Teaming up with Dres, Jarobi has shocked the hip-hop world. And it was worth the wait. Speed of Life, the highly anticipated debut release by evitaN (Jarobi and Dres), gives a new spin on hip-hop’s golden era.

Recorded in 2011 and 2012 at the Sound Machine in New York City, evitaN, the hip-hop supergroup consisting of Jarobi (A Tribe Called Quest) and Dres (Black Sheep) recruited an all-star cast to create what many are already calling a classic. And we have none other than Q-Tip to thank.

Dres had been trying to convince Jarobi, the “mystic man” who did not rhyme on any of A Tribe Called Quest’s albums, to record an EP for his Pool of Genius label for many years. Eventually, Jarobi had a revelation: “I got to this period in my life where I decided to stop saying no to things. I told myself the next opportunity that comes through, I’m not going to say no. I promise you, within three hours of me saying that, the phone rang and it was Dres.”

Dres and Jarobi recorded the first song together, “Keep Keepin’ On.” Jarobi played it for Q-Tip, who replied “Yo! You guys should be a group!” They went back into the studio and recorded “P.T.I. (Occupy Wall St.)” with the production team of DJ Bazooka Joe and Marc Lawrence. This became their first single, released in late 2011, and evitaN (Native spelled backward) was born. Less than a year later, they had 26 songs recorded and 15 of those became the Speed of Life album.

On Speed of Life, evitaN welcome guest appearances by Bootsy Collins (on vocals and bass), Rah Digga, Havoc of Mobb Deep, Sadat X of Brand Nubian, Craig G, Homeboy Sandman and more.

EvitaN is a new hip-hop duo featuring Jarobi of A Tribe Called Quest and Dres of Black Sheep. Their debut album, Speed of Life, is available now on iTunes, Amazon.com, Spotify, Rhapsody and digital music stores worldwide, released by Pool of Genius.

Black Sheep was the first hip-hop act to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno . Their debut album, A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, was certified Gold by the RIAA within six months of its release, and it is widely regarded as one of the best hip-hop albums of all time. “The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)” is one of VH1’s top 100 hip-hop songs of all time.

A Tribe Called Quest is one of hip-hop’s most legendary, beloved and revered groups, consisting of Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi. In the 1990s, they jump-started and perfected the hip-hop alternative to hardcore and gangsta rap. Jarobi, the honorary member of ATCQ, was rarely heard. For more information, visit http://www.evitan.net.