Band of the Day (11.24.09): A TRIBE CALLED QUEST

Who?

The Queens-based hip-hop trio are one of hip-hops true legends, comprised of Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. In a time when gangster and party rap was on the rise, A Tribe Called Quest managed to make noise by creating what you might call jazz-rap and spitting socially-conscious rhymes.

And I Care Because?

- That new-old sound. "Daddy don't you know that things go in cycles?" Q-Tip rapped in the song "Excursions." It sounds about right, and Tribe helped things move through a new cycle themselves, with a sound that married the old jazz and bebop sounds of old with modern hip-hop.

- Their solo acts are still going strong. With Q-Tip receiving raves for his long-awaited The Renaissance last year and Phife Dawg collaborating with high-profile rappers like Method Man and De La Soul on his second solo album, their best days still aren't behind them.

- Reunion Time! While the boys in Tribe have been keeping it busy, it looks as if the group is finally getting back together for one more album after headlining last year's Rock the Bells tour. Fans of the abstract poets rejoice!

Stream Low End Theory below, buy their albums, and watch this vintage video of the group performing live on Arsenio.