This year's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony will honor the pop music icon, Cher; indie rock fusion outfit, Dave Matthews Band; legendary arena rock group, Foreigner; soul/hip-hop queen, Mary J. Blige; head-banging rocker, Ozzy Osbourne; British guitarist, Peter Frampton and pioneering rap group, A Tribe Called Quest.
The recipients of the Award for Musical Excellence this year will be Jimmy Buffett, the tropical rocker who passed away last year; the classic rock band from Detroit, MC5; Norman Whitfield, an important songwriter and producer for Motown Records and pop music legend, Dionne Warwick. The Musical Influence Award, given to artists that an impact on the evolution of rock and roll, are two blues musicians from England, Alexis Korner and John Mayall and r&b singer and songwriter, "Big Mama" Thornton. And the Ahmet Ertegun Award, which honors a non-performer, will be given to Suzanne de Passe who worked her way up at Motown from being a creative assistant for founder Berry Gordy to helping the label successfully move into television and film as a producer.
To become eligible for entry into the Hall, an artist must have released it's first commercia recording at least twenty-five years prior to the nomination year. The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on October 19th in Cleveland and stream on Disney +.
The recipients of the Award for Musical Excellence this year will be Jimmy Buffett, the tropical rocker who passed away last year; the classic rock band from Detroit, MC5; Norman Whitfield, an important songwriter and producer for Motown Records and pop music legend, Dionne Warwick. The Musical Influence Award, given to artists that an impact on the evolution of rock and roll, are two blues musicians from England, Alexis Korner and John Mayall and r&b singer and songwriter, "Big Mama" Thornton. And the Ahmet Ertegun Award, which honors a non-performer, will be given to Suzanne de Passe who worked her way up at Motown from being a creative assistant for founder Berry Gordy to helping the label successfully move into television and film as a producer.
To become eligible for entry into the Hall, an artist must have released it's first commercia recording at least twenty-five years prior to the nomination year. The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on October 19th in Cleveland and stream on Disney +.
CHER
When Salvatore Bono, an aspiring musician who went by the name of "Sonny", met a sixteen year old, Cherilyn Sarkisian in 1962, it would change both of their lives significantly. Bono had connected with Phil Spector, who was one of the biggest producers of pop music at the time, and managed to do background vocals on his records, dragging his shy young bride, now going by Cher, along with him. They formed an act, Sonny & Cher and had a number one pop hit, "I Got You Babe" by 1965. More hit songs followed (including several without Sonny) along with a Vegas act and a popular television variety show before their marriage collapsed in 1974.
Newly single, then quickly married to troubled rocker, Greg Allman before separating, Cher continued her music career but struggled to hit the heights she once achieved working with her former husband. She decided to try acting and struggled there too with no one willing to take her seriously. It was director Robert Altman who took a chance by casting her in a play in 1982. More acting work followed and soon Cher would have an Oscar in her hand, winning Best Actress for her performance in the 1987 romantic-comedy, "Moonstruck". At this point, Cher decided to return to music and found great success once again with several hit songs reaching the pop chart. The biggest highlight of her long career in music came in 1998, at the age of fifty-two, with the dance song, "Believe" which was one of the first to utilize Auto-tune to create a vocal effect, topping the pop charts in over twenty-three countries and selling more than eleven million copies. Cher continues to amaze with her unassuming talent and defying the odds, making her easily one of the greatest pop stars of all-time.
DAVE MATTHEWS BAND
The South African born Dave Mathews traveled around in his youth between Cambridge, New York and Johannesburg before ending up as a bartender in Charlottesville, Virginia as a young man. He was an aspiring musician, playing the guitar, writing songs and performing at clubs, when he met local jazz musicians drummer, Carter Beauford and saxophonist, LeRoi Moore. They began to jam together, connecting musically, and started working on the demos of original songs that Matthews wrote. Needing to fill out their sound, they found bass guitar player, Stefan Lessard and Peter Griesar to play keyboards. With the band complete, they needed a name and they became Dave Matthews Band although it is clear to all members that there is no true leader of the group.
