Beats Rhymes and Life (Tribe Doc) Review in Variety

YouTube · Post by **Philaflava** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 4:41 pm

Rapaport has always been extremely unlikable. That said I'm sure Q-Tip has been a complete dickhead about this situation and made it unpleasant for everyone involved.

myself · Post by **myself** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 2:17 am

Nav wrote:Release Date: June 2011

"Sony Pictures Classics will domestically distribute our film"

Via Facebook

That link goes to a completely different movie about the healing power of hip-hop in school work shops.

Captin Planit · Post by **Captin Planit** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 9:24 am

At this rate, who gives a fuck who is the bigger dickhead in this situation, just give me a great movie already.

Nl5H · Post by **Nl5H** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 4:32 pm

http://www.complex.com/music/2011/04/in ... ous-e-mail

it's 3 pages long, not going to cut and paste.

Nav · Post by **Nav** » Mon Apr 18, 2011 4:05 am

myself wrote:
Nav wrote:Release Date: June 2011

"Sony Pictures Classics will domestically distribute our film"

Via Facebook
That link goes to a completely different movie about the healing power of hip-hop in school work shops.

Note to self, don't drink and post.

jvg · Post by **jvg** » Tue Apr 19, 2011 9:41 am

Caught an early screening a couple weeks ago at Sony and it was great. Don't miss it.

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:09 pm

Michael Rapaport on All the Drama Surrounding His A Tribe Called Quest Documentary

If youגve been following rap or movie news over the last six months, you probably know that three out of four members of A Tribe Called Quest are not happy with the documentary that actor Michael Rapaport (yes, the dude from Zebrahead and that "Pop Copy" sketch on Chappelleגs Show) made about the group, called Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest. It screened yesterday at the Tribeca Film Festival. First came an unapproved (by the band or by Rapaport) trailer for the movie called Beats, Rhymes & Fights, highlighting a fight between Phife Dawg and Q-Tip that Rapaport had captured on film and that had never been seen. Then Q-Tip went on Twitter blast after the film got accepted to Sundance, saying that he didnגt support the movie. Then the movie premiered at Sundance and no one from the band except for Phife, who showed up and cried that Q-Tip and his other boys werenגt there to see all the love in the room. The latest lob was an interview that Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed gave with Jarobi on the phone (Phife refused to show or call) to MTVגs Sway, explaining their side of things. In it, Q-Tip read an e-mail from a member of Rapaportגs team that heגd accidentally been CCed on that said, גFirst off letגs close the billing block and put it on the poster so they canגt get on that. Then weגll fuck them on everything else.ג It was referring to the bandגs request to be listed as producers and the initial producersג staunch resistance to acquiesce. (They eventually did.) All of which brings us to this interview. We spoke with Michael Rapaport about the situation at a weird Monster Energy Drink/Conair suite at the Trump Soho on Tuesday.

How has it been going so far in Tribeca?
Itגs going good. Iגm anticipating a very fun, special night at the screening. Itגs such a New York movie about such a New York group. Theyגre from Queens and Iגm from Manhattan, so itגs a big deal to me, as a director, to have this film in New York, in front of my home crowd.

Whoגs coming to the screening from the group?
Phife is on the plane, he's coming, and Q-Tip I know is in New York, and Ali is in New York, and Jarobi is just a short plane ride away in Atlanta. So I don't know who is gonna make it, but I know Phife, he'll be here. [Ed note: Phife and Ali attended.]

Did you converse with Q-Tip and Ali and Jarobi?
I talked to them, yeah. I talked to them.

Recently?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We havenגt spoken on the phone in a couple weeks, but we text message often.

Okay. Before or after the MTV interview?
Before, after, probably during. I reach out to them all the time.

What did they say about their possible attendance?
Honestly, I havenגt talked to them in the last few days ג itגs literally like moment to moment with them. But if I were a betting man, I would say they would come. I wouldnגt bet my life savings on it, but Iגd put down 5Gs. Trust me, if they were coming, I would be so happy for them to be there, because at the end of the day, this I told them, "Thereגs only one Tribeca Film Festival, and you only have one documentary about your group." You know, itגs a onetime thing, and for them to experience New Yorkגs appreciation of the group via the film is something that is going to be different for them than anything else that theyגve ever experienced.

In the MTV interview, they kept talking about how they thought you were singling Q-Tip out as the bad guy, when they were acting as a group.
Listen, youגre the leader of the group, you get the most girls, you get singled out by the director of the documentary. Thatגs just the way it works. Heגs the star; heגs the one I speak to the most; heגs the one I went to first when I was making the film. Hereגs the deal: I have a different relationship with Q-Tip than I have with Jarobi; I have a different relationship with Phife than I have with Q-Tip. And thereגs four of them. Iגve dealt with them through this entire process as individuals. So why they said I singled him out, itגs because I did single him out. Because me and him had different conversations than I had with Jarobi or Phife. Thatגs my reality. Period.

