In the eyes of music lover, yesterday (October 19), the 2024 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony made good on several past snubs. In the realm of pop, that was Cher finally being welcomed into the pristine club. But for hip-hop that was undoubtedly A Tribe Called Quest’s induction.
Despite being eligible since 2015, the legendary rap group is only just now making into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. However, that didn’t stop two of its members (Q-Tip and Jarobi White) from cheerfully celebrating the milestone.
White dedicated a part of his speech (viewable here) to honor Phife Dawg who tragically died in 2016. “I don’t I don’t have any stories,” he said. “All I have is gratitude. What I’m saying thank you. Thank you. Tribe fans everywhere, we wouldn’t be nothing without you. Ali Shaheed, I love you, boy. Wish you was here. Let me give it up right quick. Give it up for Phife’s mom and dad right here.”
Late member Phife Dawg’s parents looked on in pride as the crowd and musicians paid their respects. In his place, the sister of Ali Shaheed Muhammad (who was not in attendance) stood in for the honor.
Q-Tip took a moment to subtly acknowledge why A Tribe Called Quest’s induction was so deserved. “To the latter, it has been the terrain for many of us to do Whoppers and Hip-Hoppers, and yes, to all of you pseudo-historians who might be confused about the corner opera in the corner hip hop is saying and rap the blues,” he said. “And what’s more rock and roll than the blues? But just like our predecessors, we had to find spaces on the outskirts of cities and towns, from a southern sun house off Robert Johnson Crossroads to a transformed room in a hood tenement on Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx. The need to express burns in us with an art-fueled determination. A spark. The spark that embers within many of us in this room, and the spark that burned within the four of us boys in 1985 in New York City.”
While A Tribe Called Quest’s honoree performance (viewable here) featured an all-star lineup of Queen Latifah (“Can I Kick It?”), De La Soul’s Pos and The Roots’ Black Thought (“Check the Rime”), Common (“Bonita Applebum”), and Busta Rhymes (“Scenario”) which was all backed by The Roots.
The 2024 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame streamed live on Disney+, but a special featuring the evening’s performances will air on ABC on Jan. 1. Then it will be available for viewing on Hulu. Find more information here.
LL Cool J‘s long-awaited Q-Tip-produced 14th studio album has officially been given a title and a release date. The FORCE (Frequencies of Real Creative Energy) will be LL’s first new album in 11 years, and arrives September 6th via Def Jam Recordings/Virgin Music Group. Clocking in at 14 tracks, it will boast guest appearances from a who’s-who of both classic and contemporary rap stars, including Busta Rhymes, Eminem, Fat Joe, Nas, Saweetie, and Snoop Dogg.
“[I was] going back to the drawing board and learning how to rap again,” he told the Associated Press of the new album’s creation process. “The LeBrons, the Stephs, the Jordans and the Kobes, they all go back to the drawing board, they always try to make themselves better. I wasn’t trying to do trendy, and I wasn’t trying to recapture anything I did before.”
That included scrapping previous versions of the work, such as one he said he recorded with 50 Cent during his interview with The Breakfast Club last year. “When it was done, I listened to it,” he recalled. “I’m like, ‘It sounds good. I like the music, it sounds cool, but it ain’t me.’ So, I ain’t put it out.”
The FORCE (Frequencies of Real Creative Energy) is due 9/6 via Def Jam Recordings/Virgin Music Group. You can check out its first single, “Passion,” above, and see the tracklist below. Pre-order it here.
The FORCE Tracklist
01. “Spirit Of Cyrus” Feat. Snoop Dogg
02. “The FORCE”
03. “Saturday Night Special” Feat. Rick Ross & Fat Joe
04. “Black Code Suite” Feat. Sona Jobarteh
05. “Passion”
06. “Proclivities” Feat. Saweetie
07. “Post Modern”
08. “30 Decembers”
09. “Runnit Back”
10. “Huey In Da Chair” Feat. Busta Rhymes
11. “Basquiat Energy”
12. “Praise Him” Feat. Nas
13. “Murdergram Deux” Feat. Eminem
14. “The Vow” Feat. Mad Squablz, J-S.A.N.D. & Don Pablito
LL COOL J is delivering more details on his upcoming 14th studio album, as well as a new single from it called “Passion” this weekend. The legendary New York rapper has been working toward a comeback and now we have the official return date. According to Pitchfork, The FORCE, which stands for “Frequencies of Real Creative Energy”, is coming September 6 and will feature some impressive guests. Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, and Nas lead the way, but Saweetie, Fat Joe, Rick Ross, and more round things out nicely. Also affiliated with this project is A Tribe Called Quests Q-Tip, who is handling all of the production.
