Hip hop legends, A Tribe Called Quest, are back … for at least one night. To support the 25th anniversary of the group’s debut record, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and Jarobi will reunite tomorrow night on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. It will be A Tribe Called Quest’s first live performance since the group said it wouldn’t reunite again after 2013 peformances, according to Rolling Stone.
Also on Friday (November 13), a special 25th anniversary edition of the album will be released. “I had this album in my head for years before I did it,” Q-Tip said in a statement. “Looking at it overall, to see the thoughts of a 16-year-old gain any kind of acknowledgement makes me feel like I have arrived … But to see it in this incarnation … I’m humbled.”
The group, formed in 1985, released five records between 1990 and 1998 before their initial split in 1999. Hits like Bonita Applebaum, Can I Kick It?, I Left My Wallet in El Segundo, and Electric Relaxation characterized the group which popularized jazz-infused hip hop.
The 25th anniversary reissue of People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, remastered by Bob Power, will also feature three covers: Pharrell Williams busting out Bonita Applebum; J. Cole reprising the classic Can I Kick It?; and Cee Lo Green taking on Footprints.
“Epic LP that was way before its time!,” Tribe MC Phife Dawg said to Rolling Stone on the record. “Q-Tip’s thought process was beyond genius, an album that 25 years later, you can still listen to from top to bottom!!!! I’ve often said there may be better emcees than Q-Tip, may be better producers than him as well, but tell me who can possibly be better than him at both? Call me biased, but I’ll wait!!!!!!!! (TICK, TICK, TICK)”
Catch A Tribe Called Quest likely reviving some cuts from the group’s debut record when they perform on NBC’s Tonight Show tomorrow night at 11:35 PM EST / 8:35 PST.
