So... What is the low end theory?

[Elevz]

A Tribe Called Quest got my second favorite album of all time with their Low End Theory... Yet I'm wondering, what's with the title of this album? It must have some deeper meaning to it, yet I can't figure out what. It can't be just about surviving as a broke man, is it?

[Jip]

wait a minute, let me just call them up and ask them for u...

[We Fly High]

looking at the album cover id have to say it has to something to do with a woman's low end.

[Machiavelli]

looking at the album cover id have to say it has to something to do with a woman's low end.

lmao

[We Fly High]

looking at the album cover id have to say it has to something to do with a woman's low end.

lmao

haha just fuckin around.. but yeah.. i dunno what the deeper meaning is. all i can think of just is just the disenfranchised struggle..

[Turf Hitta]

I think it just means life from the perspective of somebody on the low end of the income scale.

[J @ M @ L]

I think it just means life from the perspective of somebody on the low end of the income scale.

It's either that... or it has to do with something I learned in Economics called "disruptive technology"..

Basically, what it is.. it's when there's a new product or service in the market that over time dominates the existing dominant one in the market... by filling a gap in a market that the old one couldn't... or by making improvements until it displaces the old market dominator.. the thing is that the disruptive technology is most of the time quite different from the original and its performance is usually lower than the origina...l that's just a basic definition.. but anyways, there's a "low end theory" to this disruption... which basically means that the product or service improves at a rate thats faster than the rate at which consumers can adopt the new "performance" of the product or service...  so at some point the performance of the product exceeds what the consumer actually needs.. so that's when a disruptive technology enters the market and provides a product or service that has lower performance but still meets the needs of a consumer.. the original dominator of the market cant really compete with a product thats cheaper to make.. so it just reaches out to those demanders that are expecting more and got the money to pay for more... it just keeps going up this way until the demand diminishes and the old product is gone


So the way I looked at it is maybe "The Low End Theory" is actually describing how this "new" rap music (more commercial) is pushing the "original/real hip hop" out of the market... after all, the commercial shit has the power of huge labels behind it, the costs are therefore lower, and the "performance is lower" (lower quality)... so basically as the market for this commercial rap is growing, the market for that "real" hiphop has been feeding the demands of a smaller and smaller group as time progresses because the number of people "demanding" higher quality is declining...

maybe im lookin too much into it but thats my take on it...

p.s. i never really thought about it myself until the question was asked... but after reading the replies, i'm either 100% correct, or i'm giving em way too much credit lol

[makaveli11]

^LOL. If you are reaching, then that's a damn good explanation. If that is the true explanation for thier album title, then major propz to them. Propz for the info. That theory alone motivated me to take more economic courses.

[jeromechickenbone]

I think it just means life from the perspective of somebody on the low end of the income scale.

It's either that... or it has to do with something I learned in Economics called "disruptive technology"..

Basically, what it is.. it's when there's a new product or service in the market that over time dominates the existing dominant one in the market... by filling a gap in a market that the old one couldn't... or by making improvements until it displaces the old market dominator.. the thing is that the disruptive technology is most of the time quite different from the original and its performance is usually lower than the origina...l that's just a basic definition.. but anyways, there's a "low end theory" to this disruption... which basically means that the product or service improves at a rate thats faster than the rate at which consumers can adopt the new "performance" of the product or service...  so at some point the performance of the product exceeds what the consumer actually needs.. so that's when a disruptive technology enters the market and provides a product or service that has lower performance but which exceeds the needs of a consumer.. the original dominator of the market cant really compete with a product thats cheaper to make.. so it just reaches out to those demanders that are expecting more and got the money to pay for more... it just keeps going up this way until the demand diminishes and the old product is gone


So the way I looked at it is maybe "The Low End Theory" is actually describing how this "new" rap music (more commercial) is pushing the "original/real hip hop" out of the market... after all, the commercial shit has the power of huge labels behind it, the costs are therefore lower, and the "performance is lower" (lower quality)... so basically as the market for this commercial rap is growing, the market for that "real" hiphop has been feeding the demands of a smaller and smaller group as time progresses because the number of people "demanding" higher quality is declining...

maybe im lookin too much into it but thats my take on it...

i'll stick with it strictly being about a womans ass, since thats what they show on the cover.  Just playin - your statement makes complete sense, actually.

[Juronimo]

I think it just means life from the perspective of somebody on the low end of the income scale.

It's either that... or it has to do with something I learned in Economics called "disruptive technology"..

Basically, what it is.. it's when there's a new product or service in the market that over time dominates the existing dominant one in the market... by filling a gap in a market that the old one couldn't... or by making improvements until it displaces the old market dominator.. the thing is that the disruptive technology is most of the time quite different from the original and its performance is usually lower than the origina...l that's just a basic definition.. but anyways, there's a "low end theory" to this disruption... which basically means that the product or service improves at a rate thats faster than the rate at which consumers can adopt the new "performance" of the product or service...  so at some point the performance of the product exceeds what the consumer actually needs.. so that's when a disruptive technology enters the market and provides a product or service that has lower performance but which exceeds the needs of a consumer.. the original dominator of the market cant really compete with a product thats cheaper to make.. so it just reaches out to those demanders that are expecting more and got the money to pay for more... it just keeps going up this way until the demand diminishes and the old product is gone


So the way I looked at it is maybe "The Low End Theory" is actually describing how this "new" rap music (more commercial) is pushing the "original/real hip hop" out of the market... after all, the commercial shit has the power of huge labels behind it, the costs are therefore lower, and the "performance is lower" (lower quality)... so basically as the market for this commercial rap is growing, the market for that "real" hiphop has been feeding the demands of a smaller and smaller group as time progresses because the number of people "demanding" higher quality is declining...

maybe im lookin too much into it but thats my take on it...

i'll stick with it strictly being about a womans ass, since thats what they show on the cover.  Just playin - your statement makes complete sense, actually.

For real... if JML is correct, then Tribe Called Quest was even more ahead of their time than I had ever imagined...

[Elevz]

It seems JML is correct here... Props man! That's actually a thoughtful title, properly fitting the album content.

Tribe Called Quest was even more ahead of their time than I had ever imagined...

^^ motherfucking right!