It’s gone full circle. The rhythm that would one day form part of Hip hop’s DNA landed on America’s shores with the slaves, mutated into a style that would inspire young African artists to pick up a mic and hone their skills, and now we have members of the current generation of African hip-hop artists sending a fan’s reconciliation call to one of the greatest hip hop groups the world has even seen, and the most sorely missed since it fell apart over a high-tension beef between Q-Tip and Phife.

The second coming of A Tribe Called Quest. Wouldn’t that be something? If you’ve seen Beats Rhymes & Life, you know that’s not likely to happen, but we can but dream along withSimba and producer and musician Milton Gulli. That said, you never know.

The two Mozambicans bring a load of Lusophone flava to some of ATCQ’s choicest cuts on The Heroes – A Tribute To A Tribe Called Quest, transforming the originals while retaining the ATCQ foundation, rather than just covering them, as Milton states in the above video, and as you can hear in Scenario, below.

But let’s check a couple more. Here is their intro track, an interpretation (with help from a female contributor) of theIntroduction to Midnight Marauders (an intro that was itself based on Cal Tjader’s Aquarius, for anyone interested in drilling to the source):

And here’s We’ve Got the Jazz, their interpretation of Jazz (We’ve Got) Buggin’ Out (listen to those guitar licks!):

I’m as curious as Milton and Simba to know what Q-Tip, Phife, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi think of this, and to the plea to reform. And I don’t even wanna think about how the copyright issues were cleared up on this one. Words from Simba and Milton:

This album is an expression whose purpose is to thank A Tribe Called Quest for being, not only a source of inspiration, but more importantly a source of positive energy.

This album also serves as a message to ATCQ, urging them to get past their differences and remember their roots as a hip hop band. We hope that the response will remind the band of why they started making music, of their roots, and of their duty to their fans.

“The Heroes: A Tribute To A Tribe Called Quest” is a voyage, from the 90’s when ATCQ was at its peak, to now, taking the listener on an evolutionary tour of hip hop to Southern Africa. This album is not only a tribute to ATCQ, but also a symbol of the happiness and joy in the simplicity of life, love, and music.

Recorded in Mozambique, the 11-track album is available to buy on CD or in digital format at BBE Music.