November’s Best New Releases

November’s best new releases include albums from Alicia Keys, and A Tribe Called Quest. Alicia Keys is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and producer who first rose to fame following the release of her debut album, Songs in A Minor. Her album Here is her sixth studio album release. A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip-hop group formed in 1985, composed of members Q-Tip, the late MC Phife Dawg, and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. They have released six albums since 1990; their sixth album, titled We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service, will be their final album.

Alicia Keys returns this month with her sixth studio album, Here. This album also serves as her first full-length album released in four years. For the past few months, Keys has been highly involved in politics as well as her own personal journey into different styles of art and music, themes of which are fed into the work she has put into this album. In comparison to her previous album, 2012’s Girl on Fire, which had more themes of electronic, hip-hop, and soul, Here take on a more bare-bones approach, where Keys often uses just her voice – no filters or alterations needed. Additionally, her political side comes out in tracks such as “where Do We Begin Now” and “More Than We Know,” calling out to her fellow Americans to fight for their rights and for what they believe in. Here is one of the best new releases of November due to Alicia Keys’ pure, raw talent and fearless approach to discussing the political climate of the world in her songs

The next best new release of the month is A Tribe Called Quest’s new comeback record, We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service, released November 11th. The New York trio’s sixth album relates back to the themes of their previous records, with influences of hip-hop and jazz, but any Tribe fan can hear that, while the album holds true to their sound, it goes beyond traditions and shows how far the group has come professionally and musically. We got it from Here… does not hold back on the group’s distaste for the state of politics in the world today, as noted immediately in opening track “The Space Program,” in which members Q-Tip and MC Phife rap “Gotta get it together for brothers/ Gotta get it together for sisters,” calling for men and women in the world to unite. Additionally on this record, A Tribe Called Quest prove themselves to be no strangers when addressing subjects including homophobia, gentrification, and gentrification. We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service proves A Tribe Called Quest are able to handle difficult and controversial subjects in a real and intellectual way, making this record one of this month’s best new releases.