“We the People,” A Tribe Called Quest
A few months after the devasting death of group founding maker, Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor, A Tribe Called Quest returned to the music industry with a new project called We Got It From Here … Thank You 4 Your Service. The song, “We the People” was not only the first single, but featured vocals from the 5 Ft. Freak.
The song is considered not only a call to action, but was a revelation to what MAGAmaniacs believe about undesirable people within the continental United States of America.
ATCQ has always, in their collective voice, has had the lyrical proclivity to provoke free and conscious thought among their audience. So no one was surprised that the founders of the Native Tongue’s genius-ly made a political statement when titling the track. The group pulled from the constitution the term “We the People” to highlight the irony of patriotism promoted by at the time the current president.
The Abstract starts by masterfully looking internally as he critiques the sociopolitical atmosphere that Black and Brown people find themselves in, as they navigate a debased mentality while they are being oppressed by a systemic monster of manipulation.
“You in the killing-off-good-young-n*gga mood … When we get hungry we eat the same f**king food …The ramen noodle … Your simple voodoo is so maniacal … We’re liable to pull a juju … The irony is that this bad b**ch in my lap … She don’t love me, she make money, she don’t study that … She gon’ give it to me, ain’t gon’ tell me run it back
She gon’ take the brain to wetter plains, she spit on that … The doors have signs with, don’t try to rhyme with … VH1 has a show that you can waste your time with … Guilty pleasures take the edge off reality … And for a salary I’d probably do that shit sporadically.”
Phife’s verse is classic Malik. Mixing his wit with sports metaphors, he drops bomb on the industry, fans and the powers that be for trying to set metrics on what makes Hip-Hop “hot.”
“You bastards overlooking street art … Better yet, street smarts but you keep us off the charts … So mother**k your numbers and your statisticians … F.. k y’all know about true competition? That’s like a AL pitcher on deck talking about he hittin’ … The only one who’s hitting are the ones that’s currently spittin’ … We got your missy smitten rubbing on her little kitten.”
And while, in the song, they are blasting the culture— it is the chorus that stings the most. Now Uncles and Fathers in the culture, they show you have to speak up and regulate for “the people.” Consider Q-Tip’s chorus that aims at the former president’s administration.
“All you Black folks, you must go … All you Mexicans, you must go … And all you poor folks, you must go … Muslims and gays … Boy, we hate your ways … So all you bad folks, you must go.”
The magic of “We the People” reminds us why Tribe is so iconic.
Phife articulates it best. Tribe has never been “not just nigger rappers with the bars.”