with shipments of one million copies in the United States, becoming the group's most commercially successful album. The album received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Ernest Hardy of Rolling Stone called it "near-flawless", while commending The Ummah for their "irresistible" production, and the group for "spinning universal themes from an Afrocentric loom, with positivity balanced against subtly subversive street reporting." Entertainment Weeklys Cheo Tyehimba described it as "the return of playful yet potent hip-hop" and praised the "trademark originality" of the group's lyrics. Will Hermes of Spin credited the group for performing "with a sleight of hand that lets them get intelligent without ruining the party", however, he felt that "over the three fallow years since the group's last record, they've been dealing with a real crisis of musical faith." Robert Christgau gave the album a three-star honorable mention in his consumer guide for The Village Voice, noting that the group fights "sensationalist obscurity with philosophic subtlety", which he believed was ineffective. Christgau highlighted "Jam", "Crew" and "The Hop" as standout tracks. In the 5th edition of his Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Colin Larkin praised the group's "highly evolved" lyrics and lauded them for "addressing issues with greater philosophy than the crude banter of their past recordings." Despite calling the album "the group's most disappointing listen", John Bush of AllMusic credited it as "a dedication to the streets and the hip-hop underground." Beats, Rhymes and Life was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album and "1nce Again" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, presented at the 39th Grammy Awards in 1997. Track listing All tracks produced by The Ummah, except track 9 produced by Rashad Smith. Personnel Credits are adapted from AllMusic. A Tribe Called Quest – primary artist Tammy Lucas – featured artist Faith Evans – composer, featured artist Consequence – composer, guest artist, vocals Pasemaster Mase – scratching (track 9) Ali Shaheed Muhammad – composer, DJ Phife Dawg – composer, vocals Q-Tip – composer, vocals James Yancey (Jay Dee) – composer Rashad Smith – producer The Ummah – mixing, producer Bob Power – mixing Tony Smalios – mixing Tom Coyne – mastering Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Certifications See also List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 1996 List of Billboard number-one R&B albums of 1996 References External links 1996 albums A Tribe Called Quest albums