A Tribe Called Quest are immortal
“Thank You 4 Your Service” is Post-Trump art? Don’t disrespect Phife like that.
I doubt Hip-Hop’s everyman wanted his posthumous breath mixed with orange spray tan.
The Ringer’s Donnie Kwak may have minced words about A Tribe Called Quest’s new album in the same article, but he eventually nailed what We Got it From Here represents:
[“We Got It From Here”] is also an exceedingly rare example of a successful, age-appropriate project from 40-something rappers.
It’s tough to be fresh in your forties. Timbs and Yankees hats are only cool to the white kids meme-ing the shit out of them on Reddit — deadass.
What made New York culture cutting edge in the ‘90s is what makes it Crying Jordan in the 2010s, and that’s okay. Nobody needs homophobia from Sticky Fingaz or Jay Z’s bootcut jeans anymore.
ATCQ were never meant to be a flash in the pan — it’s why they’re on Rolling Stone’s Top 500, not YesJulz’ 1am Soundcloud mix.
Q-Tip put it perfectly on “We the People…”
When we get hungry we eat the same fuckin' food – the ramen noodle
Tribe were never the flashy Nikes: They were the MSG packets you bought to spice up your bland-ass noodles. You saved hella guap on food that week so you could buy your Air Maxes on Saturday.
You learned something along the way. A lesson that will last longer than those sneakers. Those noodles were actually pretty good.
That’s because you pulled some voodoo shit with 69¢ angel hairs. A pinch of salt, dash of cayenne, maybe some cumin if you were really feeling like Martha that day, and boom. You realize that the everyday stuff is what makes the spice of life exciting.
Maybe a salty soup metaphor is the wrong way to honor Tribe. Let’s try again.
Tribe took a genre so intent on being hard as a month-old chocolate almond, and made a mousse instead, fusing boom-bap with jazz.
Tribe’s Love Movement is the reason why I’m a fan. That album is also the reason for one of my best friendships in school. Now a good friend, a newcomer in the seventh grade told me he loved hip-hop on his first day. A few days later we were sharing headphones, boppin’ our heads to “Da Booty” in English class. Our teacher scowled at us, friends told us to shut up amid laughter, but we didn’t care.
That song galvanized our friendship. Over the years, this person and I have drifted, but we’ll see each other downtown, maybe at a concert, and remember why we were friends.
The same can be said for Tribe. Tip and Phife drifted further apart as ATCQ grew in stature. Phife kept true to his roots, the unchanging rock of the group. Q-Tip experimented, and eventually went solo over creative differences.
I remember my dad telling me a very rough oral history of the ordeal. At the time I was sad that such a great group didn’t like each other anymore. Now, I consider their breakup — and subsequent reunion — a blessing.
Had they stayed together, I guarantee their legacy would be tarnished by now. We’ve seen huge names from decades yonder come back to the scene with the same old sound, only to flop. Teenagers today wear Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein because it’s in the thrift shop, not to stick up the middle finger to whitey.
I hate to bring up Onyx again, but have you heard what they’re putting out lately?
“Look Like a Criminal” is from 2015. T w e n t y F i f t e e n. If you grew up on ‘90s rap, you see no problems with this. The YouTube comment section is brimming with Crusty Uncle opinions, like this one.
Dawg, imagine for a sec if these Uncle Roy headasses were still a vocal part of Tribe’s fanbase, having played all their new albums on bootleg CDs in their clapped out 2004 Mazda Protegés until now.
Tribe would mean far less for hip hop had they kept the party going. I’m glad we were made to wait almost two decades for a proper new release.
In that time, the world has changed. We almost had a black and female president of the United States back to back.
That’s why “The Donald,” We Got It From Here’s final track, feels so timely. Donald Trump won, right? Yeah, but that track is really about Don Juice, who is Phife Dawg for 400, Alex.
Don’t get it twisted. This album is timely, yes, but like their previous releases, the references to today will fall on deaf ears tomorrow. It’s the music, the clever composition, and the soul of Phife that will resonate with a kid in the seventh grade who clicks “play” out of curiosity.
Long live Phife Dawg. Thank you for your service.
Phife Dawg legend, you could call me Don Juice
I’m the shit right now, what, you need to see proof?
Recently on the internet they chatting
Taking polls, debating who could win in battle rappingLet’s make it happen, these cyber flows already par
No subliminals, with me you know who the fuck you are
Who wanna spar? Haha, well, here I are
