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Labour Journal of Canadian Labour Studies Le Travail Revue d’Études Ouvrières Canadiennes

Hanif Abdurraqib, Never Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to Brody Trottier

Volume 84, Fall 2019

URI: https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1066556ar DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/llt.2019.0059

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Publisher(s) Canadian Committee on Labour History

ISSN 0700-3862 (print) 1911-4842 (digital)

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Cite this review Trottier, B. (2019). Review of [Hanif Abdurraqib, Never Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to a Tribe Called Quest]. Labour / Le Travail, 84, 358–359. https://doi.org/10.1353/llt.2019.0059

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This article is disseminated and preserved by Érudit. Érudit is a non-profit inter-university consortium of the Université de Montréal, Université Laval, and the Université du Québec à Montréal. Its mission is to promote and disseminate research. https://www.erudit.org/en/ 358 / labour/le travail 84 relations playbook while management Tribe Called Quest combined funk and was busy drafting a new set of rules. horns in the same way Buddy Bolden This book’s relatively minor limi- mixed ragtime and blues to create . tations do not diminish its consider- (10) The sounds of A Tribe Called Quest able strengths. Managerial Control of drew on this legacy of black music. They American Workers effectively covers a are known for their extensive sampling broad topic in an accessible manner. It of jazz records, repurposing another gen- should in particular find its way on to the eration’s sounds for a new era. (10) One syllabi of undergraduate courses on busi- of the tools Abdurraqib employs to re- ness history, labor history, and the sociol- assert the themes he is developing is to ogy of work. It likely will not be read in recount memories from his childhood. undergraduate business programs, even For example, he recalls that hip hop was though students and instructors in those not always permitted in his home – for a programs should be encouraged to pick time, rap was taboo – but A Tribe Called up a copy of it. That is regrettable as stu- Quest was always an exception. (9) They dents in business programs would quick- had a unique cross-cultural appeal which ly see that Frederick Winslow Taylor and Abdurraqib attributes to the warm and Elton Mayo – possibly two of the biggest vital feeling of their sounds. (9) The fact intellectual charlatans in American his- that they were paying homage to their tory – are shaping their lives more than influences also makes them the ideal sub- Peter Drucker and W. Edwards Deming ject for this book, allowing Abdurraqib to ever have. make his broader commentaries. Jason Russell The honest and thoughtful analysis of Empire State College – suny each of A Tribe Called Quest’s is a notable highlight of the book. These analyses serve as a platform to develop Hanif Abdurraqib, Never Go Ahead in fascinating and perceptive interpreta- the Rain: Notes to a Tribe Called Quest tions of the group’s music. The Low End (Austin, University of Texas Press 2019) Theory, the group’s sophomore , is explored through a series of alternating In this book, Hanif Abdurraqib ex- letters addressed to the groups two MCs: plores the personal, political, and cultur- Q-Tip and . In this chapter, al impact of the celebrated Queens hip Abdurraqib confronts the political mean- hop group, A Tribe Called Quest. More ing of the “low end.” For Abdurraqib, the than a standard biography, Abdurraqib album title refers to the downtrodden – uses the group to comment on the ex- those not heard and those unseen. (58) pansive socio-political context in which The political commentary of this album their music was created. Through a series is contextualized within the beating of of essays, Abdurraqib unfolds the history Rodney King, occurring shortly before of A Tribe Called Quest while weaving in the album’s release. Like the media at- personal anecdotes to tell a grander nar- tention given to King, which brought to rative on music, race, politics, culture, light the struggles of harassment by the and relationships. police, Abdurraqib feels The Low End Never Go Ahead in the Rain begins by Theory develops characters that speak to contextualizing A Tribe Called Quest the various ways people try to survive. within the storied history of black music (58) For instance, in “Everything is Fair”, in America. Abdurraqib makes interest- Q-Tip raps about his romantic interest of ing musical connections, noting that A Miss Elaine, who asks him to sell weed

LABOUR / LE TRAVAIL, ISSUE 84 (2019), ISSN 0700-3862 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/llt.2019.0059 reviews / comptes rendus / 359 for her. (59) Abdurraqib argues that this of hip hop was used as a sort of social cur- story demonstrates the political message rency growing up. Although Abdurraqib of the album. For Abdurraqib, the low acknowledges he would not have been end is the politics of everyday struggles; considered cool, he was able to exchange “the dark and endless humming of want, his knowledge of the newest and most which opens the door and beckons us to interesting trends in music for a degree all manner of ills.” (59) Abdurraqib prais- of social protection. (36) Another ac- es the album for wrapping these political count details his religious reading of the ideas in a danceable sound that celebrates rap magazine, , which leads the freedom to briefly forget. For fans of to a larger discussion of black media. the album’s jazz-heavy production and Abdurraqib goes on to give a short his- clever storytelling, Abdurraqib offers a tory of Jet (a legacy black publication) and fresh and ingenious perspective on the what that magazine meant for the civil album’s political message. rights movement – especially by printing The emotional core of the book is found uncensored images of the battered body in the chapter “Family Business” which of Emmitt Till. (115) These sorts of com- grapples with the death of Phife Dawg parisons help to illustrate the cultural from diabetes in 2016. Addressing Phife significance of hip hop in Abdurraqib’s Dawg, along with his mother, Cheryl life. Boyce-Taylor, and Q-Tip – we are given a Abdurraqib’s background as a poet is glimpse into the meaningful connection on full display in his remarkable prose Abdurraqib feels towards the members and extensive use of metaphor. Much like of A Tribe Called Quest. In these letters, reading poetry, these essays are better ex- Abdurraqib expresses the kinship he ex- perienced than summarized. Abdurraqib periences with Boyce-Taylor – a fellow imparts on the reader a closeness to the poet – whose loss of her son is paralleled characters found in the book. The inti- with Abdurraqib’s loss of his mother. macy of this book is creates insight into (154) With Q-Tip, Abdurraqib gives his why the band has resonated with so many condolences for the loss of his brother fans, and why this cultural history of this and contemplates the state of the world music is important to evoke. since and Rodney Although a familiarity with A Tribe King. (162) In his letter addressed to Phife Called Quest is recommended, the book Dawg – using his given name, Malik can certainly be enjoyed by those who – Abdurraqib calls for a celebration. wouldn’t consider themselves fans. With Reflecting on the significance of sugar in Never Go Ahead in the Rain, Abdurraqib Abdurraqib’s own childhood, he does not creates a lasting work with an ambitious dwell on Phife Dawg’s habits which lead scope. He obscures the line between to his death, but instead wishes to revel , memoir, and biog- in what he loved, at least for a day. (167) raphy. Most importantly, Abdurraqib These letters are an impactful and poi- constructs a worthy homage to one of gnant tribute to a misunderstood genius. hip-hops most innovative artists. There are numerous insights to be Brody Trottier gleaned from Never Go Ahead in the University of Toronto Rain, especially for those with an interest in race and culture. Abdurraqib is able to reflect on his own life events and connect them to larger cultural experiences. For instance, he discusses how his knowledge

Trottier