Music

A Tribe Called Quest secretly recorded an album before Phife Dawg died

by Richard Howard

Legendary music exec L.A. Reid has hip-hop heads losing their collective shit after revealing there will likely be a new A Tribe Called Quest album dropping in the near future. While guesting on the Rap Radar podcast, the former Island Def Jam CEO was joking with the hosts about bringing OutKast “out of retirement” when he nonchalantly switched the focus, as if he wasn’t dropping the biggest bomb the hip-hop game has heard in ages.

“You know what I’m excited about though? A Tribe Called Quest. [Epic Records] has A Tribe Called Quest album coming. It’s an album that [the members] recorded before Phife [Dawg] passed away. I’m really happy about it, man. It’s really something special. It’s one of the things I’m most excited about out of everything we’re working on…[Q-Tip and I have] a long relationship. Q-Tip’s a real friend, man. We didn’t hang out, take pictures, and act Hollywood, but he’s a friend. He’s made some incredible music and I love it.”

Asked if this was an album of “unreleased stuff,” Reid clarified this would be new material and that “the entire group” (including Jarobi White who contributed only sporadically to ATCQ after his departure in 1991) would be on it. Fans might be understandably skeptical after Chris Rock masterfully trolled us into believing an Andre 3000 record featuring White and Q-Tip was in the works, but Reid promises this is not only real but imminent.

Thank you, sweet Baby Jesus. Side note: our duty as human beings is to get this album to every child who names Rich Homie Quan or Waka Flocka Flame as their favourite rapper. Immediately.