Phife Dawg: Ventilation: Da LP : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

The first solo outing by Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest is almost an answer to his ex-colleague Q-Tip's 1999 solo debut, Amplified. Where Tip went jiggy after the group's breakup, indulging in furs and flashy videos, Phife uses Ventilation to assert his allegiance to unadorned hip-hop. Fans will be pleased to find the five-footer's familiar hoarse quips and kid-brother feistiness unchanged as he doggedly disses fashion-obsessed fakes ("Flawless"), cuts to the chase with ladies ("Ben Dova") and shakes his ass in nightspots nationwide ("The Club Hoppa"). Intricate, captivating beats -- from DJ Hi-Tek's hand-clap-heavy "D.R.U.G.S." and Pete Rock's depth-plumbing bass on "Lemme Find Out" to the somber bump of Jay Dee's "4 Horsemen (192 N'It)" -- bolster Ventilation and keep momentum high. Phife's not yet accustomed to holding his own for an entire LP and would benefit from a little more vocal versatility, but his scrappy style and offhand assurance make Ventilation a fun listen. (RS 854)

KATHRYN FARR