The Ummah facts for kids

The Ummah was a special team of music producers. They created the beats and sounds for many popular songs. This group included Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad from the famous hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. Another key member was the late Jay Dee, also known as J Dilla, from the group Slum Village. Sometimes, other talented artists like Raphael Saadiq and D'Angelo also joined in.

The Ummah helped make almost all the songs for A Tribe Called Quest's fourth album, Beats, Rhymes and Life, and their fifth album, The Love Movement. They also produced music and remixes for many other well-known hip hop and R&B artists. These included Busta Rhymes, Whitney Houston, Keith Murray, the Brand New Heavies, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, and Jon B. The group was named "The Ummah" because Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad are Muslims. The word "ummah" comes from Arabic and means "community" or "brotherhood." It often refers to the worldwide Muslim community.

The Ummah's Story

How the Group Started

The Ummah team began to form around 1995. A skilled keyboardist named Amp Fiddler introduced Jay Dee to Q-Tip in 1994. Q-Tip was really impressed by Jay Dee's soulful music styles. He invited Jay Dee to join A Tribe Called Quest's music production team. Before Jay Dee, this team mostly included Q-Tip and sometimes Ali Shaheed.

Making Music Together

Q-Tip explained that when a song was credited to The Ummah, it meant one of its members had created it. So, the person who made the music would get credit for their work.

The Ummah's first big project was A Tribe Called Quest's album, Beats, Rhymes and Life. Some people thought the sound was different from the group's earlier, heavier songs. The new sound was more relaxed and polished. This new style was better received with the song "Find a Way" from Tribe's next album, The Love Movement. However, that album didn't get as much excitement overall.

After A Tribe Called Quest broke up for a while, Q-Tip and Jay Dee kept working together as The Ummah. They produced almost all of Q-Tip's solo album, Amplified. Later, Q-Tip's solo career slowed down due to record label issues. Jay Dee and D'Angelo then started another music group called the Soulquarians with other artists. A Tribe Called Quest briefly got back together in 2003, but The Ummah did not work together again after that. Jay Dee sadly passed away on February 10, 2006, due to complications from Lupus, which brought a final end to The Ummah project.

Even though The Ummah worked on many famous projects, some people mistakenly thought "The Ummah" was just another name for Q-Tip. Because of this, many of Jay Dee's important contributions were sometimes missed or not fully recognized.

The Ummah's Music

Albums Produced

The Ummah helped produce these albums, which were very successful:

• A Tribe Called Quest, Beats, Rhymes and Life (1996) – This album sold over a million copies!
• A Tribe Called Quest, The Love Movement (1998) – This album sold over half a million copies!
• Q-Tip, Amplified (1999) – This album also sold over half a million copies!

Selected Songs and Remixes

The Ummah also produced or remixed many individual songs for other artists. Here are some examples:

• 1996
  • Busta Rhymes - "Ill Vibe", "Still Shining"
  • Keith Murray - "Dangerous Ground"
• 1997
  • Janet Jackson - "Got 'Til It's Gone (Ummah's Uptown Saturday Night Mix)"
  • Michael Jackson - "HIStory (The Ummah Radio Mix)"
  • Brand New Heavies - "Sometimes (The Ummah Remix)"
• 1999
  • Raphael Saadiq & Q-Tip - "Get Involved"
• 2000
  • Whitney Houston - "Fine"