Consequence

It was on Beats, Rhymes & Life, A Tribe Called Quest’s fourth album, that Consequence — who is incidentally Q-Tip’s cousin — got his first break. These days he’s rolling with Kanye West and is set to release an album on the Chicago MC/producer’s label later this year. However, Cons appears to wants to go back before he moves forward, but on hearing this collection you have to wonder why. With artwork lifting A Tribe Called Quest’s classic Midnight Marauders album and a tracklisting that borrows about half the tracks from Beats, Rhymes & Life — albeit in remixed and reworked forms — Consequence isn’t shy about letting you know he was once associated with rap royalty. Unfortunately, his performances back then were pretty underwhelming and time hasn’t changed the fact that many of these songs recorded from ’95 to ’99 just don’t push him to the forefront. It doesn’t help that Q-Tip and Phife’s verses hopelessly overshadow his own and the re-workings of these tracks pale against their original versions. Consequence does a little better in the newer solo songs, however, the irony is that the best of these — "Electric” featuring Kanye West — is essentially a cover version of Tribe’s peerless "Electric Relaxation.” Consequence may rightfully view his association with ATCQ as a blessing, but he’s frankly better off focusing on his future than the past.