In 1994, the band released a live EP, "Recently" which highlighted their singular jazz-rock sound which had drew a wide audience to their shows. This helped get Dave Matthews Band signed to RCA Records and their debut studio album, "Under the Table and Dreaming" followed shortly later that year. The singles, "What Would You Say", "Satellite" and "Ants Marching" all reached the top twenty on the mainsteam rock chart, bringing the band commercial success and greater popularity. Their follow-up album, "Crash" two years later further expanded the band's success with them earning five Grammy nominations and a win for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group for "So Much to Say". Dave Matthews Band have since recorded ten studio albums to date with their latest, "Walk Around the Moon" released last year. But their real claim to fame is that they are a thrilling jam band, changing up the arrangement of each of their songs to create an engaging and unique live show at every stop.
FOREIGNER
Formed in 1976 in New York, British musicians: Mick Jones on guitar, drummer, Dennis Elliott and multi-instrumentalist, Ian McDonald teamed up with Americans, Al Greenwood on keyboards, bass guitarist, Ed Gagliardi and lead vocalist, Lou Gramm to become Foreigner who went on to become one of the world's best selling rock bands with well over eighty million records sold. Their self-titled 1977 debut began their streak of six consecutive, multi-platinum albums throughout the rest of the '70's and 1980's. Some of their popular singles include "Feels Like The First Time", "Cold As Ice", "Urgent", "Hot Blooded", "Double Vision" and "I Want To Know What Love Is" with this gospel inspired, rock ballad becoming an international number one smash.
Gagliardi left the band in 1979 and was replaced by Rick Wills. By 1990, several other members would leave (including singer Gramm) and were replaced but Foreigner's following albums failed to generate the same level of success of their previous work. Since 2003, Jones (who served as co-writer and co-producer for much of Foreigner's music) has been the only founding member still with the band with various other musicians filling in over the years on tour. Gagliardi passed away in 2014 and McDonald died in 2022.
KOOL & THE GANG
Seven high school friends from New Jersey: Robert "Kool" Bell on bass, his brother, Ronald played piano, Robert Mickens on trumpet, saxophonist, Dennis Thomas, Rickey West on keyboards and Charles Smith on guitar came together as a professional band in 1964. They first began playing jazz and soul music under the name, The Jazziacs. The band went through several names changes before settling on "Kool & The Gang". After finally getting a record deal, they released their self titled debut in 1970, an all-instrumental album that brought them some attention. As they released a few more albums, the sound of Kool & The Gang was hard to categorize as they had elements of jazz, rock, soul or just instrumentals on their records. Their first commercial breakthrough came when they added disco to their musical repertoire on their fourth studio album, "Wild and Peaceful" in 1973. The funky dance singles, "Jungle Boogie" and "Hollywood Swinging" both became huge hits on the US soul and pop charts. After this triumph, Kool & The Gang went deeper into dance music yet the results didn't payoff for the band as their records were pretty much ignored.
By 1979, Kool & The Gang decided to make some changes: they brought in a dedicated lead singer, James "J.T." Taylor and committed their next four albums for Brazilian musician, Eumir Deodato to produce. This new direction proved to be a wise move with their album, "Ladies Night", a collection of pop and smooth r&b, becoming a best seller thanks to the singles, "Too Hot" and the title track reaching the top-ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The band's next album, "Celebrate!" became an even bigger hit because of their number one international smash, "Celebration". Other hit songs were "Get Down On It", "Joanna", "Fresh" and "Cherish". Taylor left The Gang in 1987 to attempt a solo career but returned nine years later to record one more album with the group, "State of Affairs". Kool & The Gang are still recording music and on the road touring.
MARY J BLIGE
Born and raised in the Bronx, a seventeen year old Mary J. Blige decided to drop out of high school with a strong-willed determination to start a career in music. After covering an Anita Baker song at a recording booth at a White Plans mall, the cassette tape managed to slowly make its way into the hands of Andre Harrell, the president of Uptown Records. He was impressed and signed Blige to the label in 1989 but was at first only used to perform backing vocals for other artists. By 1992, Mary finally began recording her debut album with a young and eager talent director at Uptown who had just started to produce, Sean Combs.
"What's The 411?" was released later in the year and became notable for smoothly merging classic soul over hip-hop beats. The first single, "You Remind Me" went straight to number one on the US r&b chart, then the next, "Real Love" not only topped the r&b chart but it went to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Three more singles became hits, helping the album go on to sell over three million copies in the US alone. Blige's 1994 follow-up album, "My Life" became an even bigger commercial success and widely praised critically. The singer was more involved in the writing of this record where she revealed through songs personal details of her difficult and traumatic life. Blige, who was quickly dubbed the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul", continued to rise to the top with several more popular albums and singles. After over thirty years in the business, Blige has gone on become one of the most successful musical artists in pop music history, selling over one hundred million records globally.
