This review is really initial... I've only listened to most of the cuts
just twice or so. Personally, I think this is a bit better than the last
LP, and that's not counting the six bonus cuts (which will sell copies by
themselves). Regardless, there's some things on this album that'll turn
away many heads (even moreso than on Beats, Rhymes, & Life). It'll
probably grow on me, though.

Oh yeah, I got a Love Movement T-Shirt when I bought this and OutKast
(review later) this morning. Also, when I first listened from beginning to
end, I didn't feel anything at all... But then I threw on Aquamini and I
didn't feel the first few cuts on that either, so I decided to sleep
before checked them out. They sound better this time around.


   "Start It Up". About half way through this track I thought that this is
supposed to be some kind of intro to the LP (is it? When he mentions
Punchline and wordsworth?). Just Q-Tip, rapping really haltingly to the
(very sparse) beat (no Phife on this track), that sounds like a bass drum,
some snares and some horns. It sure sounds like the dreaded Ummah-style
production. Even though it's really basic musically, there's something
nice about it that I can't really put my finger on.

   "Find A Way" was the first single... It's kinda crossover, with a
cheesy hook, but damn it has grown on me A LOT since I first heard it.
Thump, clap, thump, clap. This is one of the few cuts on the track that
isn't really abstract (most accurate word that comes to mind) in it's
production style.

   "Da Booty" has another Ummah-ish beat... For some reason, I'm feeling
these sparse, avant garde beats that Q-Tip and Co. have been putting
together much more than the ones on BR&L. This one reminds of that _It's
Yours_ cut that Q-Tip put out a while ago... Nothing *great* though.

   On "Steppin' It Up" f/ Busta Rhymes & Redman, Q-Tip comes off super
wack over a boring ass track. Tip's verse on this cut exemplifies
everything I have hated about his rhyming over the past few years. Busta
and Redman drop some fairly nice cameos, and I can forgive Phife strictly
for that "freestylin' son like there was no tomorrow" line, even though
that looks pretty normal in type. Despite Q-Tip's utter wackness on this
song, I still kind of like it. Nothing *too* bad so far.

   "Like It Like That" is a really smoothed out track, where Q-Tip sounds
normal for once. I really like the beat. I want to descrive it as "spooky"
but that isn't really right. Whatever, it's my favorite thing so far.
Damn, I'm listening to it again, and this is some nice shit. BTW, Phife is
only on the chorus on this one.

   "Common Ground (Get It Goin' On)". Whoa, it sounds like the last track,
except not as nice. Q-Tip is on some weird call-and-response shit... It
may be some nice background music some day... I don't know yet. It's kinda
boring, nothing special. BTW, the tracks on the Love Movement seem to tend
to be short, ranging from two and half to three and half minutes
generally.

   "4 Moms" f/ Spanky. Who the hell is Spanky? This is just a weird
instrumental track with some weird kind of guitar (I think) in the
background.

   "His Name Is Mutty Ranks" is Phife's track (obivously), and is a whole
lot better than that Baby Phife track (apparently it's "Mutty" now...
hahaha). For some reason, there's almost no treble on this track, and
Phife seems to have muffled his voice. Pretty crappy, if ya ask me.
Especially when Phife starts singing.

   "Give Me" f/ Noreaga. What? No "What what?" Oh, there it is, with a
bunch of echos... Haha. Whatever, the production is the kind of Ummah
track that makes enemies for Tribe. Sooo minimal. Damn, Noreaga drops two
verses, which is kind of odd for a guest spot. A really average cut, even
though it's kind of interesting. I swear, Nore reference Queens like 6 or
7 times.

   "Pad & Pen" f/ D-Life has the same problems as Give Me, except the beat
is a bit nicer, I *think*. Unremarkable...

   "Busta's Lament": At first I thought this was about Busta Rhymes (due
to the title), but then I thought it wasn't (maybe a "busta"), and then I
looked at the writing credits, and Busta had credit for it, but he just
ends up going "yo, yo, yo" on the hook. Still, even though the treble is
hurting my ears in my fucked up headphones, this track is nice after the
previous 3 or 4 mediocre-to-bad tracks before it. Like almost every other
beat on this LP, it's smoothed out like butter (hahaha), except on the
chorus it has this weird cut to some horns.

   "Hot 4 U" is kind of funny, with Phife and Tip rapping about all their
women over a quirky, bouncy beat, which reminds me a bit of that "What?"
track on _Low End Theory_, even though it's not really similar in any
other way. "This girl from my past/had rediculous ass/she went to
UMass/and passed every class". I can see some people loving this.

   "Against The World" feels like a mix between Hot 4 U and Body Rock,
production wise. This and Hot 4 U have much nicer production, even though
it's still too minimalistic. It's not good in particular, but it isn't bad
either. I don't know what to say other than that.

   "The Love" is a fairly mediocre track. Q-Tip is rhyming more normally
than he has on a lot of this LP. Some people I know really like it though,
but I'll have to wait to form an opinion on this.

   "Rock Rock Y'all" f/ Punchline, Wordsworth, Jane Doe, & Mos Def. When I
saw Jane Doe's name, I was afraid. She doesn't ruin these tracks for me
like she has for some rmhh heads, but she drops a stupid verse on this cut
(yeah, you can use three syllable words, good for you). Punchline comes
off better than usual, Wordsworth is the man, Q-Tip is OK, and Mos Def
steals the show (BTW, why isn't Mos Def credited as Dante Beze?). This is
the main attraction for most fans...

   Now the bonus tracks: "Scenario (Remix)" f/ Leaders of the New School &
Kid Hood, "Money Maker" by Lone Ranger (Q-Tip), "Hot Sex" from the
Boomerang Soundtrack, "Oh My God (Remix)", "Jazz (We've Got) (Re-Recording
Radio)", and "One Two S**t" f/ Busta Rhymes. No Mr. Incognito, or that
Spilling of the Toungue joint from a while ago, which sucks. Everyone's
probably heard most of these, and (I think) all of them pre-date or
coincide with _Midnight Marauders_ except Money Maker...


The bottom line is that this album isn't really as much like BR&L as
people would think. It feels a lot different than Beats, Rhymes, & Life,
and it doesn't really hit you like some of the tracks on BR&L did, like
"Jam" or "The Pressure". Of course, this isn't anywhere near Low End
Theory or Midnight Marauders). I think it'll grow on me as time goes, and
the bonus tracks are cool to have.

The best way I can describe _The Love Movement_ is that it doesn't really
have much energy. I still don't know why they're on making minimalistic
beats with weird samples, but I still like this LP. This is a weird album,
so you definitely should listen to it before making the purchase (if the
bonus tracks aren't enough to convince you). "Find A Way", "Like It Like
That", "Busta's Lament", "Hot 4 U", and "Rock Rock Y'all" are what I liked
on the first listen.

I want to put a score on it, but I don't think I can right now. I'd
probably pick up Aquamini and Black Star first, though.


Carl Linder