I am a sucker for performance documentaries.
There is always the music, art or comedy to lean on if the style or structure is otherwise weak.
However, that was not the case with "Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest.
" The story telling in this documentary about the legendary rap group was well crafted, visually interesting and insightful.
And, the music made me run to download songs from iTunes as soon as the film was over.
I don't pretend to be a rap music aficionado but I did enjoy listening, dancing and rapping along with A Tribe Called Quest songs in my young adult days.
I still do.
So learning about how members Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad got together, made music and fell apart was all new and fascinating to me.
That there was a fourth member, Jarobi White, was a total revelation.
To see Q-Tip's thoughtfulness and genius of production is creatively inspiring.
Just the way he rifles through record bins at the speed of light lets you know a little bit about depth of his relationship with music.
"Beats, Rhymes & Lif"e was not just a nostalgic "Behind The Music" style piece honoring A Tribe Called Quest's music.
During filming, the group members were living through major struggles.
Q-Tip and Phife were not on speaking terms, locked in a stalemate of hurt feelings that only brothers can cause.
Ali was stuck in the middle while other rap greats such as De La Soul members were disappointed to see their musical compadres' behavior of not living up to essence behind their songs.
Phife was also awaiting a kidney transplant due to his long struggle with diabetes.
In both cases, I found myself rooting for positive outcomes and was never sure if it would come before the final credits.
A long list of rap industry icons gave interviews to help shed light on why A Tribe Called Quest was so successful.
They included Monie Love, Pharrell Williams, The Roots and The Beastie Boys.
Director Michael Rapaport could be heard from time to time asking questions.
I would have liked to hear more about the personal lives of Q-Tip and Ali like we did for Phife and Jarobi.
It seemed slightly unbalanced in favor of the Phife camp.
Despite the trials and tribulations of the group, "Beats, Rhymes & Life" was a fun documentary with a great soundtrack.
As some of the interviewees in this documentary point out, when rap music was turning the corner from party music to anger, A Tribe Called Quest walked a line in between.
The stance of being proud of who they are and where they're from but not letting it define them is a universal theme that still resonates today.