Last year, on the occasion of its 25th anniversary, A Tribe Called Quest reissued its debut album,People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, a seminal record that theVillage Voiceonce described as "upliftingly dope." Take the song "Ham 'N' Eggs," for instance; it constitutes, basically, a long list of food with a little bit of commentary. There's the titular breakfast, plus some fish, asparagus tips,candied yams, "collard greens and an occasional steak," "applesauce and some nice red beets." The song's a celebration of delicious things, a wary recognition of the temptation all that stuff offers, and a little bit of food-related anxiety all wrapped up together. And it's awfully fun to listen to.
"I don't eat no ham 'n' eggs, 'cause they're high in cholesterol," the refrain goes. Fair enough. We merely point out that the egg has undergone something of a renaissance in reputation in the intervening 25 years: though they were once demonized for that cholesterol content, recently experts have backed off. The egg is a good source of protein, for one—certainly better for a body than red meat. And in dietary guidelinesreleased in 2015, the government removed a previous suggested limit on dietary cholesterol, based on evidence that it doesn't have as much impact on blood cholesterol as previously thought; saturated fats had become a bigger concern.Hamremainsham, of course, but hey—gotta have a breakfast.
