Album Information:
Released in 2016 on Epic Records
Format: LPx2
Description
18 years after their last album, golden-era hip-hop legends A Tribe Called Quest return with a fresh, progressive take on their signature sound. Instead of relying on nostalgia, Tribe dust off their jazzy boom-bap and update it with sleeker, more aggressive production full of live instrumentation, reminiscent of modern classics such as To Pimp a Butterly and Black Messiah. Q-Tip, Phife Dawg (RIP) and Jarobi bring their insight and years of experience to lyrics regarding the current racial and political climate, as well as paying respect and passing the torch down to the current “gatekeepers of flow”. Q-Tip seems especially on the top of his game here, trading in his usually relaxed and laid back flow for some of the most technically impressive verses of his career. The album’s wide range of features represent many generations of hip-hop, include Busta Rhymes, Andre 3000, Kendrick Lamar, Talib Kweli, and Anderson Paak.
