While the four-man collective — Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheem Muhammad and Jarobi — didn’t realize yet the place they were carving out in music history, as they reflected on their careers, Tribe, touring this month on the Rock the Bells trek, said they understand the benchmarks they’ve achieved. And in particular, the influence they’ve had on a bevy of MCs, from J.Cole to KiD CuDi, all whom have burrowed from Tribe’s rythmic sound and everyman raps.
Tribe’s DJ and one of the group’s core producers, Ali Shaheed, said he wished there were even more room for acts with that kind of artistic slant.
“There are a lot of people who are bringing a lot of technique and style out there,” he said. “Hip-hop is different these days. One thing that’s missing is that there used to be a plethora [of diverse acts]. It only feels like just a handful on the mainstream level that’s impacting, like Drake, KiD CuDi. They each have their own fanbase, which says a lot, that people are opening their minds to follow artists like that. But I would like to see a whole lot more. There was dozens of dozens of groups making an impact when we were out there. It’d be nice to see that again on a mainstream level.” – MTV
ATCQ’s first three albums > any top rap album that dropped this year.
