A Tribe Called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest performing in 2009. L–R: Jarobi White, Q-Tip, and Phife Dawg.
Background information
Origin	Queens, New York City, U.S.
Genres	Alternative hip hop jazz rap East Coast hip hop progressive rap[1] psychedelic rap[2]
Discography	A Tribe Called Quest discography
Years active	1985–1998[3] 2006–2013 2015–2017[4]
Labels	Jive Epic
Past members	Q-Tip Phife Dawg Ali Shaheed Muhammad Jarobi White
Website	atribecalledquest.com

A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,^[5][6][3] originally composed of rapper and main producer Q-Tip,^[7] 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.^[8][9][10]

A Tribe Called Quest came to prominence as members of the Native Tongues collective, which they co-founded in 1988. The group's debut album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (1990), established them as a critically acclaimed act, earning the first five 'mic' rating in The Source's history.^[11][9] In 1991, the group saw commercial success with its jazz-infused second album, The Low End Theory, which heavily shaped alternative hip hop in the 1990s.^[12] It was followed by the similarly successful and influential Midnight Marauders (1993), and Beats, Rhymes and Life (1996), which topped the Billboard 200. In 1998, the group disbanded shortly before releasing its fifth album The Love Movement, but in 2006, the original members reunited and toured sporadically for the next seven years. In 2016, the group released its sixth and final album, We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service, which received critical acclaim and became its second album to top the Billboard 200; it featured posthumous contributions from Phife Dawg, who died eight months before its release.^[13]

A Tribe Called Quest was the most commercially successful act in the Native Tongues, with all six of its albums certified either gold or platinum.^[14] John Bush of AllMusic called them "the most intelligent, artistic rap group during the 1990s",^[15] and Kris Ex of Pitchfork regarded them as "one of the greatest acts that hip-hop has ever produced".^[16] In 2005, A Tribe Called Quest received the Founders Award at the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards,^[17] and two years later, the group was honored at the 4th VH1 Hip Hop Honors.^[18] In 2017, the group was awarded the Brit Award for International Group. In 2024, A Tribe Called Quest was selected for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[19][20]