A Tribe Called Quest’s “Low End Theory” turns 21

lowendtheory

One of the finest albums in my collection – and if you own it, I guarantee it’s one of the finest in your collection, too – is old enough to have a drink. So break out the shot glasses and raise a toast: We’re getting The Low End Theory shit-faced tonight.

I probably thought this last year, when Low End Theory turned 20, or in May, when Adam Yauch died, or even last week, when the formerly flannel-wearing masses celebrated the 20th anniversary of the movie Singles, but holy crap, I’m getting old.

If you’re asking me to pick a favorite album by my favorite group, I’m going to tell you Midnight Marauders. But that’s not fair: I’d never ask my parents if they like my brother or me more (it’s probably me, though).

I won’t go on and on here because 21 is sort of an arbitrary number, and the occasion never would have crossed my mind if not for this Q-Tip tweet. I’m glad I saw it, though. You really don’t need a reason to listen to Low End Theory, but I’ve got a good one today.

Happy birthday. First round’s on me.

One thought on “A Tribe Called Quest’s “Low End Theory” turns 21”

  1. Just found your site. Well done.

    “One of the finest albums”, indeed. I remember being a young freshman, playing basketball on the high school b-team. The whole team listened to this record before every game, after every game, and during bus rides. We even tried to get the coach to let us run on to the court to Scenario, but he wasn’t cool with some of the lyrical content. Oh well. Twenty plus years later and I still have to go through the album at least once a month.

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