Is there a possible Native Tongue Revolution on the way? Only time will tell, but N*E*R*D aka The Neptunes has assembled some of the founders of the late 80’s collective and some contemporary descendants on a remix of their rock joint, “She Wants To Move.”
The posse cut features Common, Mos Def, De La Soul, and Q-Tip all spitting over the N*E*R*D’s alt-rock instrumental. The refrain of the song even includes a sharp reference to the Native Tongue’s Jungle Brothers’ hit song “Girl, I’ll House You.”
The song debuted on HotMc.com, one of the leading Italian hip-hop websites. The official song premier was a collaborative effort between Virgin Music Italy and the site.
The song has begun to spread throughout the internet at a rapid rate, devoured by those anxious for a return of the Native Tongue.
“Its good to hear these dudes back on the mic. Even Mos Def and Common because they haven’t exactly been churning out music,” said producer Dynasty Williams. “I’m not sure what Tribe and De La are up to, but this is a perfect chance for them to get back in the mix.”
Ironically, De La Soul may experience resurgence if Beyonce’s father Mathew Knowles has anything to say. The Destiny’s Child brain, who runs the Sony-distributed Music World Music Records, is reportedly scouting the group.
In a statement to Billboard, Knowles recently explained why he seeks acts like De La Soul and The O’Jays, the legendary 70’s group that recently joined him.
“The beautiful thing [with these types of acts] is you don’t have to spend a lot of marketing and branding dollars: People already know who these acts are. If you keep the costs low, you can, in fact, make a profit,” he said.
In the late 80’s and 90’s the Native Tongue collective was a group of like-minded, conscious rappers and artists and included A Tribe Called Quest, The Jungle Brothers, Queen Latifah, Monie Love, De La Soul and others.