OZZY OSBOURNE
Ozzy Osbourne had already been inducted into the Hall of Fame with the heavy metal band he helped form, Black Sabbath back in 2006 and now the British hard rocker has just been selected for his solo work. Back in 1978, Osbourne had begun putting together a possible solo project when he was called back to record the next Black Sabbath album, "Never Say Die!". The recording sessions proved to be prolonged and arduous due to the band members all heavily using drugs. Following the tour to promote the album, Black Sabbath went back to the studio to record another album. The results were even more disastrous and a decision was made by the rest of the members to fire their lead singer, Osbourne because of his excessive substance abuse although he claimed this was unfair since everyone had been indulging in drugs.
Osborne set out to finish his own album, creating a new band called Blizzard of Ozz that featured former members of other well-known rock bands that included bassist, Bob Daisley of Rainbow and Quiet Riot guitarist, Randy Rhoads who both would co-write and co-produce this record. However, the label only credited Osbourne when his solo debut was released in 1980 with the title appearing to be "Blizzard of Ozz", leaving some members unhappy. The album was a modest success during it's initial release but the single, "Crazy Train" has since become a staple on classic rock radio and "Blizzard of Ozz" has now sold two million copies. This would begin a period of immense popularity for Osbourne throughout the rest of the 1980's, '90's and well into the next century. And while he could have very brief moments of sobriety over his long career, Osbourne would misuse alcohol and other drugs for most of his adult life. The now seventy-five year old singer is currently sober and has had some recent health issues but still has been able to get out to occasionally perform.
PETER FRAMPTON
The British rock musician and songwriter, Peter Frampton took to music early, self teaching himself how to play the guitar and piano as a child. He played with several bands as a pre-teen and in 1966, Frampton began his professional career at the age of sixteen joining The Herd, a psychedelic pop-rock band. The group rose quickly, achieving three top-twenty hits in the UK before Frampton left to form a new band with Steve Marriott, who was a member of Small Faces, in 1968. Along with Greg Ridley, formerly of Spooky Tooth and drummer, Jerry Shirley from the Apostolic Intervention, they became Humble Pie, moving into blues rock. Their debut album, "As Safe As Yesterday Is" was an instant hit with the single, "Natural Born Bugie" reaching number four on the British pop chart. Humble Pie became modestly successful, with four studio albums and a live release, but by 1971, Frampton decided to leave the band, unhappy with the change of musical direction into harder rock and wanted to move on to a solo career.
Frampton released four albums over the next four years, struggling to attract significant attention to his music. It was not until his 1976 release, "Frampton Comes Alive!", a double album that featured live versions of songs from his previous recordings, that he would achieve a major commercial breakthrough. With the hit singles, "Baby, I Love Your Way", "Show Me the Way", and "Do You Feel Like We Do", Frampton's album would become one of the best selling live albums of all-time at over eight million copies. His follow-up studio album, "I'm In You" proved to continue his success with the title track reaching number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. But at the height of his fame, Frampton suffered in a near-fatal car accident in 1978. He fully recovered, returning to making music yet his subsequent recordings, releasing twenty-two studio and live albums over his career, failed to find great commercial success. In 2019, Frampton was diagnosed with IBM, a progressive muscle disorder that would make performing for him difficult. But he has managed to play guitar on occasion for select events and short tours.
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
A Tribe Called Quest, a hip-hop outfit from Queens, NY, helped pioneer the merging of jazz influences and eclectic music samples into rap, opening up the sound of this unique genre and pushing hip-hop forward. Two childhood friends, Kamaal Fareed (who went by Q-Tip) and Malik Taylor (who goes by Phife Dawg) performed in rap battles and began making demos in 1985. After meeting rapper, Jarobi White and DJ and co-producer, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, they would become A Tribe Called Quest three years later. They helped form the Native Tongues Collective, a group of fellow New York based, hip-hop artists dedicated to Afrocentric, positive-minded music with members including the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, Monie Love and Queen Latifah.
