People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm is the debut studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, released on April 10, 1990,[1] on Jive Records.

After forming the Native Tongues collective and collaborating on several projects, A Tribe Called Quest began recording sessions for People's Instinctive Travels in late 1989 at Calliope Studios with completion reached in early 1990.

People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm was met with acclaim from professional music critics and the hip hop community on release, and was eventually certified gold in the United States on January 19, 1996.

In a commemorative article for XXL, Michael Blair wrote that "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm was immensely groundbreaking, and will eternally maintain its relevance within the culture and construction of hip-hop".

[5] After establishing a friendship with hip-hop act Jungle Brothers, both groups formed a collective dubbed Native Tongues, which also included De La Soul.

[5] Several years prior to recording People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, group member Q-Tip created much of the album's production on pause tapes when he was in the 10th grade.

[9] Initially, record labels would not sign A Tribe Called Quest due to their unconventional image and sound,[10] but took interest after the success of 3 Feet High and Rising, which featured appearances from Q-Tip.

[5] Los Angeles Times critic Dennis Hunt described the album as consisting of "mostly happy hip-hop, featuring gently humorous, casual, conversational raps".

[17] Robert Tanzilo from the Chicago Tribune stated that the album "avoids the gimmickry and circus atmosphere" of the group's contemporaries, while "focusing solely on the music".

[20] The Source gave it the first "five-mic" rating in the magazine's history,[18] describing it as a "completely musical and spiritual approach to hip-hop", as well as "a voyage to the land of positive vibrations, and each cut is a new experience".

[25] Chuck Eddy from Rolling Stone was more critical, finding that "the real pleasure on People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm comes from a detailed mesh of instruments and incidental sounds", and that "the rappers of A Tribe Called Quest tend to mumble in understated monotones that feel self-satisfied, even bored".

[19] Thomas Golianopoulos of Spin wrote that "following in the ground-breaking footsteps of their Native Tongues brethren, Tribe's laid-back debut had no heavy handed political or battle raps, just youthful exuberance and playfully goofy lyrics".

[24] Praising its production and lyricism, Kris Ex, writing for Pitchfork, credited the album for showcasing the group as "whimsical yet grounded in reality" with its "clean and focused" quality.

[10] It has also been recognized for influencing a wide range of acclaimed hip-hop and R&B artists, including Common, D'Angelo, Digable Planets, Erykah Badu, Fugees, J Dilla, Kendrick Lamar, Mos Def, Outkast, Scarface, and Kanye West.

"[44] Reviewing the album for AllMusic, John Bush called People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm "the quiet beginning of a revolution in non-commercial hip-hop.

[18] In a commemorative article for XXL, Michael Blair wrote "What A Tribe Called Quest ultimately became the pioneers of, and was on full display throughout the production on their debut album, was a certain proficiency in illustrating and honoring a diverse array of genres that preceded them.

Blair concluded that "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm was immensely groundbreaking, and will eternally maintain its relevance within the culture and construction of hip-hop.

A Tribe Called Quest member Ali Shaheed Muhammad further elaborated that "LL Cool J, Big Daddy Kane, KRS-One, N.W.A, even Public Enemy, had a tough guy image.