LL COOL J feels he made the right choice recruiting him, and he is promising fans nothing but heat and incredible creativity. “We’re talking 14 tracks of straight fire, all crafted by myself and the one and only Q-Tip. When you listen to this album, you’re not just hearing music, you’re experiencing a whole new vibe, a whole new level of artistic passion”, COOL J affirms. So far, we are certainly hearing what is saying, as the lead-off track, “Saturday Night Special”, was a luxurious and grand way to kick off this rollout. “Passion” is equally spectacular, as Q-Tip brings a head-nodding boom-bap vibe perfect for the summer. COOL J’s performance is equally passionate, as he continues to sound revitalized.
Time’s up, get ya signs and pickets Wanna see me in the desert but ya man’s liquid Sun shining, old diamonds, new blue face Staring at my pocket lining ’cause I put the time in Freak of nature with the bars, broken English got me foreign cars Rolls Roycе for some R&R
On May 5th, 1998 Rawkus Records released the first installment of the Lyricist Lounge albums titled Lyricist Lounge, Volume One, which showcased New York. It was a double-disc compilation that featured De La Soul, Mos Def, Q-Tip, Tash of Tha Alkaholiks, Punch & Words, O.C, Ras Kass, Black Thought, Common, Pharoahe Monch, Saul Williams, Kool Keith, Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek, Bahamadia, Rah Digga, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Jurassic 5, KRS-One, Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine, Last Emperor, and Company Flow.
This CD is one of those that you don’t get often. It had incredible and intensely clever wordplay, and was great for the culture because of the positive support it showed for hip hop. Back then everyone thought hip-hop was rap music and rap music was gangsta. It made people think twice before making an assumption like that. Any hip-hop purist who enjoys freestyles and great rhymes that make you think then this is the album for you.
Nas has been on a creative high recently. The rapper’s collaborations with Hit-Boy has reinvigorated his career and proved that he’s more lyrical than ever. His relevancy is such that he doesn’t have to rely on his old catalog to attract listeners. Unless, of course, the album in question is Illmatic. The 1994 classic will always be Nas’ high-water mark, and the rapper chose to reflect on the making of the album ahead of its 30th (!) anniversary.
Nas hopped on Instagram to post throwback photos of the men who helped shape his project. The photos are grainy, which the rapper alludes to in the beginning of his caption, but the faces are so iconic that they’re recognizable anyway. Nas can be seen standing alongside New York legends like Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Large Professor, LES and Q-Tip. The second photo sees Nas post up next to his friend and Illmatic‘s lone feature, AZ. “Grainy pictures for grainy times,” the Queens emcee wrote.
“I had a dream I could get my favorite producers to produce on my debut album,” Nas continued in the caption. “I knew exactly what I wanted and how it should be. On April 19 we smashed s**t. Even tho the album leaked months before the release date we still are apart of music history.” The “One Love” rapper then proceeded to shout out each of the men pictured. “Thank you to everyone involved,” he added. “Friday is the albums 30th. 2 The Listeners- ONE LOVE.”
Nas has had to contend with every subsequent release of his being compared to Illmatic, but the rapper actually feels like the album has transcended his catalog. He views it as a separate entity in some ways, as he told Clash in 2014. “It’s interesting because that’s bigger than me,” he asserted. “It’s something that I look at and it trips me out a little bit. I just think about it and, with certain artists that I like, I like some of their works more than the others and I only want to hear certain albums. It’s just the way things are.” Regardless of Nas’ sense of authorship, Illmatic remains his magnum opus.
Ahead of its time to say the least, A Tribe Called Quest’s experimental, alternative, jazz rap was originally unappreciated by mainstream audiences. It took six years for the Tribe’s first album to hit gold. The album might not have been a huge commercial success at first, but their innovative and comedic sound beautifully balanced the light-hearted social consciousness of their tracks. Although “People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm” was critically acclaimed, some critics felt that the inspired lyricism and unique humor was at times overshadowed by the group’s immaturity and lack of focus. Their debut album did, however, generate buzz within the Alternative Hip Hop community that has gained them a devout cult following. Today “People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm” is certified gold, and in The Source Magazines’s 100 Best Rap Albums. Other accolades include a 5 mic rating from The Source, 4 stars out of 5 by The Rolling Stone Album Guide, and a 3.5 out of 4 stars by the Chicago Tribune.
