A Tribe Called Quest solidified their return to the spotlight on Saturday (November 12), with two poignant performances on the Dave Chappelle-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live — the first broadcast of the show to air since Donald Trump was elected as the 45th U.S. president.
Q-Tip, Jarobi White and Ali Shaheed Muhammad got political with their performance of “We The People…” with Tip introing the song by telling the audience, “We are all one. We are the people,” and performing the hook that addresses the xenophobic rhetoric present throughout much of Trump’s campaign. “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,” they rapped.
For the late Phife Dawg’s verse on the song, the camera focused on a piece of art with the five-foot-assassin’s face on it, displayed on a banner behind the group, in a moving tribute to the MC who died in March from complications stemming from diabetes at the age of 45.
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Before his death, the iconic group reunited to record their first new album in 18 years, We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service.
For their second SNL song, the Queens collective was also joined by Busta Rhymes and frequent collaborator Consequence, who both popped up out of the crowd for a performance of “The Space Program.”
Watch the clip below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJdVh2Ow2KU
