By now, the line-up has been introduced. A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, The Pharcyde, Nas, Murs, The Cool Kids, Wale and others will be together for Rock the Bells 2008. A Tribe Called Quest is set to headline the event so it was only right for DX to catch up with the crew to have an exclusive conversation about the upcoming Summer, a new album and their reunion.

The group acknowledges the nature of this Summer’s tour. “Rock the Bells means a lot in it of itself. How could we not be a part of this?”Ali Shaheed Muhammad said to HipHopDX, noting the history Rock the Bells has. When asked if they felt the fire of following historic co-headliners such as Rage Against the Machine, Wu-Tang Clan, Public Enemy, Lauryn Hill and many others, the crew said there was no pressure.

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“We need to hit the gym. That’s it,” joked Phife. But, Ali noted that there’s a lot of confidence in the group.

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“It just reminds me of some of our early shows when we used to wear hooded robes. At that point in time, no one was doing what we was doing. I can’t speak for these guys but for me, it was a lot of nerves but it took a lot of balls to step out and do that and have confidence in what we knew we had. We always maintained that. Be it 1989 or 2009, I think that’s our spirit. We love what we do and we want to make sure that the people out there know what it’s about.”  

Now together, there was obvious speculation in the air regarding a reunion album. In the end, even Jarobi admitted there is definitely the possibility of another LP.

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“We’re not gonna sit here and say we’re not thinking about it. Of course, we’re thinking about it,” said Jarobi. “But everything has to be lined up in the proper way.”

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When asked what wasn’t in line at the moment, Ali let us in.

“It’s not anything tangible that we could physically pin point and say ‘This is the element [missing for us to record another album]. It’s a combination of a lot of different things. Q-Tip is working on his solo album right now. He’s been working on it for a minute. He’s had several obstacles he’s had to deal with with regards to the industry. That’s what everyone is dealing with. So, he wants to see that happen and we want to make sure that it happens. Same with me and working on my album. We ’bout to start Phife on his.”

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We’ll keep you posted to any album news as it comes.