Regardless of which generation you belong to, every true Hip Hop fan can remember the first time they heard “Can I kick It?” by saying “yes I can!”…and how it changed their perception of the genre. In honor of this special day in Hip Hop history we did some digging and found old school Source articles reviewing “People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm”, so feel free to take a look at the history.
30 years ago today, Nas dropped his debut LP, ‘Illmatic.’ Released by Columbia Records in 94′ Nas recorded the album at Chung King Studios, D&D Recording, Battery Studios, and Unique Recording Studios in New York City. Produced by DJ Premier, Large Professor, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, L.E.S., and Nas himself, the bangers on the album will be embedded in Hip Hop culture as classics merely based on their production alone.
The album sold 60,000 in the first week and debuted at number 12 on the US Billboard 200 chart. On January 17, 1996, the album was certified gold by the RIAA. In 2001 it earned a platinum certification after shipping 1,000,000 copies in the United States alone.
Lyrically, Nas delivered certified street verses on ‘Illmatic’ that influenced the majority of the ’90s and is regarded as one of the greatest LPs of all time by critics and major publications globally.
Amp Fiddler, known for his innovative mix of genres, passed away at age 65. The legendary Detroit musician has sadly succumbed to cancer.
R.I.P. Amp
Amp Fiddler, whose real name was Joseph Anthony Fiddler, succumbed to cancer on Dec. 18.
In December 2022, his brother Joseph Fiddler launched a GoFundMe for the artist, who at the time was recovering from an unknown surgery and spent months in the hospital. The fundraiser surpassed its goal of $75,000.
On his Instagram page, his family shared a statement on his death.
“We face the insurmountable responsibility of sharing the passing of Joseph ‘Amp’ Fiddler,” reads the statement. “Our beloved ‘Amp’ Fiddler, Detroit’s own world-renowned ambassador of funk, soul, and electronic music, keyboardist, producer, Afro-futurist, and guiding force of light for so many, has transitioned at the age of 65.”
Fiddler, who gained recognition as a keyboardist, producer, and Afro-futurist, began his musical journey as a member of the band Enchantment in the 1970s. However, he made his mark as a key member of the legendary funk band Parliament-Funkadelic from the 1980s to the 1990s.
Influenced by the vibrant Detroit music scene, Fiddler’s talent extended beyond funk and soul, working with icons such as Prince, Raphael Saadiq, Maxwell, and others.
One of Fiddler’s notable contributions was his impact on the hip-hop community. He played a pivotal role in mentoring the late producer J Dilla, guiding him in production tactics and introducing him to A Tribe Called Quest leader Q-Tip, which paved the way for Dilla’s successful career. Fiddler’s influence transcended generations, connecting musicians and scenes from all corners of the globe.
Fellow Artists Pay Their Respects
Some notable members of the rap community shared their condolences and reacted to Fiddler’s death. The Roots drummer Questlove posted on Instagram:
“Rest easy brother Amp. For all those talks during the Pfunk tour. For all the music. Especially of course mentoring the one who mentored us (Dilla)——thank you brother.”
British DJ Gilles Peterson also reacted by saying:
“Waking up to the desperately sad news that our dear friend Amp Fiddler has passed… from George Clinton to Dilla to Moodyman … Detroit royalty … a huge influence on musicians from all sides of the globe – he connected generations and scenes… a mentor to so many.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to cover the funeral costs, allowing fans and supporters to contribute to honoring the late musician’s legacy.
Clarence Avant: Another Tragic Loss
Another recent loss in the music industry was Clarence Avant, the legendary music executive who passed away in August at the age of 92. Avant, known as the “Black Godfather,” managed artists from various genres, including soul and hip-hop, and served as the former chairman of Motown Records.
Q-Tip and the remaining surviving members of A Tribe Called Quest recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of their classic third album, 1993’s Midnight Marauders. The album is widely considered the group’s greatest album, featuring some of Q-Tip’s best verses. As rap fans look back at Tribe’s prolific history, they also hope for new music from The Abstract.
While Q-Tip has been relatively quiet on the music front, he teased three entire albums worth of material back in 2020. While none of those releases have seen the light of day, that has not stopped him from collaborating with others. Q-Tip often brings the best out of the artists he works with, so we are highlighting some of his best collaborations. Here are 7 of Q-Tip’s hottest hip hop collabs. Take a look at the list below.