After signing with Jive Records, A Tribe Called Quest released their debut album, "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm" in 1990. The record featured a more playful approach to hip-hop with unexpected beats and unorthodox lyrics. The group was well received by enthusiastic listeners and earned widespread critical acclaim. They followed this with three successful albums: "The Low End Theory" from 1991, "Midnight Marauders" in 1993 and "Beats, Rhymes and Life" three years later. Shortly after the 1998 release of "The Love Movement", A Tribe Called Quest announced their breakup, citing problems with their label and growing tension between Q-Tip and Phife Dawg. Over time, after each released their own solo projects, Q-Tip and Phife managed to settle their differences. They reunited first in 2006 to tour at select music festivals and later began working on new music by 2016. But sadly, Phife Dawg died that year due to complications from diabetes. The surviving members continued to work on the uncompleted project, releasing "We Got It From Here...Thank You 4 Your Service" later that year. A Tribe Called Quest would perform at a number of music fests the following year to promote the album before disbanding once again.
When Salvatore Bono, an aspiring musician who went by the name of "Sonny", met a sixteen year old, Cherilyn Sarkisian in 1962, it would change both of their lives significantly. Bono had connected with Phil Spector, who was one of the biggest producers of pop music at the time, and managed to do background vocals on his records, dragging his shy young bride, now going by Cher, along with him. They formed an act, Sonny & Cher and had a number one pop hit, "I Got You Babe" by 1965. More hit songs followed (including several without Sonny) along with a Vegas act and a popular television variety show before their marriage collapsed in 1974.
Newly single, then quickly married to troubled rocker, Greg Allman before separating, Cher continued her music career but struggled to hit the heights she once achieved working with her former husband. She decided to try acting and struggled there too with no one willing to take her seriously. It was director Robert Altman who took a chance by casting her in a play in 1982. More acting work followed and soon Cher would have an Oscar in her hand, winning Best Actress for her performance in the 1987 romantic-comedy, "Moonstruck". At this point, Cher decided to return to music and found great success once again with several hit songs reaching the pop chart. The biggest highlight of her long career in music came in 1998, at the age of fifty-two, with the dance song, "Believe" which was one of the first to utilize Auto-tune to create a vocal effect, topping the pop charts in over twenty-three countries and selling more than eleven million copies. Cher continues to amaze with her unassuming talent and defying the odds, making her easily one of the greatest pop stars of all-time.
DAVE MATTHEWS BAND
The South African born Dave Mathews traveled around in his youth between Cambridge, New York and Johannesburg before ending up as a bartender in Charlottesville, Virginia as a young man. He was an aspiring musician, playing the guitar, writing songs and performing at clubs, when he met local jazz musicians drummer, Carter Beauford and saxophonist, LeRoi Moore. They began to jam together, connecting musically, and started working on the demos of original songs that Matthews wrote. Needing to fill out their sound, they found bass guitar player, Stefan Lessard and Peter Griesar to play keyboards. With the band complete, they needed a name and they became Dave Matthews Band although it is clear to all members that there is no true leader of the group.
In 1994, the band released a live EP, "Recently" which highlighted their singular jazz-rock sound which had drew a wide audience to their shows. This helped get Dave Matthews Band signed to RCA Records and their debut studio album, "Under the Table and Dreaming" followed shortly later that year. The singles, "What Would You Say", "Satellite" and "Ants Marching" all reached the top twenty on the mainsteam rock chart, bringing the band commercial success and greater popularity. Their follow-up album, "Crash" two years later further expanded the band's success with them earning five Grammy nominations and a win for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group for "So Much to Say". Dave Matthews Band have since recorded ten studio albums to date with their latest, "Walk Around the Moon" released last year. But their real claim to fame is that they are a thrilling jam band, changing up the arrangement of each of their songs to create an engaging and unique live show at every stop.
FOREIGNER
Formed in 1976 in New York, British musicians: Mick Jones on guitar, drummer, Dennis Elliott and multi-instrumentalist, Ian McDonald teamed up with Americans, Al Greenwood on keyboards, bass guitarist, Ed Gagliardi and lead vocalist, Lou Gramm to become Foreigner who went on to become one of the world's best selling rock bands with well over eighty million records sold. Their self-titled 1977 debut began their streak of six consecutive, multi-platinum albums throughout the rest of the '70's and 1980's. Some of their popular singles include "Feels Like The First Time", "Cold As Ice", "Urgent", "Hot Blooded", "Double Vision" and "I Want To Know What Love Is" with this gospel inspired, rock ballad becoming an international number one smash.
