A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985, originally composed of rapper and main producer Q-Tip, rapper Phife Dawg, DJ and co-producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and rapper Jarobi White. The group is regarded as a pioneer of alternative hip hop and merging jazz with hip hop, influencing numerous hip hop and R&B musicians.
The Low End Theory is the second studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, released on September 24, 1991, by Jive Records. Recording sessions for the album were held mostly at Battery Studios in New York City, from 1990 to 1991. The album was primarily produced by group member Q-Tip, with a minimalist sound that combines bass, drum breaks, and jazz samples, in a departure from the group's debut album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (1990). Lyrically, the album features social commentary, word play, humor, and interplay between Q-Tip and fellow member Phife Dawg.
The Native Tongues were a collective of late 1980s and early 1990s hip-hop artists known for their positive-minded, good-natured Afrocentric lyrics, and for pioneering the use of eclectic sampling and jazz-influenced beats. Its principal members were the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Monie Love, and Queen Latifah. The collective was also closely tied to the Universal Zulu Nation. Rolling Stone cites the track "Doin' Our Own Dang" as "the definitive Native Tongues posse cut".
Midnight Marauders is the third studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, released on November 9, 1993, by Jive Records. Recording sessions for the album occurred at Battery Studios, Platinum Island Studios and Scorcerer Sound in New York City. Its production was mainly handled by Q-Tip, with contributions from Skeff Anselm, Large Professor and the group's DJ, Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A culmination of the group's two previous albums, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm and The Low End Theory, it features an eclectic, gritty sound based on jazz, funk, soul and R&B samples, in addition to socially conscious, positively-minded, and humorous lyrics.
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, 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. The album's laid back production encompassed a diverse range of samples which functioned as a template for the group's unorthodox lyrics.
Kamaal Ibn John Fareed, better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American rapper, record producer, singer, and DJ. Nicknamed the Abstract, he is noted for his innovative jazz-influenced style of hip hop production and his philosophical, esoteric and introspective lyrical themes. He embarked on his music career in the late 1980s, as an MC and main producer of the influential alternative hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. In the mid-1990s, he co-founded the production team The Ummah, followed by the release of his gold-certified solo debut Amplified in 1999. In the following decade, he released the Grammy Award-nominated album The Renaissance (2008) and the experimental album Kamaal the Abstract (2009).
Beats, Rhymes and Life is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. Released on July 30, 1996, by Jive Records, it followed three years after the highly regarded and successful Midnight Marauders. Produced by The Ummah, the album is a departure from the joyful, positive vibe of the group's earlier albums and is regarded as their darkest album in content. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on October 27, 1998.
Ali Shaheed Muhammad is an American hip hop DJ, record producer, rapper and bass guitarist, best known as a member of A Tribe Called Quest. With Q-Tip and Phife Dawg, the group released five studio albums from 1990 to 1998 before disbanding; their final album was released in 2016. He was also a member of the R&B group Lucy Pearl, and is known in recent years for his jazz collaborations with producer Adrian Younge.
Malik Izaak Taylor, known professionally as Phife Dawg, was an American rapper and a member of the group A Tribe Called Quest with Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. He was also known as the "Five-Foot Assassin" and the "Five-Footer," because he stood at just 5 feet 3 inches (1.60 m).
"Electric Relaxation" is the second single from American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest's third album, Midnight Marauders (1993). It contains a sample of the song "Mystic Brew" by jazz organist Ronnie Foster.
"Hot Sex" is a single by hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. It was released in 1992 on the soundtrack for the film Boomerang and was later featured on European editions of the group's third studio album Midnight Marauders one year later in 1993. The track was also featured as a bonus track on the group's fifth album The Love Movement in 1998, and on the 1999 compilation album The Anthology.
