A Tribe Called Quest forever revolutionized how street kids made music, according to Consequence, who praised the group for their impact on popular culture.
The rapper and former Love & Hip-Hop: New York star sat down with Vlad TV to discuss ATCQ’s history and legacy — of which he is a part of himself.
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Their conversation kicked off with the host singing the praises of Tribe’s classic 1993 album Midnight Marauders, while remarking that this is when he felt the group were finally “in their bag.”
After discussing various aspects of how Consequence’s career intersected with A Tribe Called Quest’s — including his feature placement on the B-side of their single, “Award Tour” — Consequence discussed Tribe’s larger impact on music, as we know it today.
“This is in the midst of the crack epidemic,” he said, referring to the late 1980s and early 1990s in New York City. “At the same time that the Central Park Five were picked up. This is a completely different time period.
“[A Tribe Called Quest] have a collective going on, also, where they creatively vibe with The Jungle Brothers, and they creatively vibe with De La Soul — and, basically, revolutionized the way that street kids approached the music business,” he continued. “Because of success, right? And even to this day, the ramifications of those sacrifices, we’re seeing on Front Street.”
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A Tribe Called Quest are so influential that they were recently nominated for the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame.
The Rock Hall announced its list of nominees for the 2023 induction ceremony back in February. Missy Elliott and Tribe lead the way for Hip Hop, while other nominees include Iron Maiden, Rage Against The Machine, Cyndi Lauper, George Michael, and Willie Nelson.
A Tribe Called Quest, meanwhile, were previously nominated in 2022 but didn’t receive enough votes to be inducted.
One Hip Hop great who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022, though, was Eminem, who finished second on the fan ballot with nearly 685,000 votes — second only to Duran Duran.
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The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s class of 2023 will be announced in May, with the induction ceremony taking place in the fall. Fans can cast their votes as part of the fan ballot here.
If successful, Missy Elliott and A Tribe Called Quest will join a growing list of rap royalty in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious were the first Hip Hop act to earn a spot in 2007, paving the way for Run-DMC, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, N.W.A, 2Pac, Biggie, and JAY-Z to follow.
