Watch: Trailer For A Tribe Called Quest Documentary
The trailer for the Michael Rapaport-directed documentary Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest has been released. The movie focuses on the pioneering hip hop group, A Tribe Called Quest, and the 20-year-relationship between childhood friends Phife Dawg and Q-Tip.
The film compiles concert footage in addition to personal interviews from artists influenced by the group—including Mos Def, Common, Ludacris, ?uestlove, Beastie Boys and Pharrell Williams. The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and is set for release on July 8, 2011. John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter said of the film, “Though it may not have much of an audience beyond the band's fan base, it offers enough context to serve as a primer on the hugely influential Native Tongues clique and should have life on home-vid.”
The film is not without controversy as Q-Tip has repeatedly denounced it. Back in December, the rapper took to Twitter to vent his frustrations, writing that Rapaport “should respect the band enough to honor our request regarding the film.” He has since said that the director’s crew worked to remove Tribe members as producers and forced them to forgo their creative input.