I guess he was the one who went on his own individual Twitter against you.
Thatגs right. And this all could be something in the wind if they come to the movie and they see the response Iגm anticipating; all the shit is going to be like, whoosh! I guarantee if they come to the movie and watch it with the audience, youגll never hear a peep about this ever again. Ever again. They havenגt seen the movie ג only Phife has seen the movie with an audience, which is a big deal. Watching a movie about yourself in a sterile screening room with two or three of your friends is a lot different than watching a movie in front of an unbiased audience. Itגs a feel-good movie, I think.

What was your relationship with Tip like when you were beginning the movie?
Weגre friends ג Iגve always considered him a friend. I like Tip; I admire him.

Howגd you meet?
I met him on the street fifteen years ago. I introduced myself to Q-Tip on West Broadway near Houston Street, and I remember because when you meet somebody that you kind of look up to, you remember meeting them. I was a huge Tribe fan at the time, and this was when they were in their prime. He was with a girl ג Q-Tip is always with a pretty girl ג and he was just strolling down, and I remember it was nice out, and I said, גYo, man. Iגm a big fan.ג I think he kind of recognized me from Zebrahead. It had just come out, so it was a mutual thing. He was kind of like, at that time, one of the princes of the city. He was an icon. He was a star.

Wasnגt Nas involved in the making of this movie?
Nas wasnגt involved in the making of it; Nas was kind of like a supporter from a distance.

Did he help get the band all on board?
I called each one. I called Q-Tip and said, גI wanna do the documentary.ג He said, גOkay, you gotta call the rest of the guys.ג גOkay, whatגs their numbers?ג Called Ali, who I knew a little bit, too: גCool.ג Called Jarobi: גCool.ג Talked to Phife and he said to me, גThey all said, גCool?גג And I said, גYeah.ג And he goes, גAs long as it could be honest.ג That was it.

So what were they saying in that MTV interview about how Nas being involved was the reason they all wanted to get on board?
If A Tribe Called Quest can, they should get that MTV interview deleted and thrown away. Because as far as Iגm concerned, that was just a ג you know, what were they saying? You know, Nas and I ran into each other when I started doing the documentary, and I told him what I wanted to do, and he was like, גCool, thatגs dope.ג Nas is not a producer of the film, Nas hasnגt seen the film, and Nas had no vested sort of stake in the film. He was just a supporter of it. So what they were saying ג you gotta ask them what they were saying. To me, it was a little confusing what they were saying on that MTV interview. I didnגt like the MTV interview as a fan of A Tribe Called Quest, because I think that it wasnגt the best way to present themselves.

As being angry?
Yeah, because theyגre A Tribe Called Quest! You know? Theyגre not angry. As individuals, of course, theyגre going to be angry, as we all are. But as a group, they shouldnגt have done that interview. Their music is so positive and honest. A Tribe Called Quest shouldn't be on MTV with two out of three members and one member calling in and another member not being there because he doesn't want to be there, talking some wild, confusing shit about a documentary that they say they support.

At the end of it, they seemed to be saying גwe support the filmג after, you know, six parts of this interview being about why they donגt like this movie. They made it into a sort of a warning bell to anybody else in hip-hop having a documentary made about them, that you should have more creative control.
No, you shouldnגt! Thereגs never ג no one has ever done a documentary about themselves. Itגs never been done, unless someone shows it to me, I donגt think that thereגs ever been one done. I donגt even think that you can call it a documentary at that point. Itגs just why President Obama doesnגt interview himself. He doesnגt go on 60 Minutes [pretends to interview himself], גWell, Mr. President, what do you think?ג גYeah, well the inflation in the country ג¦ ג You donגt do that! Doing a documentary is sort of a form of reporting, unless youגre writing an autobiography. And this film isnגt an autobiography, and Iגm the director, and at the end of the day I need to tell the story that I see fit, and I need to tell the story from the perspective that I think is the most honest.

The major discrepancy is about how much producing control they had.
The story is that at the 29th hour, A Tribe Called Quest wanted to have their names put up as producers.

But before then they were just participants?
Just participants.

But they already had the deal that they got 50 percent of the net profits?
Yes. The producer thing came up on December 19th when I wrapped picture. I got the note saying that the group is ready to sign off on the final cut, that they want producer credits and their managers want producer credits. And then shit went awry.

