Damn near twenty years ago when the Soulquarians came together and tried to change the world, beginning in 1997 when D’Angelo and Questlove began planning the production of Voodoo(released in 2000), the Soulquarians began a five-year jam session that became the musical bedrock for The Roots black shock-wave Things Fall Apart (1999) and Phrenology (2002), Badu’s fierce Mama’s Gun (2000), Common’s soulfully stimulating Like Water for Chocolate, Bilal’s stellar debut 1st Born Second (2001) and Common’s blackadelic bug-out Electric Circus. The vibe and aura also spilled over into Mos Def’s urban jungle boogie Black on Both Sides (1999), Res’s debut gem How I Do (2001) and Talib Kweli ‘s dope-as-hell Quality(2002).

Looking like b-boy hippies, boho gypsies and hardrock flower children, the Soulquarians were a rotating rhythmic collective that included late beat-master J. Dilla, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, rapper/producer Mos Def, singer/producerErykah Badu, multi-instrumentalist D’Angelo, keyboardist James Poyser, rapper Talib Kweli, singer Bilal, bassist Pino Palladino and rap/producer Q-Tip, whose Native Tongues group A Tribe Called Quest had inspired them all.

http://www.soulhead.com/2...ulquarians

nice article! so many great artists and albums to explore. i'm curious, though, where sa-ra fits into this story. are they completely after and seperate from the whole soulquarian thing?

Man that was a hell of a collective there. Just to think QTip inspired a lot of these cats.

I know Common acknowledged as much when he got in the game.

Man oh man, it was great living through this era of music during my late high school/early college years. Love and miss it so much.

[Edited 3/20/15 8:31am]

If memory recalls correctly, Sa-Ra Creative Partners came along towards the tail-end of it all in the mainstream. I wasn't a big fan, love the Soulquarians more organic/jazz influenced and classic sound. They were sort of meant to be next-wave and it never really happened. Folks been excited about the crew a few times now.

.

Lets time-travel:

http://prince.org/msg/7/147302

http://prince.org/msg/8/384230

http://prince.org/msg/8/181161

http://prince.org/msg/8/319622

http://prince.org/msg/8/185159

missfee I had that Vivian Green - A Love Affair WORN OUTTTTT. goddamn that was my thing back then. Jaguar Wright - Denials, Delusions, and Decisions.... All the Dilla produced Slum Village albums... I agree it was an exciting era. Glad to have been there.