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PEOPLE & ARTS A31
Pop Life:
A Tribe Called Quest: A look back and looking ahead
MESFIN FEKADU
AP Music Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — A Tribe
Called Quest celebrated
the 25th anniversary of its
debut album, “People’s
Instinctive Travels and the
Paths of Rhythm,” in No-
vember by re-releasing
the album with remixes
helmed by Pharrell, CeeLo
Green and J. Cole.
The re-release is the first
of several planned by the
group.
“We have a 25th for ‘The
Low End Theory,’ we have
a 25th for ‘Beats, Rhymes
and Life,’ we have a 25th
for ‘Midnight Marauders,’
which all are pretty monu-
mental moments for us per-
sonally as well,” Q-Tip said.
In a recent interview with
The Associated Press, the
group — including Phife
Dawg, Ali Shaheed Mu-
hammad and Jarobi White
— talked about celebrat-
ing 25 years in music, a
possible tour, a Tribe biopic
and more.
25 YEARS LATER
Q-Tip says one word de-
scribes Tribe reaching 25
years in music: humility.
“You go back and you look
at everything and you’re
kind of like, ‘Wow, I lived
through a few lives’ and it
just happened so fast. It’s
somewhat overwhelming,”
he said. “Not trying to be
egotistical or braggado-
cios, it has nothing to do
with that, but it’s like ... a lot
of people don’t get to see
25 in life.”
RE-GROUP
Ask Phife Dawg, Ali Sha-
heed Muhammad and
Jarobi White if they want
the group to hit the road
again and they’ll say yes.
Asking Q-Tip will get you a
different answer.
“I don’t know. ... I really, I
don’t know brotha. I mean,
who knows?” said Q-Tip,
who was interviewed sep-
arately because he was
running late.
When asked if he was open
to the idea of touring, he
said: “Everybody makes it
look like it’s me that’s not
open to (it).”
Tribe recently performed
on “The Tonight Show with
Jimmy Fallon.”
“These are my brothers. I
know nothing but them. I
only wanna work with them
... in terms of going on tour, CeeLo Green and J. Cole. The group said more re-releases will be issues for its other albums.
I wanna go on tour with
them,” Phife Dawg said.
White chimed in: “And we
always have fun together.”
Muhammad added that
it’s exciting to see “a
15-year-old now discover-
ing A Tribe Called Quest 25
years later” at a concert.
“The spirt of the music and
the feeling and the love is
strong. It’s bigger than us.”
Muhammad also shut
down any rumors about
tension between the
bandmates.
“If there was tension you
would feel it. Do you feel
tension? So there it is,” he
said in a room with White
and Phife Dawg.
CALLING ON THE YOUTH
On Tribe’s new anniversary
album, Pharrell remixed
the classic “Bonita Apple-
bum”; Green worked his
magic on “Footprints”;
and Cole remixed “Can I
Kick It?” Muhammad said
the band reached out to
a number of younger hip-
hop acts to re-work Tribe’s
music but not everyone
was rushing to work with
them.
“We reached out to many
people. And I will go on
record and say — and it
might not be the most fa-
vorable thing to say — you
Rhythm and blues singer Otis Clay dies at age 73
JOHN O’CONNOR
Associated Press
Hall of fame rhythm and
blues artist Otis Clay, known
as much for his big heart
and charitable work in Chi-
cago as for his singing, has
died. He was 73.
The Mississippi-born Clay —
whose gruff tenor-tinged
voice on blues songs such
as “Trying to Live My Life
Without You” varied from
his haunting but hopeful
baritone on gospel stan-
dards like “When the Gates
Swing Open” — died sud-
denly of a heart attack on
Friday, said his daughter,
Ronda Tankson.
Monday 11 January 2016
DJ/Producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad, rapper Jarobi White, and Phife Dawg (Malik Isaac Taylor)
of the hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest pose for a photo at SiriusXM studios in New York. A Tribe
Called Quest celebrated the 25th anniversary of its debut album, “People’s Instinctive Travels and
the Paths of Rhythm,” in November by re-releasing the album with remixes helmed by Pharrell,
(Photo by Brian Ach/Invision/AP)
reach out to people and CURRENT STATE OF HIP-HOP the future everybody can’t
there are some people Tribe is easily one of the sound like Future. Like, ev-
that call you right back most respectable acts in erybody sounds like Future.
and there are some peo- the history of hip-hop. As Like, I don’t know even
ple who you got to chase,” for today’s generation, the know who’s who outside of
he said. “And you would veterans are hoping to see Future,” Phife Dawg said.
think that with a legacy more individuality. Muhammad said contem-
project and a group that I “Just a lot of laziness, where- porary rap needs more bal-
think stood for a lot for hip- as back when we were do- ance.
hop and music, you know, ing it everybody had their “You had N.W.A., you had
bridging jazz to hip-hop, own lane. Nowadays it’s the Geto Boys, you had
bridging so many different one on top of the other. Tribe Called Quest, you had
genres that people would ‘Oh, this sold three million Brand Nubians ... Sir Mix-A-
be scratching to be a part with that style. Let me du- Lot; they’re worlds apart,
of this celebration.” plicate that style and run but there was balance and
with it.’ In order for us to see you felt it globally. q

The one-time Grammy as strong in the past five Mulvehill said. His latest al-
nominee received two years ... For that reason, he bum is called, “Truth Is.”
nominations for May’ 37th was an icon for a lot of us But Clay, who moved to
Blues Music Awards — for who work in this genre.” Chicago in 1957, was much
Soul-Blues Male Artist and European music enthusi- more than a talented musi-
Soul-Blues Album for “This asts and record-collectors cian. A resident of Chica-
Time for Real,” his col- flocked to Clay’s music go’s West Side, he was ac-
laboration with Billy Price, because of its spare, “un- tively involved in charitable
Clay’s manager Miki Mul- varnished” style wrought work, including assisting
vehill said. “Otis was the last of the 1960s soul scenes in development of the Harold
standard-bearer for deep Memphis, Tennessee and Washington Cultural Cen-
southern soul music, the re- Muscle Shoals, Alabama, ter. Tankson, a Chicago
ally gospel-inflected music Price said. special education teacher
that was in its heyday in the A 2013 Blues Hall of Fame whose pupils include autis-
late ‘60s and early and mid inductee, Clay had just tic children, said her father
‘70s,” Price told The Asso- begun planning a gospel gave little thought to what
ciated Press on Saturday. tour of the U.S., followed by benefit he’d get from per-
“These styles change, and a summer European tour forming and held nothing
different styles are in the and, later, the Legendary back, even when appear-
forefront, but Otis was just Rhythm and Blues Cruise, ing for her students.q