Beats, Rhymes and Life is the fourth album by New York jazz-rap group A Tribe Called Quest. It was released on July 30th 1996 via Jive Records, and included singles “1nce Again” and “Stressed Out”. The album marked a stylistic shift for the group, as it featured some of their darkest material to date. This may have been due to poor label relations and Phife Dawg moving to Atlanta, subsequently becoming distant from the nuclear members. His absences were accounted for with features from Q-Tip’s cousin Consequence on six of the album’s songs. Beats, Rhymes and Life also featured early work from legendary Detroit producer J Dilla, who with Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammed formed the production collective The Ummah. The Ummah’s production style was different from previous Tribe albums, in that it was smoother, darker, and a reduced It received positive critical reception from reviewers like Rolling Stone and The Source, although not to the same level of acclaim as their previous releases — some fans also did not appreciate the newfound lack of optimism and pretentiousness during the industry in 1996, when hip-hop culture was moving in the direction of dance music and flashiness. Many artists had believed ATCQ hit their peak with the release of the album. The album still performed well commercially, earning a Platinum certification from the RIAA. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.