The Space Program

Album: We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "The Space Program" finds Q-Tip, Jarobi White and the late Phife Dawg rapping about the state of the world from an African American's perspective. The song is the opening track from We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service …, A Tribe Called Quest's final album. The record was recorded on the back of the momentum from the rap group's successful live comeback on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in November 2015.
  • A Tribe Called Quest gave their first live performance since the death of group MC Phife Dawg in March 2016, when they performed this song on the November 12, 2016 episode of Saturday Night Live.
  • The song ends with two different samples from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
  • A Tribe Called Quest's intergalactic video for this song, directed by Warren Fu, was their final visual as a music collective. The star-studded clip features cameos from the likes of Erykah Badu, Pharrell, Janelle Monáe, Vince Staples, Common, Alicia Keys, Questlove, Black Thought, Rosario Dawson, and Consequence.

    The video is dedicated to Phife Dawg, referencing his government name Malik Izaak Taylor.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Oliver Leiber

Oliver LeiberSongwriter Interviews

Oliver Leiber talks about writing and producing hits for Paula Abdul, and explains his complicated relationship with his father, the songwriter Jerry Leiber.

Harry Shearer

Harry ShearerSongwriter Interviews

Harry is Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, Mark Shubb in The Folksmen, and Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.

Don Dokken

Don DokkenSongwriter Interviews

Dokken frontman Don Dokken explains what broke up the band at the height of their success in the late '80s, and talks about the botched surgery that paralyzed his right arm.

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."

Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.