Actor and A Tribe Called Quest superfan Michael Rappaport chronicles the decline of one of the most influential hip-hop groups of all time in his documentary directorial debut, Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest. Founded in the late ’80s by high-school friends Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and Jarobi White, Tribe released five albums, enjoyed great commercial success thanks to instant classics like “Bonita Applebaum,” and were the engine, along with Jungle Brothers and De La Soul, behind the positively-charged Native Tongues movement. So what went wrong? Rappaport goes inside the belly of the beast to expose the ulcers, a procedure that hasn’t been easy. He starts with the 2008 reunion tour, travels back to the ’80s and then lands us in present day. In addition to intimate interviews with the band, folks like Kanye West, Common, and the Beastie Boys are enlisted to give their two cents. In Rappaport’s eyes, Tribe is like the Beatles, so does that mean Q-Tip and Phife = Lennon and McCartney? We aren’t sure about that, but their story is certainly worth a visit.

Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest is a Sony Picture Classics release.

(Originally appeared on Flavorpill.com in July 2011.)