Beats, Rhymes, & Life: A Tribe Called Quest documentary in 2010?

Can I kick it? Yes you can! Every real hip hop fan knows those lyrics, the hook behind legendary rap crew A Tribe Called Quest's first break out hit from their seminal 1989 album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. Quest, consisting of lead rapper Q-Tip, emcee Pfife Dawg, and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad, is long considered the pioneers of alternative hip hop from 1990 to 1998 when the group split after their fifth studio record.

For the last two years, actor Michael Rapaport(Big Fan, Higher Learning) has been piecing together a documentary based on the legendary group. Consisting of hundreds of hours of footage and interviews with some of hip hop's greats(Too Short, Nas, Mos Def, Pete Rock and a host of others are included), the film chronicles Tribe's influence on the hip hop culture and on the genre even today. It begins with their reunion back at the 2008 Rock the Bells concert. The website for the documentary gives loyal Tribe followers a chance to be included in the film by telling their own personal stories. Rapaport hopes to have a final cut of the film ready by the end of 2010. No word on an official release date, or if it will see any sort of theatrical release.

I'll go to my grave saying that A Tribe Called Quest is the greatest rap group ever in the history of music. Nobody compares. From their soulful yet catchy vibes to their poetic wordplay, their music is basically the soundtrack of my youth. I was fortunate enough to see them in concert one time a few years ago during one of their pre-reunion reunions, and even though we were crammed in like sardines it was still a memorable experience. Michael Rapaport I know is a huge hip hop fan, so I'm sure he'll treat the material with the respect it deserves. My hope is that this will receive at least something of a theatrical run and marketing push similar to when Scratch(another awesome hip hop documentary) was released in 2001.