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Midnight Marauders

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Untitled

Midnight Marauders is the third album by hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, released November 9, 1993 on Jive Records.

Background

The album Midnight Marauders was a critical and commercial success, especially the hit single "Award Tour", though its jazz rap fusion and intellectual songwriting were subdued in comparison with the previous record, The Low End Theory, leading to some criticism. The album still contains important themes, like the use of the word nigga, but does not lose its spirituality.

The listener is guided through the program by a robotic voiced woman played by Laurel Dann. As this voice tells the listener at the end of "Award Tour", the meaning of the album's title derives from a figure that "seven times out of ten, we listen to our music at night", hence the "Midnight", and that the word maraud means to loot, and A Tribe Called Quest are "maraud[ing] for ears".[1]

It is one of three A Tribe Called Quest albums on The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums.[2] It is also one of three A Tribe Called Quest albums to be certified platinum by the RIAA.[3]

The only video for this album that is fully displayed in full color is "Oh My God". The song "Electric Relaxation" was used during the opening theme for the WB sitcom Wayans Bros.. The original version of "The Chase Part Two", called "The Chase" uses the same beat, but instead has one verse by Consequence in it.

Track listing

No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Midnight Marauders Tour Guide"A Tribe Called Quest0:45
2."Steve Biko (Stir It Up)"A Tribe Called Quest3:11
3."Award Tour" (ft. Trugoy the Dove)A Tribe Called Quest3:46
4."8 Million Stories"Skeff Anselm4:30
5."Sucka Nigga"A Tribe Called Quest4:05
6."Midnight" (ft. Raphael Wiggins)A Tribe Called Quest3:49
7."We Can Get Down"A Tribe Called Quest4:19
8."Electric Relaxation"A Tribe Called Quest4:04
9."Clap Your Hands"A Tribe Called Quest3:16
10."Oh My God" (ft. Busta Rhymes)A Tribe Called Quest3:29
11."Keep It Rollin'" (ft. Large Professor)Large Professor3:05
12."The Chase, Part II"A Tribe Called Quest4:02
13."Lyrics to Go"A Tribe Called Quest4:09
14."God Lives Through"A Tribe Called Quest4:15
European Bonus Track
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
15."Hot Sex"A Tribe Called Quest2:45

Additional credits

# Title Notes
1 "Midnight Marauders Tour Guide"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor
Sample: "Aquarius" by Cal Tjader

2 "Steve Biko (Stir It Up)"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor
Sample: "Ekim" by Michal Urbaniak Group

3 "Award Tour"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor
Sample: "We Gettin' Down" by Weldon Irvine
Sample: "Lowdown" by Charles Earland
Sample: "Olinga" by Milt Jackson
Sample: "Hobo" by Malcolm McLaren

4 "8 Million Stories"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor, S. Anselm
Sample: "Bettina" by Bola Sete

5 "Sucka Nigga"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor, H. Hubbard
Sample: "Red Clay" by Jack Wilkins

6 "Midnight"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor
Sample: "Psychadelic Shack" by Albino Gorilla

7 "We Can Get Down"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor
Sample: "Martin's Funeral" by Bill Cosby
Sample: "My Melody" by Eric B. and Rakim

8 "Electric Relaxation"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor
Sample: "Mystic Brew" by Ronnie Foster
Sample: "Outside Love" by Brethren
Sample: "Dreams" by Ramsey Lewis

9 "Clap Your Hands"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor, B. James, Norcentelli, Porter, Neville, Modeliste
Sample: "Nautilus" by Bob James
Sample: "Hand Clapping Song" by The Meters
Sample: "Ode to Billy Joe" by Lou Donaldson

10 "Oh My God"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor
Sample: "Who's Gonna Take Weight" by Kool & The Gang
Sample: "Why Can't People Be Colors Too?" by The Whatnauts
Sample: "Absolutions" by Lee Morgan

11 "Keep It Rollin'"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor, W. Mitchell
Sample: "Feel Like Making Love" by Roy Ayers

12 "The Chase, Part II"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor, S. Arrington, V. Godsey, B. Hankerson
Sample: "Beddie Bye" by Steve Arrington
Sample: "Nobody Beats the Biz" by Biz Markie

13 "Lyrics to Go"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor
Sample: "Just Enough Room for Storage" by James Brown
Sample: "Inside My Love" by Minnie Ripperton
Sample: "Mixed Up Cup" by Clyde McPhatter

14 "God Lives Through"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor
Sample: "Dig It On" by Jimmy McGriff
Sample: "On Love" by David T. Walker

* "Hot Sex"

Songwriters: J. Davis, A. Muhammad, M. Taylor

Accolades

The information is taken from Acclaimedmusic.net[4]and other website links below.

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Ego Trip USA Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980-98 1999 #2
Exclaim! Canada 100 Records that Rocked 100 Issues 2000 *
Pitchfork USA Top 100 Favorite Records of the 1990s 2003 #75
The Source USA The Source 100 Best Hip-Hop Albums of All Time 1998 *
The Guardian UK 100 Albums that Don't Appear in All Other Top 100 Album Lists 1999 #98
The New Nation UK Top 100 Albums by Black Artists #11
OOR Moordlijst Netherlands 10 The 100 Best Albums of 1991-1995 1995 #31
Spex Germany 1001 The 100 Albums of the Century 1999 #19

( * ) designates lists which are unordered.

Cover art

The back vinyl cover of Midnight Marauders

Widely respected and admired for their success and artistry throughout the hip-hop scene, and preternaturally inclined to accept this adulation with grace and humility, the group elected to summon fellow hip-hoppers whose work as artists and actions as human beings they respected, and photographed headshots of each for arrangement on the album's cover and liner-notes insert. And like The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, it serves as a time capsule of the era; a who's who of hip hop circa 1993.

According to ego trip's Book of Rap Lists, there are a reported 71 different hip hop luminaries and radio DJ's who adorned Midnight Marauders. The cover was issued in three different color schemes- red, black, & green (with black being the rarest). The book goes into detail as to which artists were on which particular album cover using a number scheme to easily identify each artist. The complete list of artists is as follows:

The album artwork of Midnight Marauders was the source of inspiration for a collection of products released by Jordan Brand that includes T-shirts and the Air Jordans.

References

  1. ^ Stated by 'Tour Guide' at the end of "Award Tour" This end before "Lyrics to Go".
  2. ^ ~~~~ www.rocklist.net ~~~~
  3. ^ http://www.riaa.com/gp/database/default.asp
  4. ^ "Midnight Marauders at AcclaimedMusic.net". Retrieved June 23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
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