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. A native of Brooklyn, New York, as of 2020[update], Muhammad lived in Los Angeles.[1][2]
Ali Shaheed Muhammad
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Muhammad performing in 2008
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| Also known as | Mr. Muhammad |
| Born | (1970-08-11) August 11, 1970 (age 53) Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.[1] |
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| Years active | 1985–present |
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| Website | alishaheed |
Muhammad is a Muslim.[3] Together with Jay Dee and Q-Tip, he 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,[4] and on Spotify until 2019.[5][6]
In 2013, Muhammad worked with producer Adrian Younge on the Souls of Mischief album There Is Only Now, as the album's narrator.[7] Since then Muhammad and Younge have collaborated to co-produce the soundtrack for both seasons of the Luke Cage TV series,[8][9] and they have toured together since 2018 as the Midnight Hour, releasing an album by the same name.[10][11]
In 2019, Muhammad contributed to Saadiq's fifth album, Jimmy Lee.[12]
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.[13][14] Muhammad is the main bass guitarist for the project.
Studio albums
with Lucy Pearl
with Adrian Younge
Music
United States
