We the People.... (song)

Last updated
"We the People...."
Wethepeopletribe.jpg
Single by A Tribe Called Quest
from the album We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service
ReleasedNovember 17, 2016 [1]
Genre
Length2:52
Label Epic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
A Tribe Called Quest singles chronology
"Like It Like That"
(1998)		"We the People...."
(2016)		"Dis Generation"
(2017)
Music video
"We The People...." on YouTube

"We the People...." is a song by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest, and the first single from their sixth and final album, We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service . [1] Produced by Q-Tip and co-produced by Blair Wells, the song contains a sample of the drum break of "Behind the Wall of Sleep" by Black Sabbath. [3] The name of the track refers to the first three words of the Preamble to the United States Constitution. The chorus of the politically-charged song parodies Donald Trump's presidential campaign. [2] "We the People...." was critically acclaimed and included on several year-end lists by publications. [2] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Background

On November 13, 2015, A Tribe Called Quest reunited and performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon , on the same night of the Paris attacks. Inspired by the energy of their performance, the group members put aside their differences and began recording a new album, We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service, shortly thereafter. [8] "We the People...." was one of the first songs recorded for the album, as it featured a verse from group member Phife Dawg, who died on March 22, 2016, before the album's completion. [8]

Critical reception

Jayson Greene of Pitchfork called the song "a ferocious and driving song about intolerance and fear," adding that it "simply put, is a sliver-sized miracle, a crack of light illuminating the door in a dark wall. This is the function Tribe songs have always served—they point to a path through wilderness." [9] Gil Kaufman of Billboard praised the song, noting that it "instantly became the national anthem of the anti-Trump nation." [2]

At the end of 2016, Slant Magazine named it the best single of the year, while The Village Voice ranked it fifth in their annual Pazz & Jop critics poll. [10] [4] Billboard ranked it the 10th best song of the year, while Pitchfork ranked it 11th, Consequence of Sound ranked it 25th, and NPR ranked it 34th. [2] [5] [6] [7]

Music video

The music video was directed by James Larese. It begins with several people running through the streets of Greenpoint, Brooklyn at a waterfront building, as Q-Tip performs his verse, standing in front of more than a dozen microphones. He is joined by Jarobi White, Ali Shaheed Muhammad (who appears on a TV screen), Busta Rhymes, and Consequence. Before Phife Dawg's verse begins, a mural of his face is shown on the side of a building; the mural becomes animated throughout his verse. The video ends with hundreds of people gathered in a city square, surrounded by many signs reading "We the People." [11]

Charts

Chart (2016)Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100) [12] 77
US Billboard Hot 100 [13] 77
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [14] 31
US Hot Rap Songs ( Billboard ) [15] 23

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "A Tribe Called Quest sounds the alarm in the first video from its new album". The A.V. Club. 18 November 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Kaufman, Gil. "Billboard's 100 Best Pop Songs of 2016: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  3. ↑ Strauss, Matthew (November 12, 2016). "Here Are the Full Credits for the New Tribe Called Quest Album". Pitchfork . Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Pazz+Jop 2016". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on February 3, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Walls, Seth Colter (12 December 2016). "The 100 Best Songs of 2016". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Sterling, Scott T. (5 December 2016). "Top 50 Songs of 2016". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Top 100 Songs Of 2016". NPR. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  8. 1 2 Touré (November 2, 2016). "Loss Haunts A Tribe Called Quest's First Album in 18 Years". The New York Times . Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  9. ↑ Greene, Jayson. "A Tribe Called Quest - "We the People..."". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  10. ↑ "The 25 Best Singles of 2016". Slant Magazine. 7 December 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  11. ↑ McGovern, Kyle (18 November 2016). "Video: A Tribe Called Quest – "We the People"". Spin. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  12. ↑ "A Tribe Called Quest Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  13. ↑ "A Tribe Called Quest Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  14. ↑ "A Tribe Called Quest Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  15. ↑ "A Tribe Called Quest Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
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