They wanted producing credit, and then what happened?
And then somebody from my crew, my team sent a fucked-up e-mail and pressed reply all, and ג

The one ג
The infamous e-mail. Thatגs the e-mail. And then shit went more awry. The thing about it thatגs frustrating for me is that I hope for hip-hopגs sake that this doesnגt scare off any other director from making a documentary about hip-hop. Because itגs important to document Big Daddy Kane, the Cold Crush Brothers, De La Soul. They should be documented. Weגve already documented the Doors, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones. Theyגve been documented many, many times. The next group, the next form of music that should be documented is hip-hop music and those artists, and I hope that other directors and other distribution companies and other financers donגt go, גWell, fuck, if Tribe, the conscious, smart group is bugging out, what the fuck is Wu Tang Clan gonna do?ג You know what I mean? Because the Wu Tang documentary, that has to be done at some point. Who the fuck wouldnגt want to go see a documentary about the Wu Tang Clan? But the way things are going, I hope that someone else gets to make one. Because this has been such a circus, and I donגt give a shit about the e-mail, and the reply all. I know that I didnגt send the e-mail, you know, and I know that my intentions have always been pure and genuine, so I donגt give a fuck about any of that stuff. I give a fuck that Iגve spent my own money, a lot of money, damn near $100,000 of my own personal money, on this film, along with other investors. And the film has damn near trumped everything personal in my life. This has been the fight of my life making this movie. Itגs crazy. And all because of what? Nothing. The movie is such a flattering portrayal of the group. I hope somehow you can use all this.

Well, okay! Does the beef actually ultimately help the profitability of the movie?
I have no idea, because the movieגs not out yet. It may or may not help the profitability of the movie. It hasnגt helped my sleep, it hasnגt helped my stress, and it hasnגt helped my overall disposition over the last few months. Itגs made me irritable, itגs made me frustrated, itגs made me scared, itגs made me mad, and all these other things. So, trust me, the last thing that I would have wanted is to have all this strife. If and when A Tribe Called Quest sees this movie with an audience, theyגll ג¦ whoosh. It will just go away.

But it did cross my mind: Tribe gets 50 percent of the proceeds from this movie. If they somehow think that the beef is gonna make people go see it more, why not orchestrate this controversy?
Believe me, I promise you: I wouldnגt participate in that. None of us are good actors.

A friend of mine who reads a lot of rapperגs blogs and Twitter feeds and stuff said that he was getting the general sense that the hip-hop community at large was coming out against the movie. Is that the feeling that youגre getting?
Nah, I havenגt heard that. I think that music fans are going to want to see this movie. And I think that the thing that I was lucky to sort of capture is that itגs so much beyond the music, if I can use that term. Itגs such an intimate portrayal about four friends. So, Iגm not concerned about the blogs or גMike Rapaport fucked A Tribe Called Quest.ג

Now there was some sort of controversy that I didnגt realize when you were at Sundance, that they didnגt know the movie was accepted to Sundance, or something.
Me and the producers submitted the movie to Sundance ג

Along with Tribe?
No, but thereגs no agreement, גBefore you submit the movie to Sundance, you must ask us if we want to go to Sundance.ג We talked about Sundance from the beginning. They knew, like, five minutes after I knew that it was accepted to Sundance. You bet your ass that they knew right after. [Mimes phone call.] גYo, we got accepted to Sundance.ג

I guess maybe they were upset that they didnגt know it was submitted?
So what?! Itגs my movie. I paid for it. And Iגm the director. This isnגt a trial by committee. They get "reasonable consultation" about the movie. That's the signed thing.

You came into this as a fan. Are you less of a fan?
I love the group; I still love the music; I still get off on the music. I will not be the director of A Tribe Called Quest documentary, part two. This conflict has definitely changed my perception of them as individuals, but the music is the music.

Do they have control over the soundtrack?
Yeah, the soundtrack is their domain. They have control over it. And at this point, up until now, they have chosen not to do anything with the soundtrack.

And what was the question that you wanted to answer by doing the movie?
The question that I wanted to answer by doing the movie was, גWill A Tribe Called Quest make more music?ג And I think we got our answer because thereגs no soundtrack. But itגs not too late yet.

Because you havenגt released the movie yet.
Weגve got release in July, and what better way to go off into the sunset, to make one original song for your documentary? And to see A Tribe Called Quest at the fucking Oscars performing a brand-new song ג that would be crazy for hip-hop. They could write the song for me. I'll perform the shit myself. If they write the song, I'll do it. I'll hire look-alikes to do it.

