Soulquarians


The Soulquarians were a neo soul and alternative hip hop-informed musical collective. The collective, formed during the late 1990s, continued into the early 2000s, and produced several well-received albums. Prior to its formation, members Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, and Q-Tip were members of the Native Tongues collective.
Producer and drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of hip hop band the Roots acted as the "musical powerhouse" behind several of the collective's projects during the late 1990s and early 2000s, including The Roots' Things Fall Apart, D'Angelo's Voodoo, Erykah Badu's Mama's Gun, and Common's Like Water for Chocolate. In an interview for Spin magazine, Common discussed the production of those albums, stating: "It was one of those time periods that you don't even realize when you're going through it that it's powerful".

Background

The name of the collective is derived from an astrology sign. The founding members of the collective—Questlove from the Roots, D'Angelo, James Poyser, and J Dilla—share the sign of Aquarius. Questlove, D'Angelo, Poyser, and J Dilla came together after discovering they had a common interest for the unconventional—offbeat rhythms, irregular chords, and other traits often exhibited by the underground urban music scene. Also around this time, D'Angelo and Welsh bassist Pino Palladino developed a connection over their mutual love of Motown and other classic soul music, and Palladino became active in the project, playing on the majority of their discography and serving as a member of the Soultronics touring band that supported D'Angelo's Voodoo tour.
Being a collective, the Soulquarians included a rotating list of members, including Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Q-Tip, Erykah Badu and Bilal. In a 2003 interview, Questlove unequivocally stated that there were no plans for a Soulquarians album release for the foreseeable future. This was interpreted as a silent breakup of the outfit. However, according to an interview with Common, the collective continued to exist.

Members

Albums produced wholly or partly by the Soulquarians:
YearArtistAlbumRIAA Certification
1999The RootsThings Fall ApartPlatinum
1999Mos DefBlack on Both SidesGold
1999Q-TipAmplifiedGold
2000D'AngeloVoodooPlatinum
2000CommonLike Water for ChocolateGold
2000Slum VillageFantastic, Vol. 2
2000Erykah BaduMama's GunPlatinum
2001Bilal1st Born Second
2002Talib KweliQualityGold
2002The RootsPhrenologyGold
2002CommonElectric Circus