Gagliardi left the band in 1979 and was replaced by Rick Wills. By 1990, several other members would leave (including singer Gramm) and were replaced but Foreigner's following albums failed to generate the same level of success of their previous work. Since 2003, Jones (who served as co-writer and co-producer for much of Foreigner's music) has been the only founding member still with the band with various other musicians filling in over the years on tour. Gagliardi passed away in 2014 and McDonald died in 2022.
KOOL & THE GANG
Seven high school friends from New Jersey: Robert "Kool" Bell on bass, his brother, Ronald played piano, Robert Mickens on trumpet, saxophonist, Dennis Thomas, Rickey West on keyboards and Charles Smith on guitar came together as a professional band in 1964. They first began playing jazz and soul music under the name, The Jazziacs. The band went through several names changes before settling on "Kool & The Gang". After finally getting a record deal, they released their self titled debut in 1970, an all-instrumental album that brought them some attention. As they released a few more albums, the sound of Kool & The Gang was hard to categorize as they had elements of jazz, rock, soul or just instrumentals on their records. Their first commercial breakthrough came when they added disco to their musical repertoire on their fourth studio album, "Wild and Peaceful" in 1973. The funky dance singles, "Jungle Boogie" and "Hollywood Swinging" both became huge hits on the US soul and pop charts. After this triumph, Kool & The Gang went deeper into dance music yet the results didn't payoff for the band as their records were pretty much ignored.
By 1979, Kool & The Gang decided to make some changes: they brought in a dedicated lead singer, James "J.T." Taylor and committed their next four albums for Brazilian musician, Eumir Deodato to produce. This new direction proved to be a wise move with their album, "Ladies Night", a collection of pop and smooth r&b, becoming a best seller thanks to the singles, "Too Hot" and the title track reaching the top-ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The band's next album, "Celebrate!" became an even bigger hit because of their number one international smash, "Celebration". Other hit songs were "Get Down On It", "Joanna", "Fresh" and "Cherish". Taylor left The Gang in 1987 to attempt a solo career but returned nine years later to record one more album with the group, "State of Affairs". Kool & The Gang are still recording music and on the road touring.
MARY J BLIGE
Born and raised in the Bronx, a seventeen year old Mary J. Blige decided to drop out of high school with a strong-willed determination to start a career in music. After covering an Anita Baker song at a recording booth at a White Plans mall, the cassette tape managed to slowly make its way into the hands of Andre Harrell, the president of Uptown Records. He was impressed and signed Blige to the label in 1989 but was at first only used to perform backing vocals for other artists. By 1992, Mary finally began recording her debut album with a young and eager talent director at Uptown who had just started to produce, Sean Combs.
"What's The 411?" was released later in the year and became notable for smoothly merging classic soul over hip-hop beats. The first single, "You Remind Me" went straight to number one on the US r&b chart, then the next, "Real Love" not only topped the r&b chart but it went to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Three more singles became hits, helping the album go on to sell over three million copies in the US alone. Blige's 1994 follow-up album, "My Life" became an even bigger commercial success and widely praised critically. The singer was more involved in the writing of this record where she revealed through songs personal details of her difficult and traumatic life. Blige, who was quickly dubbed the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul", continued to rise to the top with several more popular albums and singles. After over thirty years in the business, Blige has gone on become one of the most successful musical artists in pop music history, selling over one hundred million records globally.
OZZY OSBOURNE
Ozzy Osbourne had already been inducted into the Hall of Fame with the heavy metal band he helped form, Black Sabbath back in 2006 and now the British hard rocker has just been selected for his solo work. Back in 1978, Osbourne had begun putting together a possible solo project when he was called back to record the next Black Sabbath album, "Never Say Die!". The recording sessions proved to be prolonged and arduous due to the band members all heavily using drugs. Following the tour to promote the album, Black Sabbath went back to the studio to record another album. The results were even more disastrous and a decision was made by the rest of the members to fire their lead singer, Osbourne because of his excessive substance abuse although he claimed this was unfair since everyone had been indulging in drugs.
