Follarin II

An appearance from Q-Tip is a very rare thing these days, but Wale made one happen for the lucky fans attending his Rolling Loud set this weekend. As he graced the stage at the hip-hop fest, Q took the time to perform an oldie but classic song for fans, busting out the first single off his solo record, Amplified. “Vivrant Thing” was a chart hit for the rapper, and a remix also featured verses from Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes, but more recently, Wale sampled it for the song “Poke It Out” featuring J. Cole as part of his new album, Follarin II. Now, Tip has some new solo material on the way, but it’s always great to go back to the beginning. Check out a clip of Q-Tip’s performance below:

As the last decade has seen a plethora of unexpected or untimely deaths in the hip-hop community, the call to give veterans their roses while they’re still here has been strong. That’s exactly what Wale has done by bringing the Tribe Called Quest legend out during his set. Regardless, the internet has certainly changed how hip-hop is perceived, and how it is consumed. In a recent interview with Uproxx for a cover story earlier this month, Wale said that the new shift toward recording everything on social media has changed public perception a lot. He cites his won accomplishments in his early career that rarely get recognized as an example.

“I don’t think a lot of people don’t know that me, Cole, and Pharrell opened for Jay-Z,” he said. “We did a whole college tour… A lot of people don’t know I opened for Jay before that, even in Europe… A lot of people don’t know I opened for Rihanna in Europe. Because there was no Snapchat. I wasn’t walking around with a cameraman for YouTube all day. It was a weird time… We got a little bit of the Mandela effect going on in this generation.” Read the full cover here, and check out Wale’s “Poke It Out” video above.