Ali Brown

About Ali Shaheed Muhammad As a member of A Tribe Called Quest, Ali Shaheed Muhammad played a pivotal role in the evolution of rap music throughout the 1990s, factoring in the development of the jazz-rooted, sample-based production approach that epitomized Native Tongues, the beloved collective of unorthodox groups that also included the Jungle Brothers and De La Soul. During and following the activity of Tribe – whose six studio albums, from 1990 to 2016, went either gold or platinum and bagged a handful of Grammy nominations – 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 30 pop hit that instigated the neo-soul movement, D'Angelo's "Brown Sugar" (1995), and earned another Grammy nomination via Lucy Pearl's "Dance Tonight" (2000). After releasing his lone solo album, Shaheedullah and Stereotypes (2004), Muhammad continued performing and recording with the sporadically active Tribe, and also paired with Adrian Younge to score Marvel's Luke Cage series (2016-2018) and The Midnight Hour (2018).

The 1974 fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, staged in the young nation of Zaire and dubbed the Rumble in the Jungle, was arguably the biggest sporting event of the twentieth century. The bout between an ascendant undefeated champ and an outspoken master trying to reclaim the throne was a true multimedia spectacle. A three-day festival of international music—featuring James Brown, Miriam Makeba, and many others—preceded the fight itself, which was viewed by a record-breaking one billion people worldwide. Lewis A. Erenberg's new book provides a global perspective on this singular match, not only detailing the titular fight but also locating it at the center of the cultural dramas of the day.