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Without question the most intelligent, artistic rap group during the 1990s, A Tribe Called Quest jump-started and perfected the hip-hop alternative to hardcore and gangsta rap. In essence, they abandoned the macho posturing rap music had been constructed upon, and focused instead on abstract philosophy and message tracks. The "sucka MC" theme had never been completely ignored in hip-hop, but Tribe confronted numerous black issues -- date rape, use of the word nigger, the trials and tribulations of the rap industry -- all of which overpowered the occasional game of the dozens. Just as powerful musically, Quest built upon De La Soul's jazz-rap revolution, basing tracks around laid-back samples instead of the played-out James Brown-fests which many rappers had made a cottage industry by the late '80s. Comprised of Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and Phife, A Tribe Called Quest debuted in 1989 and released their debut album one year later. Second album The Low End Theory was, quite simply, the most consistent and flowing hip-hop album ever recorded, though the trio moved closer to their harder contemporaries on 1993's Midnight Marauders. A spot on the 1994 Lollapalooza Tour showed their influence with the alternative crowd -- always a bedrock of A Tribe Called Quest's support -- but the group kept it real on 1996's Beats, Rhymes and Life, a dedication to the streets and the hip-hop underground.
A Tribe Called Quest was formed in 1988, though both Q-Tip (b. Jonathan Davis) and Phife (b. Malik Taylor) had grown up together in Queens. Q-Tip met DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad while at high school and, after being named by the Jungle Brothers (who attended the same school), the trio began performing. A Tribe Called Quest's recording debut came in August 1989, when their single, "Description of a Fool," appeared on a tiny area label (though Q-Tip had previously guested on several tracks from De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising and later appeared on Deee-Lite's "Groove Is in the Heart").
Signed to Jive Records by 1989, A Tribe Called Quest released their first album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, one year later. Much like De La Soul, Tribe looked more to jazz as well as '70s rock for their sample base -- "Can I Kick It?" plundered Lou Reed's classic "Walk on the Wild Side" and made it viable in a hip-hop context. No matter how solid their debut was, second album The Low End Theory outdid all expectations and has held up as perhaps the best hip-hop LP of all time.
The Low End Theory had included several tracks with props to hip-hop friends, and A Tribe Called Quest cemented their support of the rap community with 1993's Midnight Marauders. The album cover and booklet insert included the faces of more than 50 rappers -- including obvious choices such as De La Soul and the Jungle Brothers -- as well as mild surprises like the Beastie Boys, Ice-T, and Heavy D. Though impossible to trump Low End's brilliance, the LP offered several classics (including Tribe's most infectious single to date, "Award Tour") and a harder sound than the first two albums. During the summer of 1994, A Tribe Called Quest toured as the obligatory rap act on the Lollapalooza Festival lineup, and spent a quiet 1995, marked only by several production jobs for Q-Tip. Returning in 1996 with their fourth LP, Beats, Rhymes and Life, Tribe showed signs of wear; it was a good album, but proved less striking than The Low End Theory or Midnight Marauders. While touring in support of 1998's The Love Movement, the group announced their impending breakup. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
NBA 2K7 vibes with Tribe
Update of popular pro hoops game features a soundtrack compiled by Dan the Automator and a promo tour of a reunited Tribe Called Quest.
"Coach sat me down from the ball team/Cause I was breakin ni***z on the inseams."
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest's Phife Dawg recited that rhyme about his basketball skills on 1993's "8 Million Stories," and basketball--specifically 2K Sports' NBA 2K7 video game and its hip-hop soundtrack--is the impetus for a long-rumored Tribe reunion.
Phife, Q-Tip, and Ali Shaheed Muhammed, the pioneering rap trio at the center of the Native Tongues-conscious hip-hop movement of the early 1990s, are set to play a reunion tour to promote the release of the game and its hip-hop-centric soundtrack, helmed by acclaimed producer Dan the Automator.
Tribe will headline the 14-stop 2K Sports Bounce Tour, which kicks off September 8 in Las Vegas and concludes October 1 in New Jersey. The tour will also feature Kanye West protégé Rhymefest, who cowrote West's hit single "Jesus Walks."
"I think it was just time," Peter Bittenbender of Decon Media, the company putting together the soundtrack, told MTV News. "It was like magic."
Dan the Automator
The 12-song soundtrack doesn't contain any new Tribe material, but it does include an Automator remix of Tribe's "Lyrics to Go" from 1993's Midnight Marauders. The record also boasts new material from Ghostface Killah, Mos Def, E-40, Jurassic 5's Chali 2na, Slim Thug, Fabolous, and the Hieroglyphics crew, among others.
The soundtrack will hit stores as a stand-alone CD and digital download stores in mid-September. The game will be available for the Xbox 360, Xbox, and PlayStation 2 this fall. A PS3 version is also in development.
In addition to the hip-hop soundtrack, the game will feature some hip-hop all-stars as playable characters in the game, including Phife, Flavor Flav, Common, the Roots' ?uestlove, Slim Thug, Aceyalone, Aesop Rock, and Rakaa of Dilated Peoples.
A Tribe reunion has been the subject of speculation almost from the day the group disbanded in 1998, following its lackluster final album, The Love Movement, and reports of in-fighting between Phife and Q-Tip. Both MCs have seen their solo efforts flop, with Q-Tip's 2002 Kamaal the Abstract never even seeing the light of day.
The group has performed together a handful of times since their breakup eight years ago and has already scheduled a show for the Bumbershoot festival in Seattle in early September.
Here's a track listing for the NBA 2K7 soundtrack:
Dan the Automator - "Intro"
Slim Thug - "I Love This Game"
Rhymefest - "Bang the Ball"
Hieroglyphics - "Don't Hate the Player"
Fabolous - "Ball Til You Fall"
Aceyalone & Rakaa of Dilated Peoples - "Champions"
E-40 & San Quinn - "Baller Blockin'"
Ghostface & A.G. of DITC - "2K007"
Lupe Fiasco & Evidence of Dilated Peoples - "Catch Me"
Mos Def & Anwar Superstar - "Here Comes the Champ"
Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 - "Anchor Man"
Tribe Called Quest - "Lyrics to Go (Automator remix)"
Zion I - "Fade Away"
2K Sports Bounce Tour, featuring A Tribe Called Quest and Rhymefest:
9/8 - Las Vegas, NV - Red Rock
9/9 - Berkeley, CA - Berkeley Community Theatre
9/10 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern LG
9/13 - Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium
9/15 - Chicago, IL - Congress Theatre
9/16 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave/ Eagles Club
9/17 - Toronto, ON - Kool Haus
9/20 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live
9/22 - Washington, DC - Love the Club
9/23 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
9/24 - Lake Buena Vista, FL - House of Blues
9/28 - Atlantic City, NJ - House of Blues
9/29 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
10/1 - Sayreville, NJ - The Starland Ballroom
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