A Tribe Called Quest served as a breath of fresh air in a time when hardcore and gangster rap ruled the hip-hop air waves. The group of rappers chose to focus on philosophies on life and conveyed messages about real world issues concerning African Americans. Tribe formed in 1988 in Queens, New York. The trio of Q-Tip, Phife and Ali Shaheed Muhammad released their debut single, "Description of a Fool," in 1989 on a small label.Tribe signed with Jive Records later that year and released their first album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, the following year. Tribe used a lot of jazz and alternative music in their sampling, a departure from the norms of that era of hip-hop. Their second album, The Low End Theory, blew away their debut and is considered by some to be the one of the greatest hip-hop LPs of all time. Q-Tip and Phife were praised for their smooth rhyming on the album and their seamless lyrical tradeoffs. Their choice of subject matter was heralded as pioneering as the album talked about challenges the members of Tribe faced as young, black, gifted men. The jazz guitar and electric keyboards concocted a sound like nothing else heard on a hip-hop record.Their third album, Midnight Marauders, didn't quite equal the genius of The Low End Theory, but did spawn one of the group's most popular singles, "Award Tour." The album cover and booklet featured photos of the faces of more than 50 rappers including De La Soul, Ice-T and Heavy D. During the summer of 1994, Tribe toured as a part of the Lollapalooza Festival, an event with lineup spots mainly reserved for alternative acts. In 1996 their fourth effort, Beats, Rhymes and Life, failed to strike a chord with audiences the way their previous two records had, foreshadowing the end was near. While on tour in support of their 1998 release, The Love Movement, the group announced their impending breakup.A Tribe Called Quest was one of the most innovative hip-hop artists in the history of the genre and was one of the premiere music groups of the jazz-rap revolution. Instead of rapping about women, money and violence, Tribe was touching on date rape, the use of the word nigger and the status of the rap industry. The trio were three of the most intelligent and insightful hip-hop artists of their time or any other.