A Tribe Called Quest has performed live at a number of large music festivals including Bumbershoot and Lollapalooza. These big name, big draw venues allowed A Tribe Called Quest to project their sounds to the masses, enlightening large numbers of listeners to the transformative potential of hip-hop. As gangsta and other predictable forms of rap increasingly dominated the industry, A Tribe Called Quest was keeping things real. Their commercial success also depended on their high visibility in terms of live performances and music videos. The videos of A Tribe Called Quest parallel the content of their lyrics, and depict African-American street culture especially on the east coast. A Tribe Called Quest drew upon the groundwork set by De La Soul in fusing jazz musical elements, instrumentation, and samples into hip-hop. In fact, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and the Jungle Brothers were schoolmates and formed a successful musical collective called The Native Tongues ("Biography"). The collective proves that the underlying philosophy of A Tribe Called Quest is one of pure artistic integrity: music for music's sake and commercial success as icing on the cake.

The blend of hip-hop and jazz proved to be a natural one. Both hip-hop and jazz are quintessentially African-American genres. A Tribe Called Quest was highly aware of the contributions of African-American artists to world music. The band celebrates black culture in the United States and elsewhere with "Afro centric rhymes" ("Biography"). Several of A Tribe Called Quest's tracks pay homage...

A Tribe Called Quest has influenced countless artists, mostly in the hip-hop genre. Their unique style became "a blueprint for many future artists and producers such as Common, The Roots, Jill Scott, Kanye West, and The Neptunes who would emulate and embrace Tribes style for years to come," ("Biography"). Moreover, Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and Jay Dee (now 'Jay Dilla' of Slum Village) formed a production team that "brought their aural aesthetic to other artists such as Janet Jackson, D'Angelo, and Faith Evans," ("Biography").
In a world dominated by record company lackeys and musical sell-outs, A Tribe Called Quest stands apart as bastions of integrity. Their unique blend of urban rap with jazz sensibility makes A Tribe Called Quest's music stand apart from many of their peers. Lyrics have universal appeal, as A Tribe Called Quest raps about relationships and sex as well as poverty and the politics of the industry. Because of their willingness to take risks with their music, A Tribe Called Quest has enjoyed both critical and commercial success.

Works Cited

"A Tribe Called Quest." Rolling Stone. Retrieved Dec 8, 2009 from http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/atribecalledquest/biography

"Biography." A Tribe Called Quest. Website retrieved Dec 8, 2009 from http://atribecalledquest.com/html/biography/

Bush, John. "A Tribe Called Quest." All Music Guide. Retrieved Dec 8, 2009 from http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:dcfixq95ld6e