"Award Tour" is a song by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, released in October 1993 by Jive Records as the first single from their third album, Midnight Marauders (1993). The song features rapper Trugoy on the chorus, from the fellow Native Tongues group De La Soul. It contains a sample of "We Gettin' Down" by Weldon Irvine, from his 1975 album Spirit Man. The B-side of the single is the original version of the Midnight Marauders track "The Chase, Pt. 2", which notably features the first known verse by future Tribe collaborator Consequence. "Award Tour" remains Tribe's highest charting single to date on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 47. It also peaked at number 54 on the Cash Box Top 100 as well as topping the Billboard Dance Singles chart.
"Can I Kick It?" is a song by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, released in October 1990 by Jive Records as the third single from their debut album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (1990). The song, which has a call and response chorus, was recorded in 1989, when the group members were aged 18-19. "Can I Kick It?" contains samples of "Walk on the Wild Side" by Lou Reed, "What a Waste" by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, "Spinning Wheel" by Dr. Lonnie Smith, "Dance of the Knights" by Sergei Prokofiev and "Sunshower" by Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. Phife Dawg has stated that, because of the use of the "Walk on the Wild Side" sample, the group did not receive any money from the single, with Lou Reed instead claiming the profits. The music video for the song was directed by Jim Swaffield and filmed in New York City, featuring among others De La Soul.
"Oh My God" is the third single from A Tribe Called Quest's third album Midnight Marauders. The song contains a sample of "Who's Gonna Take the Weight" by Kool & the Gang. It also features Busta Rhymes on the chorus. Rolling Stone magazine included "Oh My God" on their list of 20 essential A Tribe Called Quest songs, noting "It's not easy to listen to Phife boast 'When's the last time you heard a funky diabetic?' now that the disease has taken his life. But that line also sounds fiercer and more defiant than ever."
The Anthology is A Tribe Called Quest's 1999 greatest hits compilation spanning their career up to that point. The compilation contains songs from all of their currently existing full-length catalogue, including People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, The Low End Theory, Midnight Marauders, Beats, Rhymes and Life and The Love Movement, as well as select soundtrack releases. It also contains Q-Tip's "Vivrant Thing", which was featured on the first music compilation for Violator Management through Violator Records/Def Jam Recordings. The song would also later be featured on Q-Tip's solo effort, 1999's Amplified. "Vivrant Thing" is also substituted with "Mr. Incognito" for the Japan release. The album cover features Erykah Badu with fluorescent stripes of green and orange reminiscent of the traditional colors of the Kente tribe of the north Congo.
A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group, formed in 1985. They released six studio albums, five compilations, sixteen singles and two extended plays. The group was made up of rapper/main producer Q-Tip, the late rapper Phife Dawg and DJ/co-producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. Phife Dawg was only persuaded to join when a fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, joined the group. In 1989 they signed a demo deal with Geffen Records, but not given a full-fledged recording contract. After receiving many offers, they opted for the Jive Records label, an independent rap label. In under a year, they managed to produce People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm to critical acclaim, but lukewarm sales, reaching #91 on the Billboard 200, though it did eventually achieve gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service is the sixth and final studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. It was released on November 11, 2016, by Epic Records.
"We the People...." is a song by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, and the first single from their sixth and final album, We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service. Produced by Q-Tip and co-produced by Blair Wells, the song contains a sample of the drum break of "Behind the Wall of Sleep" by Black Sabbath. The name of the track refers to the first three words of the Preamble to the United States Constitution. The chorus of the politically-charged song parodies Donald Trump's presidential campaign. "We the People...." was critically acclaimed and included on several year-end lists by publications.
A number of hip hop artists in the United States are followers of Islam. Although some Muslims believe some or most forms of music are haram, these artists do not necessarily consider themselves as practicing orthodox Muslims.
"The Space Program" is a song by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, from their sixth and final album, We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service. Produced by Q-Tip and co-produced by Blair Wells, it is the opening track on the album, and includes posthumous vocals by group member Phife Dawg, who recorded the song with the group before his death in March 2016. Praised as the "triumphant return of the Tribe", it is a political hip hop song that addresses gentrification and racism in the United States.
