The hip-hop world has been steaming this week with the incredibly exciting news that one final A Tribe Called Quest album will be coming out in just two weeks from now. According to a handwritten note distributed by Q-Tip, the album was recorded after the Paris bombings of November 2015, with enough completed before the untimely death of Phife Dawg earlier this year, that the release was ready to be fully realised.
In a fabulous new interview with the New York Times, Q-Tip has now revealed more details about the album, as well as a long discussion about his relationship with Phife Dawg, the creation of the last album, and having had to deal with his passing at just 45 years old.
Set for release next Friday, November 11, the album title is We Got It From Here, Thank You For Your Service, a title which sounds sentimental, and was initially conceived by Phife Dawg. As well as all four members of A Tribe Called Quest featuring on the album – Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Jarobi White and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, special guests including Jack White, Kendrick Lamar, Stevie Wonder, Busta Rhymes, André 3000 and Sir Elton John will be adding their own flavours to the forthcoming record. This is huge news considering the calibre and respect that these names hold; André 3000 has certainly enjoyed one hell of a resurgence in 2016, while Jack White appeared on Beyoncé’s album earlier this year, and Kendrick Lamar, well, he’s Kendrick Lamar. And he was in Sydney on the night Phife Dawg died, leading the crowd in an emotional chant honouring the late legend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1Zqol7ARCk
The album was conceived and created well before Phife had any indication that his days might be numbered. It was their first new record in 18 years and they were incredibly excited about what it might entail.
After playing their first live TV performance in 15 years, the group were inspired to write a new record, and it wasn’t long before they set to it in Q-Tip’s studio. The studio, called “phenomenal” by Busta Rhymes, was reportedly decorated with ” bamboo floors and pink mood lights” to create a “warm aesthetic.” It was also something of a living museum, with equipment collected from across the music globe. The recording board had previously been used by Blondie and The Ramones, a tape reel used by Frank Zappa, and other equipment acquired from the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix.
Interestingly, the group had decided that anyone involved in recording the album were required to actually visit the studio and work together as a group, which doesn’t always happen these days, considering that many artists simply record their music or features and send it away. “Everybody spat their rhymes in front of each other. We were throwing ideas around together,” said Busta Rhymes.
Jack White arrived without any equipment and began to use one of the guitars in the studio. Tip and Jack had met before, and were fans of each others’ work. “We really didn’t know what we were doing, it was just a ‘hurry up and press record’ kind of moment,” said Q-Tip.
Jack White has an ongoing relationship with hip-hop and many rappers, and it seems like it stretches far back to even his childhood. “They were trying to break new ground, and they had a musicologist’s attitude toward what they were doing with their samples,” he said. “I mean, you’ve got Can I Kick It? over a Lou Reed sample from Walk on the Wild Side. That really showed that they were miles and miles deeper than most other people in pop music.”
https://youtu.be/O3pyCGnZzYA
The album’s creation process was as exciting as ever, with a reinvigorated energy permeating through the studio walls and each artist involved. “I seen them laughing and joking and high-fiving, and you can just see that young, invigorated ‘we’re-just-getting-our-first-opportunity-to-do-this’ energy again!
“I hadn’t seen Phife that happy since we were kids.”
Q-Tip was emotional when he discussed finishing the album after Phife’s death. “Sometimes I just have to like take a break and walk away. It gets heavy. It doesn’t necessarily get sad, it just gets heavy. I literally feel the energy from him when I hear his voice.”
“I just want to celebrate him, you know?”
The interview can be read in full here. It also reveals that a completed Phife Dawg solo album should be coming out in 2017.
Image: New York Times / Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives, via Getty Images
Q-Tip has distributed a handwritten note officially announcing that indeed, one final album from A Tribe Called Quest is on its way.
The album will be coming out in just two weeks, on November 11, 2016.
In the letter, Tip speaks about how the group were inspired to write the album last year, after a performance on The Tonight Show. Not only was it their first live performance in eighteen years, but it happened to coincide with the tragic Paris bombings on November 13.
The letter can be read below, here is a transcript:
To all the good people worldwide!
We hope this letter finds you and yours safe and without a scratch!
Last year this time myself, Jacobi, Ali and PHIFE had the extreme pleasure of performing on The Tonight Show. It was our 1st TV performance in 18 years.
The energy for us that night was one that we hadn’t experienced on stage together in some time!
It was also the night of the PARIS BOMBING… November 13th… Friday… A unseasonably warm night in NYC…
As we left 30 Rock I felt the need, we all did, to get back to the studio and start that cook up!!
SO WE GOT TO IT!!
It was coming together nicely and as you may know we lost our BROTHER may GOD RES HIS SOUL on March 22nd.
But he leftus with the Blue Print of what we had to do.
