While A Tribe Called Quest rapper Phife Dawg sadly passed away in March following his long battle with diabetes, it turns out new music is on the way from the late Five Footer and the rest of the crew. Though details are scarce, Epic Records chairman and C.E.O. L.A. Reid confirms that a full album from the iconic hip-hop group had been recorded before Phife Dawg's death.
The record industry mogul revealed the news on the Rap Radar podcast, explaining that A Tribe Called Quest had united to work on a new full-length, their first since 1998's The Love Movement.
The reunion project brought together Phife, Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and original member Jarobi White, who had previously only appeared on the band's 1990 debut, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. A reissue of that album arrived at the tail end of 2015, which led to a full band reunion on Fallon.
"[It is] a brand new album that they recorded before Phife passed away," Reid told Rap Radar. "I'm really happy about it man, it's really something special. It's one of the things I'm most excited about over everything we're working on."
At this point, a release date for the record is still TBA. For the record, none of the surviving members of A Tribe Called Quest has commented on Reid's reveal. You can hear the interview here, with the ATQC info coming in around the 15-minute mark.
As previously reported, Phife had also been working on a solo album around the time of his death. A single called "Nutshell" was issued posthumously in April, with proceeds from single sales going towards the American Diabetes Association and the National Kidney Foundation. A video, which features guest appearances from Jarobi White, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Q-Tip, can be found down below.
The record industry mogul revealed the news on the Rap Radar podcast, explaining that A Tribe Called Quest had united to work on a new full-length, their first since 1998's The Love Movement.
The reunion project brought together Phife, Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and original member Jarobi White, who had previously only appeared on the band's 1990 debut, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. A reissue of that album arrived at the tail end of 2015, which led to a full band reunion on Fallon.
"[It is] a brand new album that they recorded before Phife passed away," Reid told Rap Radar. "I'm really happy about it man, it's really something special. It's one of the things I'm most excited about over everything we're working on."
At this point, a release date for the record is still TBA. For the record, none of the surviving members of A Tribe Called Quest has commented on Reid's reveal. You can hear the interview here, with the ATQC info coming in around the 15-minute mark.
As previously reported, Phife had also been working on a solo album around the time of his death. A single called "Nutshell" was issued posthumously in April, with proceeds from single sales going towards the American Diabetes Association and the National Kidney Foundation. A video, which features guest appearances from Jarobi White, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Q-Tip, can be found down below.
