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Consequence - A Tribe Called QuenceAlbum Review by:
John Kennedy
Wednesday, July 6, 2005
 As of late, Consequence has been picking up steam on the strength of his alliance with Chicago rapper/producer Kanye West. But Consequence’s story begins a decade earlier. In preparation for his long-awaited solo album, Don’t Quit Your Day Job , Cons takes listeners back to his origins on the teaser mixtape, A Tribe Called Quence.
A Tribe Called Quence is a chronology of Consequence’s travels through the music industry, from his beginnings on A Tribe Called Quest’s 1996 album Beats, Rhymes and Life to his current affiliation with Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint. West, 88 Keys, 9th Wonder and others lend their production skills to the nostalgic mixtape, which features remixes of ATCQ songs that featured Cons as well as new material and freestyles.
The hype-builder begins with a string of remixes from Beats, Rhymes and Life, updated with new beats. On “Wordplay,” the Tribe gets its Webster’s on as they define words throughout the song from their perspective (think Big L’s “Ebonics”). The tranquil “Jam” features Q-Tip, Phife, and Consequence showing off their lucid storytelling abilities over chiming bells and crisp handclaps. Those reminiscent revisions, as well as remixes of “Motivators” and “Mind Power,” lyrically sound as fresh as they did in 96’ and plead for a comeback ATCQ album.
ATCQuence continues to follow Cons’ career, retouching songs from Consequence’s 2002 self-released mixtape, The Cons Vol. 2: Make the Game Come to You . Pounding bass and soft chimes play the background of “The Bidding War,” which cleverly mentions several record labels in Consequence’s self-generated signing frenzy: “No more living reckless, chasing that Fast Money / Cuz’ now Universal will front me that Cash Money / Or I can stay indy like the fourth of July / And show all you folks why I'm the hottest dude alive.” “Electric,” taken from the same mixtape, introduces Kanye to Quence as they rework ATCQ’s 1993 smash “Electric Relaxation.” Cons springs into the present with “Itch,” a fictional story filled with words that rhyme with ‘itch’. The mixtape closes with two bonus tracks, one of which partners Quence with fellow Queens rapper, Havoc.
ATCQuence will take Tribe enthusiasts down memory lane and give younger heads insight on one of the greatest hip-hop groups of all time. More importantly, it serves as a thorough reintroduction of Consequence to the world and increases the anticipation for his solo debut by leaps and bounds. With two masterpieces from Common and John Legend, the pressure is on for Consequence to uphold G.O.O.D. Music’s winning streak. If ATCQuence is any indication of what’s to come, expect that streak to improve to 3-for-3.
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