The album is a perfect tribute to the “5 foot 3 assassin” himself, and I’m sure if Phife were here, he would be very proud of the job the group has done this year.
For most of the 90’s, A Tribe Called Quest was a staple of the rap scene. As far as rap groups went, they were right up there with Outkast and De La Soul as some of the greatest ever. They went radio silent during the 2000’s, only to join together for a reunion tour in recent years, culminating in their first television spot since the 90’s, when they played on Jimmy Fallon in 2015. According to an Instagram post by the group, from that night forward, A Tribe Called Quest immediately got back in the studio and started working on a new project.
Things were going great until March 22nd of 2016. Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor, a mainstay and main rapper next to partner Q-Tip, passed away due to complications with diabetes. Luckily for the group, despite this tragedy, they were able to get enough done with Phife Dawg to pull together a brand new album. The album was announced in the beginning of November and was released on November 11th, 9 days before Phife Dawg’s birthday. The album, titled “We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service” (The title was actually conceived by Phife Dawg, before his death), is an excellent piece of work for a group that hadn’t released any new music in 18 years. The group was able to bring their classic jazzy style of the 90’s to modern day times in a way so smooth that it’s hard to believe that it’s been 18 years since the last time the group made new music. Phife Dawg is prominent on the album, and is just as good as he used to be. His classic style, filled with smooth rhymes and sports references are back and just as good as ever. They were able to appeal to people who had never heard of the group with their impressive guest list, including Andre 3000, Anderson.Paak, and Kendrick Lamar, just to name a few. The album is a perfect tribute to the “5 foot 3 assassin” himself, and I’m sure if Phife were here, he would be very proud of the job the group has done this year.
This album was very important for me. A Tribe Called Quest is one of the reasons I got into listening to hip hop and rap. I wouldn’t be 
nearly as big a fan of the genre if it weren’t for groups like Tribe and Outkast. So to finally be able to listen to brand new music by the group for the first time in my life (I’m 17, up until this year, Tribe hadn’t released an album in 18 years) was an incredible and unforgettable experience. This group is immensely important to me, and I hope reading this story entices readers to listen to A Tribe Called Quest too. I’d highly recommend it. They are an incredible group who just reinforced their status with their newest record.
We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service can be found in stores, as well as on streaming sites such as Spotify and Apple Music
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