Jarobi White, born in St. Albans, Queens met future group member Phife Dawg in the early 1980s. The two went on to collaborate with Q-Tip and eventually Ali Shaheed Muhamad to form, A Tribe Called Quest. Jarobi became a member of the group acting as host on the first album, People’s Instinctive Travels. He continued to provide inspiration and input for many of Tribe’s albums throughout the groups history. In 2007, Jarobi was also honored with A Tribe Called Quest at VH1’s fourth annual Hip Hop Honors ceremony.
At the pinnacle of the group’s success, White made the decision to leave Tribe to pursue his true passion in culinary arts. His talent has taken him to Washington D.C., South Carolina and Atlanta where he has made a name for himself as an executive chef and restaurant manager. In 2012, Hip Hop’s prodigal son returned to New York to team with fellow Native Tongue’s member Dres to form Evitan. The duo released their first album, “Speed of Life” while Jarobi simultaneously took on a chef position in a restaurant in the West Village, helping catapult it to a Michelin rating.
His appearance in The Tribe Called Quest documentary, “Beats, Rhymes and Life” rekindled the love affair fans have for the mysterious fourth member of their favorite group. At an age when many artists are finding themselves locked out of the music industry in favor of popular culture, Jarobi has managed to straddle the line between respected industry veteran and up & coming emcee.
Jarobi is currently working on his first solo album and will feature appearances by Cazal Organism, Dinco D, Infinite Loop and many others. The album is expected to be released in 2014 on vinyl and in digital form.