music with songs by Alice Clark, Small Faces, Dinosaur L, Charles Earland, Mark Murphy, The Quick, Jose Feliciano, Pharcyde, Forest Mighty Black, Mr Scruff, Paul Weller, Gang Starr, One Creed, Humble Souls, Tribe Called Quest, Nuyorican Soul, Soho, Ballistic Brothers, and many others. 65 tracks in all – and that's just the music!

The laid back classic, finally back on vinyl! The Digables certainly weren't the first or the most innovative hip hop group to rely upon cooled out jazz for the backbone of their sound. In fact without Tribe Called Quest's second album, Digable Planets probably wouldn't even have existed, at least not in anything close to the same form. What they did do though was pave the trail blazed by Tribe and De La with pure gold – and Blowout Comb is their shiniest ride! Loads of tripped out arrangements on live instruments (a huge step after the largely sampled debut), layer upon layer of groovy vocals in addition to the easy rhymes of Butterfly, Ladybug and Doodlebug, and even an appearance by Jeru. Probably the catchiest jazz-rap fusion record of the 90s, not that there's anything wrong with that! Tracks include "The May 4th Movement Starring Doodlebug", "Black Ego", "Dog It", "Jettin", "Borough Check", "Highing Fly", "Dial 7", "The Art Of Easing", "K.B.'s Alley", "Graffiti", "Blowing Down", "9th Wonder", and "For Corners".

An amazing album that has Art Blakey completely reinventing himself for the 70s! Blakey shifts from straight hardbop to kind of a modal soul jazz groove, touched with some of the electric playing of the younger jazz generation, but not enough to qualify as fusion or funk. Instead, he's working with some great younger players – like Carter Jefferson, Woody Shaw, and Michael Howell – hitting a groove that reminds us of some of the best underground soul jazz on labels like Muse or Strata East. Includes the amazing long groovers "Mission Eternal" and "Chant For Bu", a famous Tribe Called Quest sample – plus new electric piano versions of "Moanin" and "Along Came Betty", both of which feature vocals by Jon Hendricks.

Doobie-doo doobie-doo! One of the catchiest Roy Ayers dancefloor tracks ever – a bassy bumping thumper that wonderfully skirts the line between clubby and funky! The track's got female vocals singing along with the hook – all in a mode that's quite similar to the most uptempo work by Ramp – and the tune may well be best known for it's famous sample use by Tribe Called Quest on their classic "Description Of A Fool"!

Doobie-doo doobie-doo! One of the catchiest Roy Ayers dancefloor tracks ever – a bassy bumping thumper that wonderfully skirts the line between clubby and funky! The track's got female vocals singing along with the hook – all in a mode that's quite similar to the most uptempo work by Ramp – and the tune may well be best known for it's famous sample use by Tribe Called Quest on their classic "Description Of A Fool"!

A post-Blue Note effort, and Donald's changing things up a bit with his 125th Street Orchestra and Uptown Singers – funking along in a way you'd expect from the longwinded title! Byrd loostens up the smoother backgrounds of his recent Larry Mizell helmed work, and in their place are grooves that have more of a heavy slap bass sound, punchier horns and guitars! There are lotes nice moments that are a bit more restrained than the comparably full-on funk approach – and these have a spacey fusiony soul quality that reminds us of similar work that Byrd was doing with The Blackbyrds at the time. One of the best cuts is "Your Life Is My Ecstasy", which has some great bubbling Moog behind it, which creates a sound that you've heard sampled famously by Tribe Called Quest. Other nice ones are "Loving You", which features vocals by Jim Gilstrap, and a remake of Duke Pearson's "Cristo Redentor", a big hit for Don in the 60s, which is redone here in an excellent slow funk mode that feels like Bob James' work on CTI. Others include "Have You Heard The News", "In Love With Love" and "Close Your Eyes And Look Within".

A monster album that's gone on to influence a generation – but which was barely recognized at the time! Singer Eugene McDaniels had scored big with some pop hits in the 60s under the name Gene McDaniels – but here, he steps out in a righteous batch of offbeat funk tunes – filled with politics, offbeat rhythms, and some very weird instrumentation. The whole thing's awash in moody, jazzy changes – of the style that showed up often in samples by Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, and other artists who drew keen inspiration from this record. Titles include the massive "Jagger the Dagger" – plus "The Lord Is Back", "Lovin Man", "Headless Heroes", "Freedom Death Dance", and "Supermarket Blues".

Solid jazzy hip hop from Buffalo's Pseudo Intellectuals – the trio of Tone Atlas, DJ Cutler and Nick Zero – rocking jazzy soul beats & samples behind ample group rhymes – really ramping up the tightly thumping jazz accents in the manner of classic hip hop productions from coast to coast! Tone handles the beats, Cutler handle the cuts, and the whole group raps – and the rock it like Tribe Called Quest, early-ish Gangstarr, and the jazzier elements of the Cali scene, ala early 90s Hieroglyphics – but they have a unique perspective afforded by cloudy, blue collar Buffalo that's way nicer than you'd probably expect! Kind of in the throwback vein, but hey, we still love that stuff – and you should, too. Titles include "Resourceful Illlery", "Septemberfest", "No Money, Mo Problems", "Autumn Leaves", "Abide", "Novemberfest", "Uptown Wednesday Night", "Lullaby Of Lyndale", :The Impudent Date Rap", "Decemberfest" and more.

