A Tribe Called Quest lost one of its founding members earlier this year, when Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor died from complications related to his lifelong struggle with diabetes. Phife Dawg had been hard at work on a new solo album, but it turns out his original crew was also considering a return to the studio. As his fellow founder Q-Tip announced, A Tribe Called Quest felt the stirrings of a proper reunion after playing The Tonight Show in November 2015. Even after the loss of Phife Dawg, the group is still moving forward with what Q-Tip calls its final album.
The announcement, which was posted to Facebook and issued to media, states that while the new album might not have those old Phife Dawg bars, it will be full of “that pure, unstepped on pure.” Tribe promises to “complete our paths of rhythm” with this new album, and has called upon previous collaborators (fellow native New Yorkers) Busta Rhymes and Consequence. The as-yet-untitled project drops November 11.