Osborne set out to finish his own album, creating a new band called Blizzard of Ozz that featured former members of other well-known rock bands that included bassist, Bob Daisley of Rainbow and Quiet Riot guitarist, Randy Rhoads who both would co-write and co-produce this record. However, the label only credited Osbourne when his solo debut was released in 1980 with the title appearing to be "Blizzard of Ozz", leaving some members unhappy. The album was a modest success during it's initial release but the single, "Crazy Train" has since become a staple on classic rock radio and "Blizzard of Ozz" has now sold two million copies. This would begin a period of immense popularity for Osbourne throughout the rest of the 1980's, '90's and well into the next century. And while he could have very brief moments of sobriety over his long career, Osbourne would misuse alcohol and other drugs for most of his adult life. The now seventy-five year old singer is currently sober and has had some recent health issues but still has been able to get out to occasionally perform.
PETER FRAMPTON
The British rock musician and songwriter, Peter Frampton took to music early, self teaching himself how to play the guitar and piano as a child. He played with several bands as a pre-teen and in 1966, Frampton began his professional career at the age of sixteen joining The Herd, a psychedelic pop-rock band. The group rose quickly, achieving three top-twenty hits in the UK before Frampton left to form a new band with Steve Marriott, who was a member of Small Faces, in 1968. Along with Greg Ridley, formerly of Spooky Tooth and drummer, Jerry Shirley from the Apostolic Intervention, they became Humble Pie, moving into blues rock. Their debut album, "As Safe As Yesterday Is" was an instant hit with the single, "Natural Born Bugie" reaching number four on the British pop chart. Humble Pie became modestly successful, with four studio albums and a live release, but by 1971, Frampton decided to leave the band, unhappy with the change of musical direction into harder rock and wanted to move on to a solo career.
Frampton released four albums over the next four years, struggling to attract significant attention to his music. It was not until his 1976 release, "Frampton Comes Alive!", a double album that featured live versions of songs from his previous recordings, that he would achieve a major commercial breakthrough. With the hit singles, "Baby, I Love Your Way", "Show Me the Way", and "Do You Feel Like We Do", Frampton's album would become one of the best selling live albums of all-time at over eight million copies. His follow-up studio album, "I'm In You" proved to continue his success with the title track reaching number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. But at the height of his fame, Frampton suffered in a near-fatal car accident in 1978. He fully recovered, returning to making music yet his subsequent recordings, releasing twenty-two studio and live albums over his career, failed to find great commercial success. In 2019, Frampton was diagnosed with IBM, a progressive muscle disorder that would make performing for him difficult. But he has managed to play guitar on occasion for select events and short tours.
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
A Tribe Called Quest, a hip-hop outfit from Queens, NY, helped pioneer the merging of jazz influences and eclectic music samples into rap, opening up the sound of this unique genre and pushing hip-hop forward. Two childhood friends, Kamaal Fareed (who went by Q-Tip) and Malik Taylor (who goes by Phife Dawg) performed in rap battles and began making demos in 1985. After meeting rapper, Jarobi White and DJ and co-producer, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, they would become A Tribe Called Quest three years later. They helped form the Native Tongues Collective, a group of fellow New York based, hip-hop artists dedicated to Afrocentric, positive-minded music with members including the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, Monie Love and Queen Latifah.
After signing with Jive Records, A Tribe Called Quest released their debut album, "People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm" in 1990. The record featured a more playful approach to hip-hop with unexpected beats and unorthodox lyrics. The group was well received by enthusiastic listeners and earned widespread critical acclaim. They followed this with three successful albums: "The Low End Theory" from 1991, "Midnight Marauders" in 1993 and "Beats, Rhymes and Life" three years later. Shortly after the 1998 release of "The Love Movement", A Tribe Called Quest announced their breakup, citing problems with their label and growing tension between Q-Tip and Phife Dawg. Over time, after each released their own solo projects, Q-Tip and Phife managed to settle their differences. They reunited first in 2006 to tour at select music festivals and later began working on new music by 2016. But sadly, Phife Dawg died that year due to complications from diabetes. The surviving members continued to work on the uncompleted project, releasing "We Got It From Here...Thank You 4 Your Service" later that year. A Tribe Called Quest would perform at a number of music fests the following year to promote the album before disbanding once again.
