A Tribe Called Quest is a Platinum-selling, Grammy Award-nominated hip-hop group that originated in Queens, New York comprised of Q-Tip, the late Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White (who left the group after their first album but re-joined later on). ATCQ is known for their thought-provoking lyrics and socially-aware topics, ranging from misogyny to consumerism. In high school, childhood friends Tip and Phife began cutting demo tapes and rapping around the neighborhood. Oftentimes, Ali would join Tip on songs, and they formed the duo Crush Connection. With the addition of White later on, they decided to add Phife and make it a full group, adopting the name Tribe Called Quest after Tip’s high school classmates the Jungle Brothers came up with it. At the time, ATCQ, the Jungle Brothers and De La Soul had founded a collective named Native Tongues, as they all had similar goals to bring abstract and open-minded lyricism to the mainstream. The group signed a demo deal with Geffen Records in 1989, but the label ultimately decided to pass on them. After fielding multiple offers, ATCQ signed with Jive Records, and their debut album, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, was released in 1990. It has since been certified Gold by the RIAA. After five successful albums, the group split in 1998—ignited by losing a considerable amount of unreleased material due to a studio house fire—though they briefly reunited for a tour in 2006. It was revealed upon Phife’s death from diabetes in 2016 that a sixth album was already in the works. We Got It From Here…Thank You 4 Your Service was completed by the other members after Phife’s passing, and debuted at Number One upon its release in November 2016.
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