Needles x A Tribe Called Quest: Queens Hip-Hop Meets Tokyo Track Suits, Sold Online from NYC's Perspective

Needles, the Japanese label, has released a collection with A Tribe Called Quest, the hip-hop group from Queens, New York. It is built around the group's 1991 album The Low End Theory, a record known for working jazz samples into hip-hop and still a reference point for the genre.

Three pieces turn up in the Nepenthes online store's search results for the group's name. The Track Jacket in Poly Smooth is listed at ¥29,700, the matching Track Pant in Poly Smooth at ¥24,200, and the Roll Neck Cardigan at ¥107,800. Each is titled with both names, Needles and A Tribe Called Quest.

The product photos show what the collaboration looks like. The track jacket and pants are black, with a pair of red and green stripes running down the sleeves and sides. Needles' butterfly logo is embroidered in red and dark green on the chest of the jacket and on the thigh of the pants, with the letters ATCQ stitched beneath it. It is a familiar Needles track-suit shape, recolored with the group's palette.

The cardigan is a different kind of piece. Its large diagonal stripes run in black, red and green, and it fastens with snap buttons. A round black patch on the chest carries the butterfly and ATCQ lettering. The product page lists the colorway as Black Red Green.

The collection went on sale October 20 through the Nepenthes online store. The store's notice says stock may not be available when sales overlap with its physical shops, and that items marked sold out online can sometimes still be found in stores.

For New Yorkers, this is a Tokyo label paying tribute to a Queens group, with purchases handled online and prices listed in Japanese yen.