So we collected ourself aand along tribesman, BUSTA and CONS… we compelted was will be, obviously yhe final A TRIBE CALLED QUEST ALBUM!
No this isn’t filled with old Phife Bars… This is that Pure, unstepped on Pure!!
And on November 11th, 2016 we will complete our Paths of Rhythm… Join us! Peace!!
Q Tip
Read more: Honouring Phife Dawg: New York to Unveil Renamed Street
Flashback Friday special edition: A Tribe Called Quest, The Low End Theory
Last week it was announced that Q-Tip had been appointed as the first Artistic Director for Hip-Hop Culture at the Kennedy Centre in New York City.
The move was described as a “proud and exciting” moment by centre director Deborah F. Ruttler, who added that “The history of hip-hop and its development as an art form, and the complexity and importance of its impact on the arts landscape driving social and cultural awareness, has inspired us to have a more formal connection with our ongoing programming.”
Q-Tip himself was unable to attend the press conference that heralded the announcement, but has since released a video statement outlining the importance and relevance of hip-hop in 21st century culture.
The video begins with the rapper proclaiming that his appointment “couldn’t have come at a better time… nationally,” expressing concern over “issues of racism, issues of misogyny and issues of classism.”
Q-Tip then categorises hip-hop as an antidote for the “ills of the world”, stating that “Over the past 40 years, it (hip-hop) has been one of the most influential forms of art (to come) out of the African-American community, but it’s also the prevailing energy of culture around the world…that beat…is what we are gonna get connected to at the Kennedy Centre.”
Watch the full video below.
https://youtu.be/y9GxtnkMiis?t=1s
The recognition of hip-hop at the Kennedy Centre is just another mark of what has already been a hugely significant year for hip-hop culturally.
In a year in which racial injustice has been at the forefront of American politics, the release of Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly was a landmark moment in the history of hip-hop, with the songs of the record coming to symbolise the message of the Black Lives Matter movement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUC_DOhfzwQ
The introduction of the annual Hip-hop Education Centre (HHEC) Extra Credit Awards, coinciding with the launch of the ‘We The People For Hip-hop Education’ movement, which requested that the Obama administration recognise hip-hop as an American cultural treasure worthy of being taught and practised in state high schools nationwide, were also key moments for the genre in 2015, both for the music and greater American culture.
One can only assume that Q-Tip’s appointment at the Kennedy Centre will help the movement to continue to grow and flourish throughout 2016.
View the full program for the Kennedy Centre 2016-2017 season here.
Q-Tip has been named as the first artistic director for hip-hop culture at the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts.
“With hip-hop constantly changing and evolving, it is easy to forget the history and legacy that precede it…I want to begin at the beginning of the culture to help people see its roots, better understand its present, and responsibly create its future” stated Q-Tip.
Rolling Stone reports that the rapper will also work alongside New York based arts and theatre group Hi-Arts in directing a collection of programs that will take place at the centre until the end of 2017.
The appointment marks the first time hip-hop has been recognised with events at the centre.
“We are proud and excited to be incorporating hip-hop culture into our artistic and educational programs during the 2016–2017 season,” stated centre president Deborah F. Ruttler.
“The history of hip-hop and its development as an art form, and the complexity and importance of its impact on the arts landscape driving social and cultural awareness, has inspired us to have a more formal connection with our ongoing programming.”
The 2016 program will begin with the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival summit in July, with the rest of the season including a variety of educational and artistic programs.
View the full list of events on the centres website here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8omE8XPeYE
IMAGE: Jezabel
The Chemical Brothers recently announced that they will be releasing their first new album, Born in The Echoes, in 5 years. If you want to read more about that, you can do so here.
Go, featuring Q-Tip, is a tremendously funky electronic beat. I am listening to it on repeat currently and I cannot stop bopping my head and tapping my foot.
The video clip, directed by Michel Gondry, portrays a kind of fast-paced, industrial style dance, which fits beautifully with the beat and lyrics of the song. This is definitely one for both the dance party and the running playlist (I would imagine, have never actually gone for a run before). I am also a big fan of any video that portrays women in a way that is not at all sexual, just fun and a little bit weird. Classic Chemical Brothers, basically.
This song and video will be sure to pump you up for the rest of the album, if you’re a true Chemical Brothers fan, there’s no way you’ll be disappointed. If you’re sick of listening to me describe it, why not watch it yourself, below.
Born in the Echoes, featuring Go, is out July 17th. View the full track list below:
1.Sometimes I Feel So Deserted
2. Go (featuring Q-Tip)
3. Under Neon Lights (featuring Vincent)
4. EML Ritual (featuring All Love)
5. I’ll See You There
6. Just Bang
7. Reflexion
8. Taste of Honey
9. Born In The Echoes (featuring Cate Le Bon)
10. Radiate
11. Wide Open (featuring Beck)