Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest says fans should expect the first single from the group's reunion LP to drop the fall and the album in the winter - the winter of 2004, that is. The trio of Phife, Q-Tip, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad teamed up last year for the first time in many years to record the song "(ICU) Doin' It," which will be a track on the upcoming Violator Records compilation V3.

"Our records sound like we never left," Phife said. "The chemistry never dwindled. We saw each other for the first time in a minute, but it sounded like we never stopped recording with each other. The voices are pretty much the same. Tip's still got the whole nasal, abstract thing going on. My voice grew a little bit ... that's the only difference, my voice sounds a little older."

Phife isn't sure about when the crew will begin recording its new album, however he does mention that the group members have been staying busy. Both Q-Tip and Ali have solo LPs dropping soon and Phife is trying to help launch the careers of some up-and-coming acts that he's taken under his wing.

"We would've gotten tomatoes if we ain't do the Tribe joints and we [was] on stage together," the Dawg laughed. "We could've freestyled, but I think we needed to do at least one Tribe joint. We ended up doing three joints together. The singles, 'Check the Rhyme,' 'Find a Way' and 'Award Tour.' They were pretty exhausted by the end of the show, which I was quite happy with."