NEWS
EVENTS
New Tribe album brings back legendary vibe
RnB/Hip Hop | Tuesday 15th November 2016 | Phil
Phife Dawg’s passing earlier this year in April was mourned heavily by the global hip-hop community. The Native Tongues stalwart and Queens NY born Malik Taylor aka Phife Dawg, who along with Q-Tip propelled A Tribe Called Quest to meteoric rap stardom with iconic anthems such as ‘Can I Kick It?’ and ‘Electric Relaxation’, was so loved in New York that an area in the borough of Queens named Linden Boulevard & 192nd Street, a place that he once penned a rhyme about, will be renamed Malik ‘Phife Dawg’ Taylor Way on the 19th of this month.
Many heavyweight U.S hip hop artists have released good albums this year. Legends of the game including Common, Snoop Dogg and even Tribe’s Native Tongues brothers De La Soul have also released records this year, but none of them can compare in scope, magnitude or significance to the first A Tribe Called Quest album in 18 years.
For those of you who know little about this seminal, Afrocentric east coast crew and claim to be fans of hip hop, you would be well advised to listen to, at the very least, both ‘The Lowend Theory’ and ‘Midnight Marauders’ from their five previous LPs.
The new album has the title of ‘ We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Support’ and although the LP feels like a modern offering, from the moment the first track ‘The Space Program’ drops, it undoubtedly retains that timeless, bouncy Tribe vibe along with those familiar, positive lyrics and messages of The Native Tongues. The original members of the Tribe including Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White, not forgetting the incredible presence that is Busta Rhymes all contributed to this record, with guest credits for hip hop heavyweights including Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar and former OutKast frontman turned actor Andre 3000, not to mention Sir Elton John on 'Soild Wall of Sound'.
At a time when much of the U.S is still in shock and quite frankly in fear at the election of ‘The Donald’, the Tribe have released an album filled with socially relevant meaning and thought provoking rhymes, powered and conveyed through that legendary Tribe vibe which their faithful fans have joyously appreciated over the last quarter of a century or so.
You can read the fantastic story about how the Tribe got together one last time and how this album came into being courtesy of Questlove’s Okayplayer here. And don’t worry Phife fans, apparently there’s enough new solo material from Mr. Malik Taylor for a full solo album so keep your eyes peeled.
Thank God for that real hip hop.
R.I.P Phife Dawg.
A.T.C.Q Forever.
@PhillyTea
