We Got It From Here...Thank You 4 Your Service

On their second album, Low End Theory (1991), the often intricate instrumentals of the first album were stripped down to the basics—drums, bass, and lyrics—creating a grittier vibe. The grittiness is also supported by Phife’s increased involvement in the group. He grew into his own on Low End Theory. Phife and Q-Tip developed a back-and-forth, and their styles were perfect complements to each other. Q-Tip’s verses would be insightful and deep with a sound that was nasal, smooth, and laid-back, then Phife would come in with high pitch and high energy, just talking s***. For me, listening to their music is like hanging out with friends. It’s relaxed, fun, thought-provoking, and filled with jokes and great music. Songs from Low End Theory, Scenario and Jazz (We’ve Got), brought them further to the forefront of Hip Hop, but their best was yet to come.

Their third album, Midnight Marauders (1993), was their most commercially successful album, peaking at number 8 on the Billboard 200. It was a sad day for me when I had to throw out my long-outgrown t-shirt with the album cover on it. If anyone needs an idea for my birthday present, take note *wink*. I was thinking of writing my article on this album, but it lends itself better to a book than a page long column. Midnight Marauders is perfect from front to back and I do not throw that descriptor around loosely.

After this, they released two more classic albums, Beats, Rhymes, and Life (1996), and The Love Movement (1998), the latter of which was released right before the group’s disbandment. Tribe reunited for a few concerts over the years, but took an eighteen year-long hiatus from releasing new music, until 2016 when they released We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service.

The timing of We Got It From Here could not have been better. It came out three days after the election of Donald Trump, who publicly takes pride in his corruption. Trump is not some grand anomaly like establishment democrats claim. Power has been attained through such corruption for the entire history of the American political system and Trump is just a reflection of the bog of eternal stench (from Jim Henson’s "Labyrinth") within it. The urgency and alarm of Tribe’s album is a proper reaction to the election of a fascist as President of the United States, but I’m sure the same album would have been released had corrupt Hillary Clinton, who values corporations over the American people, gotten elected.

I thought the hype that I built up might prevent me from enjoying the album, but Tribe delivered a product far beyond my expectations. They still had their usual social commentary over sophisticated, masterfully structured tracks and their craft matured and aged with grace. I get chills from the first line on the album in "The Space Program," which comes from Phife Dawg: “It’s time to go left and not right.” After all, left is best.

The album’s influences run so deep, from reggae to electronic to rock and trap. It also demonstrates the influence that Tribe has had on generations of artists and the world. We Got It From Here is star-studded with features from André 3000, Kendrick Lamar, Anderson .Paak, Busta Rhymes, Talib Kweli, Consequence, Jack White, Elton John, Ambrosius, Abbey Smith, and Kanye West—before his pro-Trump mania. While I like every song on the album, a few stick out, like "The Space Program," "Kids…," "Movin Backwards," "Conrad Tokyo," and "Ego."

It is clear that the hip hop legends were feeling inspired, musically and politically, in the making of We Got It From Here. It’s hard for me to think of an artist that has been more important to me than A Tribe Called Quest. I have been influenced for years by their timeless insights from their nineties albums and I get a peek into their view of our current times in We Got It From Here. I’m not surprised by what their views are now. They have aged well. Tribe continues to honor history and envision a better future, while addressing the issues that exist today. We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service is a terrific ode to the life of Phife Dawg, and a masterful closing piece to the career of A Tribe Called Quest.