A Tribe Called Quest

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Template:Infobox band A Tribe Called Quest was an influential rap group of the 1990s, originally formed in Queens, New York City in 1988. The group is comprised of Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, and DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, Jarobi White, was with the group for the first album, but parted ways with the group after.

Q-Tip and Phife had grown up together in Queens, and met Muhammad in high school. The group's name was coined by The Jungle Brothers, whose members attended the same school. Soon after, the group began performing live and recording on a local label. The group became a part of the Native Tongues family, a Hip-Hop artist collective, whose membership included Tribe collaborators such as the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, Monie Love and Black Sheep.

At the time of their inception, A Tribe Called Quest was unique within the hip hop community for eschewing gangsta rap and macho posturing. Their lyrics focused on abstract and social issues such as the word "nigger", date rape and consumerism. Musically, the group helped pioneer the jazz-rap style (along with groups such as Gang Starr and De La Soul). They made their studio debut in 1990 with People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. Though this album was critically acclaimed and lead to a strong fan following, their next album, The Low End Theory (1991) was a massive artistic success, appearing on several best of the year lists. It is considered one of the most important hip-hop albums to date. The Low End Theory was followed by another commercial success, Midnight Marauders (1993). Beats, Rhymes and Life (1996) and The Love Movement (1998), the group's final two albums, featured production by The Ummah and were less well-received than their predecessors.

Following their final album, the group disbanded. Q-Tip and Phife Dawg went on to pursue solo careers, while Muhammad founded the R&B group Lucy Pearl.

Recently, there have been rumors of a reunion between the trio, ignited by a spate of group concert appearances around the US, but their most recent appearance was a post-Grammy concert in 2005 and there has been little news of an upcoming album, leading some to believe that the rumors may be unfounded.

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