Red Bull Academy of Music: Maseo, Ali Shaheed Muhammad DJ — Video

Legendary DJs Maseo of De La Soul and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest recently traveled to Los Angeles to perform together at the Red Bull Music Academy, as part of the Boombox 5th Annual Celebration of the Life & Music of J Dilla.

In addition to playing DJ sets, which you can check out after the jump, the hip-hop icons lead a discussion about their musical inspirations, during which Maseo explained that new talent motivates him to create.

"The new talent always drives me; it's always been the thing that drives me," Mase said. "Every idea is a great idea. You just need to try it, you've gotta put it out there. It's more than just verbally saying it, you need to show it."

Shaheed, the more soft-spoken of the two, further explained that he feels a responsibility to write music that is impactful and extends beyond the superficial.

"I want to make sure that whatever I put into the music, that someone can walk away with something that will help them grow in some capacity as a human being," Shaheed said. "I think there's another aspect of making music that is more superficial, which is okay because we don't all have to be prophets and save the world, but I am aware that my words and my music will last longer than I'm here. For example, what we did today for Red Bull Music Academy, we filmed it and that'll be around longer than I will be on the Earth and that's powerful. You want to make sure that whatever your imprint is on the world that it'll be for the greater good."

Listen to Maseo's live set from the event here, and Shaheed's here.

A portion of the proceeds from the event went towards the J Dilla Foundation.

The Red Bull Music Academy will be heading to New York next. For more information, or to apply to take part, click here.