A Tribe Called Quest | Artist
A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip-hop collective from New York formed in 1985 and originally composed of MC-Producer Q-Tip, MC Phife Dawg, DJ and co-producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and MC Jarobi White. White left the group in 1991 after their debut album and Phife Dawg died during the recording of their final album. The band has been described as the pioneers of alternative hip-hop music and "the most intelligent, artistic rap group during the 1990s" Kamaal Fareed aka Q-Tip and Malik Taylor aka Phife Dawg were childhood friends who grew up in Queens, NYC. Initially, Q-Tip performed as a battle rapper under the name MC Love Child, occasionally teaming up with high school friend Ali Shaheed Muhammad as a rapper and DJ duo. In 1985, the duo began making demos over Q-Tip's tape beats. Phife Dawg later joined them, though he didn't become a full member until neighbourhood friend Jarobi White joined; the group dubbed themselves "Crush Connection" and later "Quest". The group's final name, A Tribe Called Quest, was coined in 1988 by Jungle Brothers, who attended the same high school as Q-Tip and Muhammad. Shortly after, A Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, Queen Latifah and Monie Love formed the Native Tongues collective, known for their like-minded Afrocentrism, positivity and eclectic sampling. The group successfully bridged the gap between jazz and hip hop, incorporating bebop and hard bop samples and recording with double bassist Ron Carter. Their production style influenced their contemporaries, thus changing the sound of hip hop. The group released a total of six studio albums, highlights include the superb trio of early albums; People's Instinctive Travels and The Paths of Rhythm, The Low End Theory and Midnight Maurauders, plus their final album from 2016, We Got it From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service. The 1999 compilation The Anthology is also recommended.
Artist Website: atribecalledquest.com
Featured Albums: A Tribe Called Quest
Related Artists: Q-Tip, The Ummah