Far and away the band's best record! The album's got a fresh funk sound that takes an earlier 70s ensemble style and slicks it down a bit – but thanks to some great drum work by Tim Dozier (Steve Arrington had yet to join the band), and a subtle riffing bass style by Mark Adams, the band had a groove that was quite revolutionary, and which set them apart from the legions of funk imitators that were springing up at the end of the 70s. The high points of the album is the band's seminal "Slide", which is followed up with "Son Of Slide" – and both tracks have these amazing dark repetitive grooves that have really stood the test of time (thanks in part to a famous sample by Tribe Called Quest!) Other tracks include "You & Me", "Party Hardy", "Screw Your Wig On Tite", and "Separated".

Crispy, creative work from the team of Blu & Exile – a duo who may well be one of the most creative studio talents we've heard in years! There's loads of warm acoustic samples dropped into the mix – set against a sharper edge from the production, but still delivered with plenty of soul – almost a warmly jazzy vibe we remember from early Tribe Called Quest – with a similarly playful feel. The set features guest work by I Ced, Fashawn, Homeboy Sandman, Johaz of Dag Savage, Black Spade of Hawthorne Headhunters, and ADAD – and titles include "Don't Be Jelly", "The Great Escape", "A Man", "A Letter", "Ease Your Mind", and "O Heaven".

A monster album that's gone onto influence a generation – but which was barely recognized at the time! Singer Eugene McDaniels had scored big with some pop hits in the 60s under the name Gene McDaniels – but here, he steps out in a righteous batch of offbeat funk tunes – filled with politics, offbeat rhythms, and some very weird instrumentation. The whole thing's awash in moody, jazzy changes – of the style that showed up often in samples by Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, and other artists who drew keen inspiration from this record. Titles include the massive "Jagger the Dagger" – plus "The Lord Is Back", "Lovin Man", "Headless Heroes", "Freedom Death Dance", and "Supermarket Blues".

An incredible record – the kind of album that no fan of funky jazz should be without! This album is far and away one of the greatest ever cut by Brother Jack McDuff – and it's a baroquely complicated batch of funky jazz cuts that's still light years ahead of any other record! The tracks are much longer than you'll find on Jack's other work – and the group plays these lines that are laidback and trippy, yet which still have a tremendous amount of funk in them. Guitar sets the tone, spacing out over the drums of the great Joe Dukes; electric bass rumbles at all the low, dark spots; flute and tenor sax cut some sharp edges in the void; and the organ of Brother Jack comes in over the top, and soars with cosmic lines of sound! The album includes the monster cut "Oblighetto", sampled by Tribe Called Quest years back – plus other amazing groovers, like "Flat Backin", "Moon Rappin", and "Loose Foot".

An incredible record – the kind of album that no fan of funky jazz should be without! This album is far and away one of the greatest ever cut by Brother Jack McDuff – and it's a baroquely complicated batch of funky jazz cuts that's still light years ahead of any other record! The tracks are much longer than you'll find on Jack's other work – and the group plays these lines that are laidback and trippy, yet which still have a tremendous amount of funk in them. Guitar sets the tone, spacing out over the drums of the great Joe Dukes; electric bass rumbles at all the low, dark spots; flute and tenor sax cut some sharp edges in the void; and the organ of Brother Jack comes in over the top, and soars with cosmic lines of sound! The album includes the monster cut "Oblighetto", sampled by Tribe Called Quest years back – plus other amazing groovers, like "Flat Backin", "Moon Rappin", and "Loose Foot".

A damn strong 3-track 7-inch EP Versis & Bagir-Ba – the former on the mic and the latter laying down the beats – on 3 tracks that are reminiscient of the classic craft of Tribe Called Quest, Stakes Is High era De La Soul! Charismatic rhymes, prominent funky beats and sunny keys in mix. 3 solid tracks: "Barista", "Amanita" and extra soul jazz-inspired "Naima".

The legendary album by the third star in the original Native Tongues trinity! Before the first De La and Tribe LPs, and with hint of all the great stuff that was to come – jazzy beats, nice rhymes,and straight butter all the way through. This double vinyl version includes a bonus track that was not originally on the first LP release – "The Promo" featuring a verse from Q-Tip, his first-ever appearance on wax, a full year before the first Tribe Called Quest single. Tracks include "On the Run", "Straight Out the Jungle", "Black Is Black", "Braggin & Boastin", "Behind The Bush", "Because I Got It Like That", "I'll House You", and "Jimbrownski".

An incredible record – the kind of album that no fan of funky jazz should be without! This album is far and away one of the greatest ever cut by Brother Jack McDuff – and it's a baroquely complicated batch of funky jazz cuts that's still light years ahead of any other record! The tracks are much longer than you'll find on Jack's other work – and the group plays these lines that are laidback and trippy, yet which still have a tremendous amount of funk in them. Guitar sets the tone, spacing out over the drums of the great Joe Dukes; electric bass rumbles at all the low, dark spots; flute and tenor sax cut some sharp edges in the void; and the organ of Brother Jack comes in over the top, and soars with cosmic lines of sound! The album includes the monster cut "Oblighetto", sampled by Tribe Called Quest years back – plus other amazing groovers, like "Flat Backin", "Moon Rappin", and "Loose Foot".