Beginning with a snippet of the 1993 classic “Award Tour,” A Tribe Called Quest exploded onto the Grammy Awards stage with Anderson .Paak on drums and former EPMD turntablist DJ Scratch on the ones and twos. Complete with a live band, they went into “We The People,” from their new album, We got it from Here…Thank You 4 Your service, and were joined by Busta Rhymes and Consequence. Initially backed by the NYC Hip Hop group’s iconic green and red identifying colors, the group also paid tribute to their fallen brother Phife Dawg during his verse with a backdrop featuring his portrait. As the verse played, the artists on stage raised their fist in the air.
“I wanna thank President Agent Orange for his unsuccessful attempt at the Muslim ban,” Busta shouted. Tribe’s album, We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service, was released in November and was not eligible for nominations this year, but the legendary group was celebrated nonetheless. Check out a clip above and the full performance below.
