( CNN ) -- If `` Can I kick it ? '' provokes an almost involuntary `` Yes , you can ! '' and `` You 're on point , Phife '' brings `` All the time , Tip , '' then you 're in the right place . If your idea of hip-hop is confined to Snoop Dawg , NWA or Public Enemy , then you 'll also benefit from spending a little time with Q-Tip , Phife Dawg , Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White , aka A Tribe Called Quest . In `` Beats , Rhymes & Life : The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest , '' actor Michael Rapaport tries out his directorial chops by attempting to document the rise , fall , rise ( again ) and fall ( again ) of the seminal New York hip-hop group , achieving mixed results . Although the film is chock-a-block with great music and interesting characters , it lacks a coherent focus and seems to want to be all films to all people . A mixture of footage shot for this film and that from other sources , the documentary jumps back and forth between the band 's early days , their first split in 1998 and their reunion ( and subsequent second break-up ) in 2008 on the Rock the Bells tour . It gives a reasonably detailed and personal look into what made the band tick as well as what made them stop . Unfortunately , it does n't work as a whole . Great documentaries most often latch on to the universality of their subject and connect on an emotional or intellectual level with their audience . They can be about an obscure , unattractive animal ( naked mole rats , anyone ? ) , a troubled child in a small town ( `` Billy the Kid '' ) or a wacky modern-day philosopher king/tour guide ( `` The Cruise '' ) , but they have a purpose , a point of view and a connection with the audience . `` Beats , Rhymes & Life , '' while loaded with great material , lacks that connection . Clearly charismatic and talented men , the four members of Tribe ( White left the group for a significant stretch during its heyday but rejoined them for occasional reunion tours ) have a lot to say about how they met , how they worked together and how they broke up , but the film never really pieces this together in any sort of narrative that can be closely followed . Phife Dawg 's health problems ( he is a type-1 diabetic who undergoes a kidney transplant during the film ) are mentioned , but only White , ironically the least-involved member of the group , shows any real emotions about his friend 's dire health condition . In the film 's only other real showing of emotion , we learn that Phife Dawg 's wife is a match , and she donates one of her kidneys . For New Yorkers or hip-hop fans ( of which this critic is both ) , the film offers frequent bits of interest , humor and musical delight and is certainly a pleasant way to spend 98 minutes . Phife Dawg is especially loquacious , waxing rhapsodic on subjects as diverse as his eating habits ( he lists Lorna Doones as one of the snack foods he 's had to give up ) and basketball . In the latter , he 's seen wearing an LA Lakers uniform , and Q-Tip questions him about his allegiance to his hometown New York Knicks and their new star , Amar ' e Stoudemire . Phife replies , rapid-fire , without missing a beat , that he loves the Knicks , but their front office is a mess and `` I like Amar ' e Stoudemire , but I 'm gon na need him to play some defense . '' However , while the members of Tribe are all talented and charismatic artists with interesting and compelling stories to tell , `` Beats , Rhymes & Life '' does n't tell them fully . It 's a complex story involving music , family , history and the greater world of New York hip-hop ( which is in and of itself worth of a film ) , and what it comes down to is that Rapaport had so many directions to choose , so much footage to watch , that the film suffers from the overload . Perhaps choosing a subject that is a little less close to his heart will afford Rapaport the distance that is sometimes needed to make a compelling documentary .
For hip-hop fans , the film offers frequent bits of interest , humor and musical delight . The movie is a bit more than just an excuse to show off some cool music videos ; it also has a story that makes you think about what kind of world we live in today. Michael Rapaport has moderate success documenting the group 's rises and falls .