Midnight Marauders

Third and last of the "classic" Tribe records (preceding the addition of Jay Dee and the formation of "the Ummah" production team), MIDNIGHT MARAUDERS is not as groundbreaking as PEOPLE'S INSTINCTIVE TRAVELS or as consistently on-point as LOW END THEORY. However, it is arguably the group's most musically sophisticated album. The tracks balance jazz, soul, and even reggae influences with pure hip-hop to arrive at a completely distinctive Tribe sound, the logical evolution of the bop-inflected hooks which characterized LOW END THEORY.