After the show Phife Dawg sits down for an interview to talk about this tour and Tribe’s future:
What prompted the reunion?
We’ve been thinking about it for a while. Then 2K Sports offered us to put this show on the road and we went with it. Our new and old fans wanted to see us and here we are.
Q Tip, Ali and you all have solo careers but they are not as grand as when you were together in Tribe. Is the movement over?
It’s a blessing and a curse to be a part of Tribe. What I mean by that is that out fans love Tribe so much, that its not as easy to go solo. But no matter what we still gotta do our thing, we gotta eat. So we pimp this game individually, while Tribe was not together.
The less lyrical Hip Hop of today does not demand ‘old school’ ways. Are you changing yourselves to adjust to the times or are you looking to change the way Hip Hop is right now?
We don’t change. We can’t change. We gotta stay true to old ways, otherwise we just end up playing ourselves. Of course, we change with the times but only slightly. A lot of performers… I don’t want to say that everyone is that way… but 80% of them all say the same thing. That’s not our ways. There are artists out there that are different. Outkast for example. They just make instant classics. They are the true Hip Hop.
Being one of the most influential Hip Hop groups of all time, where do you feel Hip Hop is going right now?
Like I said before, there are some segments of Hip Hop that are just not a good look. But life goes in cycles. It will come back. People just got to stop piggybacking off of other successes, gotta be original. There is plenty of money out there for everyone to make. Make it your way.
Hip Hop was a way of life. Now the commercial clutter has turned it into a business. Will it come back or is this just the evolution of the game?
It’s always been a business. I mean, I’m not rapping for free. Hip Hop today is like Rock-n-Roll used to be. You just have to pay homage to real lyrics.
Are you going to do a new album together now?
There is nothing in the works now, but if we are smart we’ll do it. It is a good thing to do. Look, 8 years later, the game has changed, but we are still selling out shows. We gotta embrace the movement. I’ll be 36 next month and I definitely won’t be doing it when I’m 40.
How does it feel to be back together with the old crew?
It feels natural, it feels great. There is no rehearsing before the shows. We just decide what songs we will do and in what order and that’s it.