We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service

Released just two days after the US election result, the cynical tone and pertinent observations throughout the album are a cutting backlash to the uprising of hate in America that accompanied Trump’s success. In signature style, the bars deviate from predictable ultra-masculine, gangsta rap themes and instead philosophise on cultural identity, race and America. Before the new release had been announced, Phife Dawg, who formed ATQC with his classmates, died of complications from diabetes, aged just 45. The remaining members continued the project in tribute, with Q-Tip stating this would be their last album. ATCQ have been praised for the infectious optimism that characterises their hits, We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service maintains this, but the lyrics are understandably darker. The second track, We The People, begins with alarms sounding and later features police sirens as Q-Tip recites a Trump-style mantra: “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”. Kanye West features on The Killing Season, which relates the assassination of black political leaders and police brutality to the hyper-militarised US. Jarobi goes on to contemplate the evolution of slavery into unequal legal treatment and mass incarceration of non-whites: “Been on the wrong team so much, can’t recognize a win / Seems like my only crime is having melanin”. The album’s production shows a finesse that comes from the collaborative style; Moving Backwards juxtaposes Anderson Paak’s soulful voice with scathing bars from Jarobi and Q-Tip addressing the regressive attitudes of the police: “Thorns in the crown hit the cross I bear / Why they wanna see me hangin’ like a towel somewhere”. Rarely do we get to hear an album featuring so many icons, including Elton John, Kendrick Lamar, André 3000, and Kanye West, but such is the admiration in the industry for ATCQ. We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service is a masterful commentary on race in 21st century America.