A Fan Called Jesús

I'm a huge Tribe fan. So huge that I got one of my boys to airbrush The Low End Theory cover on a shirt with the infamous "industry rule #4080" line. So huge that I was upset when Q-Tip flaked on a Scratch feature I was supposed to write; I had the sidebar ready to go pero nada. And like a lot of us urban culture scribes I still listen to their timeless cuts as opposed to Yung Berg. I got into Tribe when I was 11 and Theory dropped. I bought the cassette, listened to it endlessly and thought every hip-hop album would be like this; meaning no tracks were skipped. They once sampled a Bill Cosby record ( on “We Can Get Down”) people! At the same time I was heavy into Cypress Hill (mainly because they were brown like me and those damn Muggs’ beats) and Redman (because well let's face it before Red got high with Meth he was one of the illest). Forget that those two acts made me indulge in la yerba buena ("How to Roll a Blunt" and "Stoned is the way of the walk" are hard not to imitate), Tribe made me tell my mom that there was such a thing as good natured rap music.

Tip, Phife and Ali were cats that were like me...good kids who grew up around some shady but interesting characters. Yeah, we did our shit here and there but we were really just good people. Fast forward to today, when I was dating my wife my first nickname for her was Bonita Applebum. It was a perfect fit. I love Tribe, she was hella bonita and her bum was and is a great apple. Her numbers in my phone are saved as "Bonita Applebum" and "Bonita's Office." I even snuck in a Tribe reference in my wedding vows! So when I'm feeling the pressure and buggin out I always find a way to play some jazz and keep it moving. If those verses from the abstract don't work I get some electric relaxation from my Bonita Applebum.

PS: If you can’t name more than five Tribe songs in the last two sentences this post isn’t for you.

Uno,

Jesús