Ali Shaheed Muhammad is an American hip hop DJ, record producer, rapper and bass guitarist, best known as a member of A Tribe Called Quest. With Q-Tip and Phife Dawg, the group released five studio albums from 1990 to 1998 before disbanding; their final album was released in 2016. A native of Brooklyn, New York, as of 2020, Muhammad lived in Los Angeles.
Muhammad performing in 2008
Muhammad speaking at Apple Fifth Avenue in New York City in 2006
A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985, originally composed of rapper and main producer Q-Tip, 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.
A Tribe Called Quest performing in 2009. L–R: Jarobi White, Q-Tip, and Phife Dawg.
The neighborhood of St. Albans, Queens, where Q-Tip and Phife Dawg grew up together
Phife Dawg's breakout performance on The Low End Theory marked the beginning of the group's successful run in the 1990s.
Q-Tip's conversion to Islam in the mid-1990s influenced the philosophical direction of the group's music on Beats, Rhymes and Life.
