Ali Shaheed Muhammad
Ali Shaheed Muhammad is a world-renowned producer, songwriter and musician, and a founding member of A Tribe Called Quest, Lucy Pearl and production group The Ummah. He cowrote D'Angelo's "Brown Sugar" and has worked with John Legend, Maxwell, Mint Condition, Angie Stone, Mos Def and Gil Scott-Heron among many others.
He's the co-host of the Microphone Check podcast with Frannie Kelley.
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While in Austin, Texas, the producer and DJ sat down in a sunny backyard and spoke on his performance style, learning from the greats and reading autobiographies.
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The 27-year-old Los Angeles rapper has done it all and, like the rest of us, knows he's not perfect. In a Microphone Check interview, he's thoughtful about his past and his new album, Oxymoron.
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The Tennessee musicians on where they come from, their definition of trap music and relationships, both working and romantic.
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This week we're looking back at the year in music through the lens of NPR Music's 50 Favorite Albums of 2013. It's the annual list assembled by our in-house experts, including NPR music editor Frannie Kelley and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, producer and founding member of the rap group A Tribe Called Quest. The pair host NPR's Microphone Check.
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We all listen to music differently. What we hear is shaded by our history, our knowledge, our equipment, our mood, our taste. But every year there are moments when everybody who lives and breathes hip-hop is on the same subject.
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This month Bun B, one half of the Underground Kingz, released his fourth solo project and celebrated the 21st anniversary of his group's first album. The musician from Port Arthur, Texas, also speaks about his drive, Ed O.G. and the meaning of trill.
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For a special episode of Microphone Check we invited Prince Paul, Mike Dean, Faith Newman, Stretch Armstrong and Ralph McDaniels to tell stories about a singularly productive year in the culture.
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"If we're talking about the streets — we can't just glorify it. We have to tell the whole story."
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The Virginia Beach rapper also spoke about Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Too Short and Wu-Tang.
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The high-minded Atlanta quartet has reunited 18 years after its debut album and seven years after Cee-Lo Green's pop smash "Crazy."