There's an intense fight you capture between Phife and Q-Tip. Did they realize the cameras were on?
No, they didnגt realize the cameras were there until afterwards. But it's not like the fight was like, גHoly shit, thereגs Q-Tip punching Phife in the head, and Phife did a drop kick to Q-Tipגs head!ג It was like brothers fighting, you know? Theyגre brothers. Theyגre best friends. You get tired of your best friends. You donגt wanna party all the time with your brother. You want to see him and eat dinner with him, and even then itגs like, גAw, shit, this guy.ג Thatגs what their relationship has been like that. Theyגve been married to this thing that theyגve been married to, and theyגve been friends since they were 4. You know, you change, you evolve, you want different friends. But everyoneגs like, גWe want you guys to be together!ג Because it means so much to the fans.

Why don't you think they became a cultural phenomenon on the level of Wu Tang?
Because they came before Wu Tang. When Tribe was at its biggest, when Midnight Marauders came out, hip-hop wasnגt as big as it became soon after that. You know, like ג if you said like, Midnight Marauders was their apex, you know that was their highest thing, then came Biggie, then came Jay-Z, then came Wu Tang. They were just getting started. Just like why is, you know, Kenny G somebody like that ג way more people probably bought one Kenny G album than all of Miles Davis's albums. But without Miles Davis, no one would know a trumpet from a hole in the wall, you know what I mean? Not to compare Wu Tang to that by any means, but they set the table. A Tribe Called Quest set the table.

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/20 ... =422533904

The Afronaut · Post by **The Afronaut** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:45 pm

Dan wrote:
But it did cross my mind: Tribe gets 50 percent of the proceeds from this movie. If they somehow think that the beef is gonna make people go see it more, why not orchestrate this controversy?
Believe me, I promise you: I wouldnגt participate in that. None of us are good actors.

CHER1 · Post by **CHER1** » Tue May 24, 2011 9:28 pm

Saw this last week, so great, my eyes even watered up, yes whatever.

Busta Ry · Post by **Busta Ry** » Thu Jun 02, 2011 9:45 am

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/player?rd= ... =ESPNRADIO

Rapapport is on Bills Simmons' podcast talking about this.

**my bad, I listened to the first few seconds, and presumed they were going to stay on topic with this project, but they flipped it to B-Ball right away. So, false alarm.

ScholarWenis · Post by **ScholarWenis** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 2:44 am

my dumbass looked up garrulous

Spartan · Post by **Spartan** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 3:57 am

New trailer.

<object width="560" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XJFOM1qRLe8?ve ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XJFOM1qRLe8?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="349" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

The Afronaut · Post by **The Afronaut** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 10:41 am

The Afronaut wrote:Cannot wait

Thun · Post by **Thun** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 1:12 pm

HipHoppin wrote:Locations/Dates:

http://www.sonyclassics.com/beatsrhymes ... dates.html

I wonder if these are weekend only showings or if they will stay in the theatre beyond the release date, b/c I'm out of town the weekend it shows in Chicago

Yeah, I'll be out of town when it hits NYC...

The Afronaut · Post by **The Afronaut** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 1:16 pm

Serious question: Why do only a limited a release like this in the first place? Are they worried it wont be able bring people in?

ALASKA · Post by **ALASKA** » Tue Jun 07, 2011 1:22 pm

i really hope this is out for more than one day. the theaters are going to be fucking mobbed with old ass rap fans on july 8th.

Anyone down to get a PF dranks and roustabout going for the NYC showing?

Sideways · Post by **Sideways** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 12:11 am

Don't post much but thought I'd drop a quick report on this as just saw it here in sydney as part of the film festival, surprised its not showing till July in the US

Its an enjoyable movie. I'd say there is def a sympathetic slant towards Phife but he actually comes out of it looking quite jealous of Tip. Tip is charming and self important but seems to genuinely value the group and fond of the others. Ali is fairly nondescript. Jarobi is the most emotional and features a disproportionate amount, mostly on the side of Phife.

There are some great moments, some fantastic footage of the early days and poignant recollections. Its definitely worth a watch.

Thun · Post by **Thun** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 12:28 am

The Afronaut wrote:Serious question: Why do only a limited a release like this in the first place? Are they worried it wont be able bring people in?

The answer to nearly every one of these naive questions you ask in this forum is: WHITE. I just saved you a whole lot of time.

The Afronaut · Post by **The Afronaut** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 10:51 am

Thun wrote:
The Afronaut wrote:Serious question: Why do only a limited a release like this in the first place? Are they worried it wont be able bring people in?
The answer to nearly every one of these naive questions you ask in this forum is: WHITE. I just saved you a whole lot of time.

