A Tribe Called Quest have released their latest, and purportedly last, album, entitled ‘We Got It From Here, Thank You 4 Your Service.’
As well as Q-Tip, Ali and Jarobi, the album also features contributions from André 3000, Kendrick Lamar, Elton John, Jack White and Busta Rhymes and of course, Phife Dawg. Busta Rhymes is quoted in the New York Times, describing the chemistry of the re-united quartet, observing, ‘I seen them laughing and joking and high-fiving, and you can just see that young, invigorated ‘we’re-just-getting-our-first-opportunity-to-do-this’ energy again!’ Q-Tip agrees, and revealed to The Guardian that in the studio Quest ‘just locked in’ and that they ‘became fucking kids again.’
Although it’s 26 years since they made their debut with ‘People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm,’ this latest album will only be their sixth. This, of course, is largely due to the fact that in 1998 the band disbanded following, ‘The Love Movement.’ They reformed intermittently between 2013 and 2016 for various live shows, before deciding to fully reform following a performance on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. However, tragedy was soon to strike as Phife Dawg passed away on March 22nd, 2016. Despite this, the remaining members were determined to continue the project they had started, and to incorporate ‘the blueprint’ which he had left them into the finished ‘We Got It From Here, Thank You 4 Your Service’ – a title that was chosen by Phife Dawg. Speaking to the New York Times earlier this week about the forthcoming album and the loss of Phife Dawg, Q-Tip said, ‘I just want to celebrate him, you know?’
The album itself doesn’t shy away from politics, and deals with social issues including gender, race and economic inequality. There are also lyrics which appear to reference controversies from the Presidential election campaign, especially in the hook to ‘We The People…’, which runs, ‘All you black folks you must go. All you Mexicans you must go. All you poor folks you must go.’ All the while, sonically, the album stays largely true to Tribe’s 90s roots, with traditional jazz and rock n’ roll samples given a contemporary edge.
Q-Tip commented that during the making of the album the group ‘embraced the spirit of one-upping each other’ (via The Guardian). This is very much evident in ‘We Got It From Here, Thank You 4 Your Service’. At the same time the group still manage to maintain the harmonious spirit with which they became synonymous, especially following their biggest hit, ‘Can I kick it?’
If this is to be their last album, it appears they will go out in style. The album has already received the approval of Questlove, who wrote a long post on his Instagram which began, ‘All imma say is Yes. Yes. Yes,’ before going on to praise the return of the 90s group dynamic, the ability of Jarobi and the overall quality of the album which he said was in its ‘own lane’ and ‘fulfils and itches so many scratches’ as well as the future potential of Quest.
