With People’s Instinctive Travels and The Paths of Rhythm, A Tribe Called Quest certainly took a divergent direction to much of their gangsta rap contemporaries. Backed by smooth jazz-esque grooves, the album overall exudes a much more laid back sound than the aggressive tone of many gangsta rap artists.
A good portion of that comes from the vocal delivery itself, which is much closer to spoken word than aggressive near-shouting. The content itself is less self serious as well. I mean, “Ham ‘N’ Eggs” is an entire song about their favorite foods, after all. It’s hard to imagine NWA covering that topic.
Overall the album seems a much more... carefree, perhaps? It doesn’t take Hip Hop so seriously, it’s a colorful take on life in many ways. The album cover reflects that — scowling expressions, brandished guns or gang signs are nowhere to be found.