I will keep that in mind.

For the time being, please indulge my naivet

Thun · Post by **Thun** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 11:52 am

The Afronaut wrote:
Thun wrote:
The Afronaut wrote:Serious question: Why do only a limited a release like this in the first place? Are they worried it wont be able bring people in?
The answer to nearly every one of these naive questions you ask in this forum is: WHITE. I just saved you a whole lot of time.

I will keep that in mind.

For the time being, please indulge my naivet

The Afronaut · Post by **The Afronaut** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 12:18 pm

Thun wrote:
The Afronaut wrote:
Thun wrote:
The Afronaut wrote:Serious question: Why do only a limited a release like this in the first place? Are they worried it wont be able bring people in?
The answer to nearly every one of these naive questions you ask in this forum is: WHITE. I just saved you a whole lot of time.

I will keep that in mind.

For the time being, please indulge my naivet

Thun · Post by **Thun** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 12:22 pm

The Afronaut wrote:
Thun wrote:
The Afronaut wrote:
Thun wrote:
The Afronaut wrote:Serious question: Why do only a limited a release like this in the first place? Are they worried it wont be able bring people in?
The answer to nearly every one of these naive questions you ask in this forum is: WHITE. I just saved you a whole lot of time.

I will keep that in mind.

For the time being, please indulge my naivet

The Afronaut · Post by **The Afronaut** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 12:33 pm

Thun wrote:It's right under your wide fleshy greasy bell pepper nose, akh.

This is where you always start losing man. You get so caught up in concocting a witty comeback that you dont even realize youre just avoiding answering an (apparently) simple ass question.

Thun · Post by **Thun** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 12:53 pm

The Afronaut wrote:
Thun wrote:It's right under your wide fleshy greasy bell pepper nose, akh.
This is where you always start losing man. You get so caught up in concocting a witty comeback that you dont even realize youre just avoiding answering an (apparently) simple ass question.

And this is where you always start losing. You get so caught up in wagging your finger at a perceived slight that you can't dig a little deeper for yourself to realize you've already answered your own questions.

The Afronaut · Post by **The Afronaut** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 1:13 pm

Thun wrote:
The Afronaut wrote:
Thun wrote:It's right under your wide fleshy greasy bell pepper nose, akh.
This is where you always start losing man. You get so caught up in concocting a witty comeback that you dont even realize youre just avoiding answering an (apparently) simple ass question.
And this is where you always start losing. You get so caught up in wagging your finger at a perceived slight that you can't dig a little deeper for yourself to realize you've already answered your own questions.

I dont post for the sake of riddlin.

PopeyeJones · Post by **PopeyeJones** » Sun Jun 12, 2011 2:08 pm

The Afronaut wrote:Serious question: Why do only a limited a release like this in the first place? Are they worried it wont be able bring people in?

TBH I'm kinda surprised this is getting released in theaters in the first place.
Not because I'm not really excited about, just because I think the audience for it is pretty limited. I was kinda expecting that one of the cable networks might buy it, but that's it.

clark bent · Post by **clark bent** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:59 am

hard to believe its in (5) wash dc theaters and only (3) nyc theaters...perhaps it will run for a lot longer in nyc

Vlad Analogue · Post by **Vlad Analogue** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 9:13 am

Thun wrote:
The Afronaut wrote:
Thun wrote:It's right under your wide fleshy greasy bell pepper nose, akh.
This is where you always start losing man. You get so caught up in concocting a witty comeback that you dont even realize youre just avoiding answering an (apparently) simple ass question.
And this is where you always start losing. You get so caught up in wagging your finger at a perceived slight that you can't dig a little deeper for yourself to realize you've already answered your own questions.

The Afronaut · Post by **The Afronaut** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 11:52 am

clark bent wrote:hard to believe its in (5) wash dc theaters and only (3) nyc theaters...perhaps it will run for a lot longer in nyc

Thats kind of what Ive been trying to get at here. Im not sure I understand the decisions that are being made about when/where the movie is being shown.

Chalk it up to ignorance about how the independent film world works, but when I think of the indie/niche films Ive seen in theaters none of them have had such a limited release that they would be playing in cities for ONE day.

I just dont get it. Im open to being schooled by anybody who knows, and doesnt feel the overwhelming need to be overly condescending just because we're on a message board. Thanks.

Thun · Post by **Thun** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 11:58 am

The Afronaut wrote: I just dont get it. Im open to being schooled by anybody who knows, and doesnt feel the overwhelming need to be overly condescending just because we're on a message board. Thanks.

You deserve it for not fully acknowledging the superiority of their debut album.