Busta Rhymes – “Ill Vibe” (1996)
Busta Rhymes is one of Q-Tip’s closest and most frequent collaborators. The two have worked together throughout their careers in different capacities. Early on, they appeared on posse cuts with A Tribe Called Quest and Leaders of the New School together and later featured on each other’s solo albums. One of Busta Rhymes and Q-Tip’s earliest and hottest collabs is “Ill Vibe” from Busta’s debut solo album, The Coming. The laidback boom bap classic was produced by The Ummah, Tip’s production collective with Ali Shaheed Muhammad and J Dilla. “Ill Vibe” contains Q-Tip’s smooth flow and Busta’s animated delivery, making for one of their most iconic collabs.
This highlight from The Roots’ classic Illadelph Halflife album sees Black Thought and Q-Tip trading bars back and forth. The funky instrumental lends itself to both of their rap styles, as well as their musical chemistry. The two each take their own unique approach to rapping, but they blend their styles together on “Ital.” Black Thought is known for outshining other rappers on most tracks, but he and Q-Tip work together for a skillful exchange of bars.
One of Q-Tip’s hottest collabs is the remix of Missy Elliott’s 1999 single, “Hot Boyz.” The remix features an all-star lineup, including Missy, Tip, Nas, Eve, and Lil Mo. An eclectic mix of hip hop artists, each rapper gets their moment to shine over the Timbaland-produced beat. The “Hot Boyz” remix was massively successful, spending 18 weeks atop the Hot Rap Singles chart and breaking the record for most weeks at No. 1 on the R&B chart at the time. While “Hot Boyz” stands out as one of Missy’s greatest works, its remix is a standout collaboration between various artists, including Q-Tip.
Q-Tip and Slum Village were a perfect match on “Hold Tight.” He kicks off the relaxed song with a smooth verse, commenting on the state of the rap game. Tip raps, “N****s in the game is getting too slimy / Liable to make this peace turn grimy,” passing the torch to Slum Village. In his verse, Q-Tip voices his frustrations with greedy industry executives and places his faith in his musical peers. He shouts out each member of Slum Village, along with D’Angelo, Busta Rhymes, and his fellow members of A Tribe Called Quest. He sets the tone for J Dilla, T3, and Baatin to spit their verses, resulting in a standout track from Fantastic, Vol. 2.
Busta Rhymes feat. Q-Tip, Lil Wayne, & Kanye West – “Thank You” (2013)
Q-Tip and Busta Rhymes have remained close throughout their careers, eventually teaming up for a collaborative mixtape, 2013’s The Abstract & The Dragon. The project compiled old classics from their group and solo careers, as well as new material like “Thank You.” The song samples Alicia Myers’s “I Wanna Thank You.” Lil Wayne and Kanye West briefly make appearances, symbolizing a truce between the Young Money and G.O.O.D. Music labels, to which Busta and Tip were respectively signed. Over the groovy instrumental, Busta Rhymes and Q-Tip display their longtime chemistry, effortlessly flowing to match the fast guitar sample. The two match each other’s skills, standing out as one of both Busta Rhymes and Q-Tip’s best songs. It is also one of Q-Tip’s biggest hip hop collabs, going silver in the UK.
James BKS, Q-Tip, Idris Elba, & Little Simz – “New Breed” (2019)
In 2019, French musician James BKS recruited Q-Tip, Little Simz, and Idris Elba for “New Breed,” a standalone single that captured elements of hip hop and dance music worldwide. Over a festive and joyous instrumental, Q-Tip slides across the beat, Idris Elba excites, and Simz dazzles with her verse. The French, American, and British artists each rap about their African heritage and what it means to them. Each rapper provides their own unique style to the celebratory song, embracing Africa through the lens of their different nationalities.
Eminem, Royce Da 5’9”, Black Thought, Q-Tip, & Denaun – “Yah Yah” (2020)
“Yah Yah” is one of Q-Tip’s hottest collabs as his catchy hook serves as the centerpiece for an explosive banger. The song sees Eminem, Black Thought, and Royce Da 5’9” spit rapid flows with complex rhyme schemes at a high energy. The song serves as an ode to the golden era of hip hop that inspired each artist, as emphasized by each verse and the hook from Q-Tip. The collaboration between Eminem, Royce, Black Thought, Q-Tip, and Denaun is a prime example of top-tier lyricists spitting a high caliber, paying homage to their hip hop idols. “Yah Yah” is one of Q-Tip’s most memorable collabs in recent memory, leaving fans yearning for more music.
Q-Tip is poised to infuse his musical genius into the forthcoming Muhammad Ali Broadway musical. The rap icon joins as the music producer, co-lyricist, and cast album producer. Q-Tip In Broadway Q-Tip, best known as the lead rapper for A Tribe Called Quest, is set to add his musical prowess to the upcoming Muhammad Ali […]
