A Tribe Called Quest released one of 2016’s most anticipated and celebrated albums in We got it from Here… Thank you 4 your Service, but it was thought to signal the end of the Hip Hop quartet. According to the group’s frontman Q-Tip, the Tribe might not be going off into the sunset as originally thought.
Q-Tip sat down with BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac to discuss several items of note, including the crafting of the so-called “final” album from the crew and what’s next. Early in the conversation, Mac asked Q-Tip why the crew decided to join forces once more.
“In 2015, we were celebrating the 25th anniversary of our first album (People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm). The Tonight Show andJimmy Fallon asked us to perform, and we did so,” explained Q-Tip.
He added, “We had performed, did a couple of things up to that point so we were always cool but something about that night when we were on the stage, it was another level of energy.”
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Q-Tip continued by saying that after the show on a warm November night in 2015, the crew all felt it was time to start creating again and they started working right away. Q-Tip shared with Mac that he had a lot of the music from the album in the stash, but stressed that the creative energy between the longtime friends was the main impetus.
Another major point of the interview was near the close of it when Mac thanked Q-Tip for the quality of the latest release, and how it has received fanfare from around the globe. While Q-Tip just mentioned the album was a moment of “closure” for him and fondly remembered the late Phife Dawg‘s contributions, he hinted at the fact there was more to come.
“Stay tuned for any other incarnation. We don’t intend on stopping because that was Phife’s M.O.,” said Q-Tip.
Listen to Q-Tip’s BBC Radio 1 interview below.
