As a member of A Tribe Called Quest, Ali Shaheed Muhammad played a pivotal role in the evolution of rap throughout the 1990s, factoring in the development of a jazz-rooted, sample-based production approach. During and following the activity of Tribe -- whose six studio albums went either gold or platinum -- the DJ, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter has been vital on his own and with other collaborators. Muhammad co-wrote and co-produced the Top 40 pop hit that instigated the neo-soul movement, D'Angelo's "Brown Sugar" (1995), earned another Grammy nomination with Lucy Pearl's "Dance Tonight" (2000), and years later finally released his lone solo album, Shaheedullah and Stereotypes (2004). Before Tribe's final performance in 2017, Muhammad entered a prolific partnership with Adrian Younge that has yielded The Midnight Hour (2018) and the extensive Jazz Is Dead collaborations, numbering 19 volumes by 2023.