People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm

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 17, 1990, by 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. The album's laid back production encompassed a diverse range of samples that functioned as a template for the group's unorthodox lyrics.

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. Its recognition has extended over the years as it is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of the 1990s and a central album in alternative hip-hop with its unconventional production and lyricism. It is also credited for influencing many artists in both hip-hop and R&B. In a commemorative article for XXL, Michael Blair wrote that the album "was immensely groundbreaking, and will eternally maintain its relevance within the culture and construction of hip-hop".