[protected-iframe id=”bca95c8c8f1c5289b47658b7abea7a13-60970621-76566046″ info=”https://player.theplatform.com/p/NnzsPC/widget/select/media/guid/2410887629/3424958″ width=”650″ height=”400″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””]
The story of A Tribe Called Quest’s new album We Got It From Here…Thank You 4 Your Service is one that began last year, when the group was asked to reunite and perform live on The Tonight Show. That TV performance is what lit the fire in hearts of the groups’ members — particularly Phife Dawg, who passed away during the process — to make a new Tribe album.
The story culminates in another TV performance of new material from the record on ‘SNL,’ which you can watch above. To honor their fallen brother, the remaining members of Tribe dropped down a banner of Phife during his verse.
Though Tribe was once one of the most popular and influential groups in hip-hop, Tribe has been on hiatus for 18 years, which is a huge part of what makes the new record so important and exciting for fans.
For the younger generation, who grew up during the two decades they’ve been gone, We Got It From Here…Thank You 4 Your Service is a great introduction to a foundational force in the rap world. It is truly a phenomenal return — as Questlove so perfectly put it in his Instagram post about the record — and is a more than fitting send off for Tribe’s fearsome MC Phife Dawg, who unexpectedly died at the age of 45 this year of complications from diabetes while the as-yet unannounced album was being recorded.
It’s fitting that Tribe were the musical guests on Saturday Night Life tonight, so a television performance bookends the album’s conception and release, as it came out yesterday and began streaming late Thursday night. For their second performance on the show, Tribe brought out Consequence and Busta Rhymes and did the opening track off their new record, “The Space Program,” which you can watch below.
We Got It From Here…Thank You 4 Your Service is a golden era record full of uplifting jazz, funk, and incredible rapping from Tribe and guests like Andre 3000, Busta Rhymes, and Kanye. It fearlessly confronts American prejudice and injustice, and is a much-needed balm for those who are still reeling, facing attack, or are fearful for their safety during a Trump presidency. Stream it below if you haven’t yet.
