It's been 18 years since the release of the last Tribe LP, The Love Movement; an album that in my opinion, failed to live up to any of the groups previous material. So, when I heard that Tribe were back in the studio, working on another album, I got a cold chill down my spine (perhaps a residual one from my Indy Cindy review). Pile on top of the that the groups long and storied past of not getting along very well in the years between this album and The Love Movement, and the sad passing of founding member Phife Dawg, and you have an album that has a LOT to prove. Luckily, I think it proves itself admirably; in fact, I'm confident in saying that in my honest opinion, this is the best Tribe album since Midnight Marauders.
We Got It From Here... possesses that quality of the best of the groups discography, it has a smooth jazzy atmosphere, but doesn't skim over making an intellectual statement, or even a political one, such as "We The People...", a track that I feel is so in tune with the times, it shows just how honed in Tribe was during the recording of this LP. Actually, that was the first thing I noticed when first listening through this album; and that was just how in touch it is. Not just politically, but musically; Tribe doesn't rely on hollow nostalgia or self-reinvention to make the tracks, but instead, We Got It From Here... comes across as the next logical step for Tribe. Another album that found itself in a similar situation was the last D'Angelo album, Black Messiah, both LP's look back just enough for the listener to make connections with past material, but they both end up marching forward without caving into modern trends or fads. There are no trap high-hats or soulless drug raps here.
One trend that finds it's way on to this album (though Tribe have been doing this since Low End Theory) is heavy use of features on most of the tracks here. Guys like Busta Rhymes, Anderson Paak, and Kendrick Lamar all make appearances here. However, unlike so many feature-heavy rap albums released these days, the features actually elevate the tracks that they are on, and hey, they even stick to the actual topic of the song! But luckily, the features do not outshine the core members, especially Q-Tip and Phife, both of which drop some of their best bars ever on this record. Even early Tribe member Jarobi who hasn't been on a Tribe record since the debut comes through with some fantastic lines and flows. And I can't describe how great it felt to here Phife on the majority of this LP, he is my favorite member of Tribe, and the fact that he got to spit on another Tribe record before he passed, makes losing him a bit easier to deal with. R.I.P Phife.
In my opinion, this is not only a fantastic comeback/ swansong, but it is an album that I think rap music really needed this year. And I know I have given high praise to trap rap albums before, in fact I think that flavor of rap has its own important role to play, but the fact that We Got It From Here... speaks to the current climate of America so well, all while remaining hopeful, and even fun album is proof that we've been sorely in need of more groups like Tribe in modern rap.
9.6/10
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