Q Tip

Besides performing with his popular and successful jazz-influenced hip hop group, Tip also did production work (under his production alias The Abstract or often – along with fellow fellow Tribe member Ali Shaheed Muhammad and the late Slum Village member Jay Dee – as a part of The Ummah) for artists such as Nas (“One Love”, Illmatic, 1994), Mobb Deep (“Give Up the Goods (Just Step)”, “Temperature’s Rising”, “Drink Away The Pain”), The Infamous, 1995) and even super divas Mariah Carey (“Honey”, “Butterfly” 1997) and Whitney Houston (“Fine”, “Greatest Hits”). He has also made countless guest appearances, including spots on songs by Nas, Mobb Deep, Janet Jackson, Missy Elliott, The Roots, Busta Rhymes, Mos Def, Kanye West, De La Soul, Big Daddy Kane, Black Eyed Peas, DJ Shadow, Raphael Saadiq, The Chemical Brothers, R.E.M., Deee-Lite, and the Beastie Boys.A Tribe Called Quest disbanded in 1998, after which Q-Tip pursued a solo career. His first solo singles, the pop-friendly “Vivrant Thing” and “Breathe and Stop”, were far-left of anything he’d done in A Tribe Called Quest, as was his solo debut LP for Arista Records, Amplified. His 2002 follow-up, Kamaal the Abstract, although critically-acclaimed, never received official release which was cited because it did not have a commercial appeal. Now, Q-Tip is set to release a new album entitled Relive The Moment, formerly entitled “Live at the Renaissance.” There is not much information available on the album as of yet, but is scheduled to be released in February of 2007.A Tribe Called Quest reunited in 2004 and played a limited number of dates. The band was comprised of the original lineup, including Tip and occasional member Jarobi White. Early the next year, Tip signed a new solo deal with Motown Records.Q-Tip’s most recent collaborations have been those with DJ Shadow (“Enuff” from the 2006 album The Outsider, featuring Lateef the Truthspeaker); R.E.M. (“The Outsiders” from 2004’s Around the Sun); and The Chemical Brothers (the single “Galvanize”, from 2005’s Push the Button).He has also pursued an acting career, appearing in films such as Prison Song, Poetic Justice, and She Hate Me, as well on television as a guest on Chappelle’s Show.As of late, Q-Tip has been very active, once again happily reunited with the full line-up of A Tribe Called Quest on the 2K7 NBA Bounce Tour, and mysteriously regaining control of his previously label-owned MySpace page. He has filled the page up with demos and rarities, (some of them from “Kamaal the Abstract”), and has announced he is negotiating his masters of earlier material from his previous labels and plans to release them independently.