The year was 1993 when A Tribe Called Quest dropped Midnight Marauders. A Golden Era classic, Q-Tip, Phife, and Ali Shaheed forever changed the hip-hop landscape with tracks like "Lyrics To Go," "Electric Relaxation," "Award Tour," "Steve Biko (Stir It Up)," and more. Fast forward to 2016, Funky DL, a staple name of the UK hip-hop scene, pays tribute to ATCQ's third album, which over two decades ago inspired him to pursue a career in rap. Besides the refreshing way in which the super familiar melodies and rhythms come at you, Marauding At Midnight: A Tribute to The Sounds of A Tribe Called Quest is remarkable, because it was created "without sampling any breaks or loops." Yes, we agree, that might not necessarily be a good thing, as the intricate layers of samples contribute heavily to the magic of the original. However, from the opening moments of Marauding…, Funky DL's dedication to recreating Midnight Marauders to the tee becomes clear, and his addition of subtle touches—in the form of harmonic vocal snippets—makes this effort a truly worthy companion to Midnight Marauders

• 14 tracks in all
• no samples used to recreate tracks
• music label: Washington Classics 2016

reviewed by enak light 04/2017