Ali Shaheed Muhammad (born August 11, 1970) is an American hip hop DJ, record producer, rapper and bass guitarist, best known as a member of A Tribe Called Quest.[1] With Q-Tip and Phife Dawg (and sometimes Jarobi White), the group released five studio albums from 1990 to 1998 before disbanding; their final album was released in 2016. He was also a member of the R&B group Lucy Pearl, and is known in recent years for his jazz collaborations with producer Adrian Younge.
Early life
Muhammad was born in Brooklyn, New York City, and was raised in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood.[2][1] He began to DJ at age eight, and began programming music at age 13.[3] He befriended Q-Tip as a freshman at Murry Bergtraum High School in Manhattan, and in 1985, they began making demos together, using recording equipment provided by Muhammad's uncle.[3][4] Shortly thereafter, Phife Dawg and Jarobi White joined the duo, forming the hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest.[3] Muhammad is a Muslim.[5]
Together with Jay Dee and Q-Tip, Muhammad formed the music-production collective, the Ummah.[1]
After A Tribe Called Quest disbanded, Muhammad formed the R&B supergroup Lucy Pearl with Dawn Robinson, formerly of En Vogue and Raphael Saadiq, formerly of Tony! Toni! Toné!, releasing one album in 2000.[1] On October 12, 2004, he released his debut solo album, Shaheedullah and Stereotypes.[1] Muhammad co-hosted the Microphone Check radio show, which ran on NPR until 2016,[6] and on Spotify until 2019.[7][8]
In 2013, Muhammad moved to Los Angeles to work with producer Adrian Younge on the Souls of Mischief album There Is Only Now, as the album's narrator.[9][10] Since then Muhammad and Younge have collaborated to co-produce the soundtrack for both seasons of the Luke Cage TV series,[11][12] and they have toured together since 2018 as the Midnight Hour, releasing an album by the same name.[13][14]
In 2019, Muhammad contributed to Saadiq's fifth album, Jimmy Lee.[15]
In 2020, Muhammad and Younge launched the Jazz Is Dead album series, in which the two of them collaborate with jazz musicians. Album partners in this series have included Roy Ayers, Marcos Valle, Doug Carn, Gary Bartz, João Donato, and the trio Azymuth.[16][2] Muhammad is the main bass guitarist for the project.
In 2024, Muhammad was selected for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a member of A Tribe Called Quest.[17]
^ a b c d e fTorres, Andre. "Ali Shaheed Muhammad – About" Archived January 23, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, Linear Labs, Accessed February 27, 2019. "The soft-spoken and contemplative Brooklyn native began a life of music at an early age, spending years DJing parties in his Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood before co-founding Tribe in 1985."
^ a b"Ali Shaheed Muhammad – Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
^ a b cDel F. Cowie "A Tribe Called Quest – Verses From the Abstract". Archived from the original on April 16, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)Exclaim! February 2008
^"Q-Tip – Red Bull Music Academy". Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
^Janssen, Mike (September 30, 2016). "Reshuffling of NPR Music includes farewell to 'Microphone Check' team". Current.org. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
^"Wrap Up Episode". Frannieandali.com. February 26, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
^"About Microphone Check". Npr.org. June 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
^"The Midnight Hour is giving a jazzy nod to soul and hip-hop in upcoming Charlotte performance". QCityMetro. September 13, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
^Rys, Dan. "Adrian Younge Talks New Concept Album With Souls Of Mischief, Narrated By Ali Shaheed Muhammad – XXL". XXL Mag. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
^"Luke Cage (Original Soundtrack Album) by Various Artists". Itunes.apple.com. October 7, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
^"Luke Cage season 2 soundtrack revealed: who are the musical acts in Netflix's Marvel series?". Radio Times. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
^Madden, Sidney (July 18, 2018). "The Midnight Hour: Tiny Desk Concert". NPR.org. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
^"Ali Shaheed Muhammad / Adrian Younge: The Midnight Hour". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
^Strauss, Matthew (June 7, 2019). "Raphael Saadiq Announces Jimmy Lee, First New Album in Eight Years". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
^"Ali Shaheed Muhammad / Adrian Younge – Jazz Is Dead 001". AllMusic. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
^"2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees". Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. April 22, 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
External links
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