A Tribe Called Quest - We Got it From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service


A Tribe Called Quest
We Got it From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service
2016
Spotify

Who have we needed to hear from through this whole election process? Who's voice were we missing? In terms of Hip Hop it was Tribe. A Tribe Called Quest has always been a voice of reason and a force of nature in the hip hop community. It may have taken 18 years to get to this new record We Got it From Here.. Thank you 4 Your Service but it was worth the wait. The album begins with "Space Program" and sets the tone for the rest of the politically charged record. The lean is clearly to the left and "We the People..." is an all out blast on Trump and his supporters yet the delivery makes it so much more palatable than any of the other "protest" tracks that have come out in recent months. Tribe does not feel reactionary but rather like a thought out treatise, giving you a lesson on the things you need to know. The features on the album are no joke: Kendrick Lamar, Andre 300, Busta Rhymes, Anderson .paak, Jack White, Talib Kweli, Consequence and Elton freaking John. The most important person on the album however is Phife Dawg who passed away in March. He and Q-Tip have had very public disagreements and they were the main reason it took so long to release a Tribe album. We Got it From Here.. Thank you 4 Your Service is the last time we will hear new Phife Dawg making it sad and joyful all at the same time.

If you looks at the track list it is miles ahead intellectually than anything else going on in rap today. It is even more apparent because of Tribe's very loose style. It feels like stream of consciousness but the points are so well made that there is no way that it could be. In terms of falling in line with modern style Tibe have almost completely said no. There are no Trap beats, no rappers making whistling noises and instead it is just great Hip Hop top to bottom. The album also moves in so many different directions you would expect it to feel disjointed, but that never happens. "Enough!" has an almost R&B quality yet just enough weirdness to keep it exciting. Q-Tip of course has his signature delivery throughout the album, but it feels more grown up and fleshed out than it ever has before. We Got it From Here.. Thank you 4 Your Service feels like a triumph and a classic even with the knowledge that it will be Phife Dawg's last contribution. This record could easily have been a best of-ish type of record, just a few tracks to keep the loyal happy, but it is dense, beautiful and wildly important. This has been the year of different and breakthrough hip hop and A Tribe Called Quest have offically dropped the mic. Do not miss We Got it From Here.. Thank you 4 Your Service, it is to important.

9.1 out of 10

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