Just talking about
Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to a Tribe Called Quest
with Eiliyas
Paulo’s Gelato in the Highlands.
We were visiting the A(tlanta) after having been gone for a few months after our move to Berlin. I don’t like the dude Paolo and I don’t like baby mamma’s friend that she is supposed to meet. So it’s a perfect time to meet up with my homeboy Mark and check out the Tribe documentary at Plaza Theatre on Ponce.
Andre 3000 was there with a friend. I was there with the homie. We were the only 4 in the theatre and it was obvious that we all shared a love for Tribe. I was finally about to watch the Tribe documentary which I basically can’t say no to as Tribe was by far and wide one of the groups that had a huge impact on me growing up. After the movie me and the homie Mark was over on the patio at Righteous Room having a post movie drink. We saw Andre and his friend and gave a nod acknowledging that we had our curiosity satiated by going to see this documentary even if it was no one else in the theatre but us. They left, me and the homie Mark had our drinks and then went our separate ways for the evening.
Many years later. I found out Hanif Abdurraqib was someone who had made a book with random writings centered around Tribe. Of course I had to get it the second I found out about it. After immediately opening the book I felt like Hanif was a new friend of mine. This book was me and him bonding over our love for Tribe in a way that made our friendship seem not old but incredibly matured. To a degree that no topic no matter how personal was too personal or off limits. Reading Go Ahead in the Rain is the first time I’ve read that felt like I should write the author a personal letter. Not only that but it also introduced me to other works of his which I’ve slowly been gathering.
Community is important. It’s something that I deeply believe is to be strived for. I also think that the love of something is the healthiest way to develop a community. In my daydream, I envision me, Hanif and Andre having a drink just gushing about the first time we heard Tribe. The first time we heard the opening bassline to Low End Theory and/or how we grieved when Phife passed. Oh yeah, and while we have our drinks anyone else who shares that love for Tribe is more than welcome at our table. If you think you belong at our table, you probably already have the book or picked it up as soon as you found out about it. Just to find out what a new friend of yours had to say about Tribe.
Eiliyas is a Macon born, Atlanta bred, Berlin-based artist working with music, sound design, creative writing and conceptual art. He also is host and curator of Mixtape Menage, a platform for becoming familiar with cultural facilitators of the world through sound.
