Extensions Of Instinctual Soul

A Tribe Called Quest “Dis Generation”

“Dis Generation” is as much about passing the torch to a new generation of rappers – Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, J. Cole, and Earl Sweatshirt are specifically named as heirs – as it is a celebration of the Tribe guys and Busta Rhymes still making excellent music together into their mid-40s. Like pretty much everything on the new Tribe record, it’s a joy to hear these guys again, especially when it’s so obvious that everything on the record was done with a sense of creative urgency and genuine enthusiasm. There’s a casual confidence to this music – any and all worry that they’re out of step with trends has long since evaporated, and every rapper on the track leans into the tics, rhythms and quirks that made them distinct in the first place. They trade off lines, not verses, so they sound especially present, and there’s moments when Busta or Q-Tip sound impatient and excited to get another turn at the mic. They just sound thrilled to be doing this with each other while they still can.

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