Kanye West nearly joined A Tribe Called Quest, according to long-time collaborator and friend Consequence. During the recently-released trailer for the next episode of Drink Champs, Consequence revealed that there were serious discussions to add Ye to the groundbreaking hip-hop group for their final album.
"What many people don't know is that Kanye, at one point, was supposed to join Tribe for their last album," Consequence revealed to a silent room. As DJ EFN and N.O.R.E raised their eyebrows, they inquired whether these discussions occurred prior to Phife Dawg's death.
"No," Con responded, confirming that the conversations occurred following Phife's passing. 'Cause Phife passed away, Kanye was going to join Tribe."
In a separate statement to HipHopDX, Consequence confirmed that Ye was nearly a member of A Tribe Called Quest for We Got It From Here…Thank You 4 Your Service.
"Initially after Phife Dawg passed away in March of 2016, there were several conversations and sessions to insert Kanye into A Tribe Called Quest for the final LP, We got it from Here…Thank You 4 Your service," he said. He explained that he couldn't reveal any other details until the episode of Drink Champs aired. However, he promised that the story would be told in its entirety.
Though Ye didn't end up in ATCQ for their final album, he did appear on the record, "Killing Season."