by A Tribe Called Quest
Released November 11, 2016 via Epic Records
Reviewed November 17, 2021
Top tracks (based on community voting)
The Space Program (47%), We The People… (44%), Kids… (30%)
After a 20-year hiatus, A Tribe Called Quest returned with one of the sharpest records in their discography. We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service could have just been an easy cash grab, but the group took to this record to make a statement on the sociopolitical landscape of the time it was being recorded. Vivid ruminations of urban life, political injustice, and racial inequality are just a few of the topics presented. Alongside this, the group brings energy that makes their presentation extremely powerful. Beats are mostly driven by darkness, with shadows contorting around the group’s usual jazz rap style perfectly, creating a sinister vibe for their final project. WGIFH is not only a stark look at reality, but a loving embrace for those who’ve made life better; you never know when they’ll be gone. – Jared (9.5/10)
It is all too common for musicians who are past their prime to return again for one last hurrah; a cash grab, tapping into nostalgia from an audience who knows their best years are behind them. Thankfully, A Tribe Called Quest never left their prime. They returned––and subsequently left––with We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service for their own love and dedication to hip-hop, and their late friend Phife Dawg. The result is a fresh, tightly-produced, and heartfelt sendoff for both Phife and Tribe themselves. With almost 20 years since their previous LP, Phife and Q-Tip’s verses feel all the more potent, as if their pens aged like fine wine. We Got It from Here… is more sweet than bitter; Tribe knows good and well that the genre they pioneered is in good hands. In fact, some of those hands reside on the record itself; the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Anderson .Paak brush shoulders with legends like Kanye West, Talib Kweli, Busta Rhymes, and André 3000. None of them are listed as features, because the Tribe was always more than just Jarobi, Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad: It was hip-hop itself. – Ben (Synth) (9/10)
A Tribe Called Quest's final album in their perennially influential discography stands nearly 20 years in distance between itself and previous efforts. In a way, We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service feels like a celebration of Tribe’s illustrious career––featuring Busta Rhymes, Andre 3000 and Anderson .Paak, and more, there is a feel of homage and respect, plus a warm feeling of old-school and new-school unity––but it also feels like a certain closing chapter in a definitive movie. A Tribe Called Quest is generally regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop groups of all time, to the point that they may just be the quintessential rap group. To be making music up to the standard of We Got it From Here... after more than 30 years in the game is a serious feat. Some would even say they saved the best for last. RIP Phife Dawg. – Peter (8.5/10)
Cam: 9.5/10 | Hadley: 9.5/10 | Jared: 9.5/10 | Pax: 9.5/10
Ben (Synth): 9/10 | Daniel: 9/10 | DeVán: 9/10 | Pablo: 9/10
Henny: 8.9/10 | Dominick: 8.8/10 | Alan: 8.6/10 | Peter: 8.5/10
