Midnight Marauders is the third studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, released on November 9, 1993, by Jive Records. Recording sessions for the album occurred at Battery Studios, Platinum Island Studios and Scorcerer Sound in New York City. Its production was mainly handled by Q-Tip, with contributions from Skeff Anselm, Large Professor and the group's DJ, Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A culmination of the group's two previous albums, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm and The Low End Theory, it features an eclectic, gritty sound based on jazz, funk, soul and R&B samples, in addition to socially conscious, positively-minded, and humorous lyrics.
The back vinyl cover of Midnight Marauders
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.
