A Tribe Called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest was an influential hip-hop group from Queens, New York, active primarily from 1985 to 1998, with a brief reunion in 2016.

The group—anchored by Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and Jarobi White—pioneered alternative hip-hop with jazz-inflected beats, socially conscious lyrics, and a laid-back flow that distinguished them from harder-edged contemporaries.

Their albums *The Low End Theory* and *Midnight Marauders* are considered classics that helped define the Native Tongues movement and shaped hip-hop's artistic possibilities.