Back in April, some of hip-hop’s finest came out to pay their respects to Phife Dawg at the fallen Tribe Called Quest member’s tribute service in Harlem. Kanye West spoke at the memorial service, but what really started conversation was a photo that Chris Rock posted to Instagram. “Me , Dave , D-nice , jack white and jarobi hard at work on the new Andre 3000 album,” he wrote underneath a picture of himself, Dave Chappelle, Jack White, Andre 3000 and more.
Other photos from the get together at Q-Tip’s New Jersey home also sprung up, showing Queen Latifah, D’angelo and others watching the classic hip-hop movie Beat Street. While many of the photos have since been deleted, the impression was already made. These insanely talented creatives were all in one room, and while Rock could have been playing a joke on his followers, the notion of one huge collaborative studio session was too much to ignore.
And while there was nothing more than speculation used to interpret the photos, Queen Latifah, speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, leant some credence to the idea that all those musicians were doing more than just hanging out. “From Tip’s crib? There’s a lot up,” she said at the premiere of Lifetime’s original film The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story, which Latifah’s Flavor Unit Entertainment produced. “There’s a lot going on. Everybody’s making music. We’re all making music and we all just feel creative. There’s a lot of good stuff brewing. So basically I think it’s important for the hip-hop heads and the world to keep their eye on what’s coming out of this area in the coming months. Some good stuff happening.”
That’s not exactly a confirmation that a new Andre album is on the way, but it does suggest that music was being made that fateful night. What Latifah means by “this area” could mean New York or that grouping of artists, but it seems besides the point. If what she says is true, then the fruits of that get-together, no matter how large or small will surely be good cause for excitement.
Source: XXL
