CalArts, Roy O. Disney Music Hall - MAP Forum
MUSIC: DJ/Producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad is known around the world as one-third of the legendary hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, but he began his musical career in his hometown of Brooklyn, New York. Tribe was founded in 1985 with Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, and Jarobi. Muhammad was just 19 when the group released its first album, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, in 1990, and four more followed: The Low End Theory (released in 1991); Midnight Marauders (1993); Beats, Rhymes and Life (1996); and The Love Movement (1998). All went either gold or platinum, with The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders both widely considered hip-hop classics. Tribe, however, is just one representation of Ali’s talent. He formed the production company The Ummah in the ’90s with Jay Dee and Q-Tip, and he’s worked with a wide range of artists, including Faith Evans, Mos Def, and D’Angelo, the last of whom he collaborated on the Grammy-nominated single, Brown Sugar, in 1995. In 1999 he co-founded the star trio Lucy Pearl, aligning with Dawn Robinson, formerly of En Vogue, and Raphael Saadiq, of Tony! Toni! Toné! Lucy Pearl fused funk, rock, R&B and hip-hop to create an organic, sexy sound that was unprecedented at the time and still unmatched today. The group’s self-titled debut album produced the hits Don’t Mess With My Man, and Dance Tonight, the latter nominated for a Grammy in the best vocal performance by a duo or group category. Ali keeps busy by performing as a DJ around the globe, reaching music fans of all types, each gig adding to the journey he started as an 8-year-old in Brooklyn.
http://www.alishaheed.com/