A Tribe Called Quest to Release Final Album
On Nov. 11, legendary hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest will put out their final album. It comes after the death of Phife Dawg this past March, and will feature contributions from Busta Rhymes and Consequence.
This evening, Q-Tip posted a picture of a handwritten note on his Facebook page. “To all the good people worldwide,” it began. “We hope this letter finds you and yours safe and without a scratch!” He then goes on to describe how last year, the group performed on The Tonight Show, the first time they’d been on TV in 18 years and “The energy for us that night was one that we hadn’t experienced on stage together in some time!”
It coincided with the Paris terrorist attacks, where more than 130 people were killed. After the taping, they decided that it was time “to get back to the studio and start that cookup!! So we got to it!!”
Unfortunately, Phife Dawg died before it could be finished, but Q-Tip said that he “left us with the blueprint of what we had to do.” With the help of Busta Rhymes and Consequence, they were able to complete the record, with Q-Tip noting that they did not use Phife Dawg rhymes that had been in the vault. With it, Q-TIp said, “We will complete our paths of rhythm,” a reference to their classic 1990 debut, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm.
Phife Dawg on March 22 at the age of 45 from complications related to diabetes.
The 50 Most Influential Alternative Musicians of the 21st Century