Originally aired on NPR’s 1A on April 20, 2022. Featuring original interviews with Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Bob Power, Kathy Iandoli and Porscha Burke.

 “The Sounds of America” profiles a selection of recordings picked every year by the Library of Congress.

The National Recording Registry preserves for all time music, speeches, radio broadcasts, and comedy records. In fact, it preserves any recording that has cultural and historical importance to America’s history.

Today, the seminal second album from A Tribe Called Quest’s “The Low End Theory” gets its turn. Released in 1991, it expanded on the group’s distinct sound and left a lasting mark on hip hop.

Throughout the album, emcees Q-Tip and Phife Dawg trade rhymes, comment on social issues, and celebrate Blackness. Their childhood friendship is on full display and the album successfully pushed musical, cultural, and technological boundaries.

Produced for 1A by Jennie Cataldo.