A Tribe Called Quest Say England Show Was Their Last
"We suffered a blow," says Q-Tip. "This is gonna be our last show."
Music Features A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest have apparently played their final concert, with Q-Tip telling a crowd in England on Sunday night that the show would be the group’s last, according to NME.
“A Tribe Called Quest, we suffered a blow,” Q-Tip told the audience Bestival in South England. “We lost our boy Phife Dawg. This is gonna be our last show as A Tribe Called Quest, ever.”
Phife Dawg, who founded Tribe with Q-Tip in 1985, died on March 22, 2016, from complications from diabetes. He was 45.
NME reports that Tribe ran through a long setlist of fan favorites and hits, with solo turns from Q-Tip, Jarobi and longtime collaborator Consequence. The group interrupted “Whateva Will Be” midway through their set to announce their retirement, then led the crowd in a chant of “we love A Tribe Called Quest’s music!” The trio left the stage as a recording of Phife Dawg’s opening verse from “Butter” played unaccompanied.
A Tribe Called Quest released their last album, We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service in 2016, after an 18-year hiatus from recording. It was one of Paste’s favorite albums of the year. Their breakout album 1991’s The Low End Theory, was one of our favorite albums of the 1990s.
Listen to this exclusive recording of A Tribe Called Quest performing at Tramps in New York City in 1998—another one-of-a-kind show you can stream in the bottomless Paste Vault.