The latest episode of “Saturday Night Live” truly lived up to the title of A Tribe Called Quest’s “final” album release, as it delivered an added meaning to the phrase Thank You 4 Your Service. But before going into the legendary showing that took place inside Studio 8H, we must rewind this tale back to one year ago.

End of the path: First thoughts on ‘We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service’

Last fall, specifically on the night of November 13, 2015, Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White reassembled for their first television performance together in over 15 years on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” where they celebrated the 25th anniversary of People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm with a rousing rendition of “Can I Kick It?”

A Tribe Called Quest’s final act is bittersweet

Besides delivering a rhythm recipe that left an entire hip hop nation savoring, the remnants of that epic reunion lured the group inside a New York City studio that night to make a new Tribe album. “As we left 30 Rock I felt the need, we all did, to get back to the studio and start that cook up!! SO WE GOT TO IT!!,” wrote Q-Tip in an announcement last month about the making Tribe’s first new album in 18 years. At long last, fast forward to last night (November 12), and this story culminates in yet another legendary performance inside Studio 8H, this time featuring new beats, rhymes, and the spirit of the rap’s mightiest “5 Foot Assassin.”

To honor the legacy of Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor, Tribe members Q-Tip, Jarobi White, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad performed “We the People….,” one of the many stellar tracks that make the group’s final act a serious album of the year contender.

The people have spoken: ATCQ’s ‘We Got it From Here… Thank You For Your Service’ a hit

When it came time for Phife Dawg’s verse, the group unrolled a mural dedicated to the late rapper from the ceiling as his recorded vocals played bursted out the speakers. For their second performance, Tribe brought out Busta Rhymes and Consequence to kick open the album’s opener, “The Space Program.”

Legendary.

All in all, the set not only lived up to the title of Tribe’s latest release, it also reaffirmed their position as the best to do it. And if there was ever any doubt, We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service reiterates the message and displays just why the term “golden age” has been latched onto the group for over two decades.