A Tribe Called Quest, whose music has been variously described as jazz-rap and "ambient" hip-hop, will perform in Webster Hall Friday, Apr. 22.
Band members Q-Tip, Ali and Phife Dog catapulted to stardom in 1990 with the release of their first compact disc, "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm."
Their image as teenage Afrocentrists has changed, and their third disc, "Midnight Marauders," released late last fall, deals more with urban problems.
But as Tip has explained, "You don't have to be a group of social importance, or a group of quirky, underlying messages. You could just be a musical group."
The music is the prime reason to show up Friday night. Quest is a rap group with a difference: they pioneered a trend in Arthouse rap with their laid-back, surreal form of hip-hop that layers samples of John Coltrane, Roy Ayers and Art Farmer with their own smooth vocals.
In addition to influencing the rise of acid-jazz in Europe, Quest takes credit for altering the language of bohemianism spoken by other artists. And they're all just 23 years old.
The songs on "Midnight Marauders" imagine a hip-hop nation of nighthawks cruising up crowded avenues filled with after-hours clubs and bodegas. Unlike the work of other hip-hop groups, the disc celebrates black male creativity and urban life without overglorifying the villainous facet of that existence.
Ali spoke of his roots in Brooklyn: "It's just a matter of knowing. I didn't want to go that route. I was always telling the older guys, 'You guys are gonna go to jail... or get killed behind whatever it is you'e doing." Accordingly, Quest refuses to play into the violent, macho ethic of other hip-hoppers.
While other hip-hop artists who had promising debuts have slid into obscurity, A Tribe Called Quest has preserved its success through hard work. This summer they will tour with Lollapalooza and make a fourth album, due out in February 1995. Critical acclaim has increased with each album.
Tickets for A Tribe Called Quest are still available at Collis Information Desk.
