115. Mike Robbins Discusses A Tribe Called Quest, The Low End Theory

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Author, speaker and former professional baseball player Mike Robbins introduces Al to A Tribe Called Quest’s 1991 album, The Low End Theory. Mike talks about how he was first introduced to ATCQ in high school, the culture shock he experienced hearing unfamiliar music when he went to college and why The Low End Theory has stood the test of time more than 30 years after its release.

Keep up with Mike’s podcast, blog and publications at his site: mike-robbins.com.

You can also get Mike’s podcast, We’re All In This Together, here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/were-all-in-this-together/id1134737783.

Be sure to follow Mike on Twitter and Instagram! @mikedrobbins

Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB, and this show has accounts on Twitter and Instagram at @youmealbum. Be sure to follow @youmealbum to find out in advance about upcoming guests and featured albums for this podcast.

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1:16 Mike joins the show

3:31 Mike talks about what initially appealed to him about A Tribe Called Quest

9:07 Mike alludes to Q-Tip’s affinity for jazz

11:06 Mike talks about the rap community in Oakland

12:36 No one listened to rap when Mike went to Stanford

15:21 Not all rap from the ‘90s holds up for Mike

19:02 Mike distinguishes between the different styles of Q-Tip and Phife Dawg

20:58 Rapping is hard

23:35 Mike talks about the Native Tongues collective

26:00 Hip-hop and basketball were important to Mike growing up, and they were connected

26:43 Al likes how the first two tracks set up the album

29:41 Al and Mike review some of the sports references made on the album

34:21 Mike discusses the different approaches ATCQ took on various tracks

37:31 Mike finds “The Infamous Date Rape” both problematic and nuanced

44:22 Mike thinks The Low End Theory holds up really well

47:17 Al had heard Q-Tip on a guest appearance he made on another band’s album

48:29 Mike enjoys artists with eclectic musical backgrounds

50:45 Al asks Mike to recommend his next ATCQ album to listen to

53:08 Mike’s daughters help keep him current on music

54:05 Mike talks about his current and upcoming work

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