The dream of every old-school hip-hop head is coming true: A Tribe Called Quest's sixth and final album will be released November 11th. The news was confirmed by Q-Tip in a handwritten note posted to Facebook late Thursday night, in which the MC confirms that the long-anticipated LP does exist and, yes, Phife Dawg is on it.
In the note, Q-Tip explains that the album was sparked by A Tribe Called Quest's reunion performance on NBC last November, which took place the same night as the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris. "As we left 30 Rock I felt the need, we all did, to get back to the studio and start that Cookup!!" Tip wrote. Acknowledging the monumental loss of Malik "Phife Dawg" Taylor, who passed away in March, Q-Tip went on to stress that Phife "left us with the blueprint of what we had to do." The announcement hints that longtime Tribe collaborators Busta Rhymes and Consequence will be featured on the new record.
A new mural dedicated to the group was completed in Queens earlier this summer, and a section of Jamaica's Linden Boulevard, where a teenage Q-Tip and Phife often hung out and practiced rapping, will be co-named in Taylor's honor this fall.
Dedicated fans of the group (which also includes producer/DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad and utility man extraordinaire Jarobi White) have long held out hope for a sixth A Tribe Called Quest record. The group's 1989 contract with Jive Records has stipulated that the group release one more original LP to follow up 1998's The Love Movement, but up until last night, whisperings of a final record had only come from record execs and outsiders loosely affiliated with the group. But now, it seems, this is really it. The last Tribe record will be here in two weeks. Read Q-Tip's full note below. Linden Boulevard represent.
