A Tribe To Call It Quits

08/17/1998 8:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(8/17/98, 6 p.m. PDT) - A mere six weeks before the release of their latest album, The Love Movement, hip-hop veterans A Tribe Called Quest have announced they will call it quits after they wrap up dates with the Beastie Boys and their own farewell tour.

A statement from the group's record label, Jive, explained, "Having been together for over a decade, the group has decided to no longer record albums together. They will pursue other individual endeavors."

The act, which consists of Q-Tip, Phife and Ali Shaheed Mahammed, is one of the most acclaimed and commercially successful hip-hop groups of the '90s. The trio, which formed in 1989, has released four albums, including the gold-certified People's Instinctive Travels And Paths Of Rhythm (1990) and two platinum-certified albums, The Low End Theory (1991) and Midnight Marauders (1993).

Rather than stooping to gangsta posturing, Tribe made their name with inventive tracks that often offered a message and dealt with such topics as taking on the record industry and date rape. Musically, the group was inspired by and has sampled a diverse array of sounds ranging from jazz to Lou Reed.

The group is in the middle of five dates opening for the Beastie Boys, who have supported and collaborated with Tribe members in the past. On Tuesday night, Tribe will open for the Beasties at the Palace Of Auburn Hills. The group wraps up dates with the Beasties on Thursday at the CoreStates Center in Philadelphia and Saturday at the Continental Airline Arena in East Rutherford, N.J.

In September, Tribe will launch their own farewell tour of colleges, which will run through late October.