Q-Tip Speaks His Peace

Last year, King magazine asked me when I first felt like I made it as a writer. My answer? When I bumped into Q-Tip in the old Tower Video on 4th and Lafayette in Greenwich Village, and he asked when my book would drop because he was a fan. (This in front of my girlfriend, a nice touch on his part.) I first met Tip covering the breakup of A Tribe Called Quest for The Source, when The Source was The Source. (Can Selwyn please do a Danyel?) He cried. I reviewed his solo début Amplified for The Village Voice, and had another meeting of the minds wherein he expressed “hiphop is dead” years before my book said the same thing, much less Nas. That was 1999. (Shoutout to Sun Singleton, who sang some sunshiny vocals on Kamaal the Abstract, Q-Tip’s second disc that his label never released.) Now, on Election Day 2008, Tip (no, not T.I.) drops The Renaissance, his first full-length of the millennium. I called him up two weeks ago, and this is what he had to say. Peep the clip for “Gettin’ Up” after the jump.

Explain the significance of the title, The Renaissance.
The Renaissance is significant because for some time now people have questioned the integrity of hiphop. I feel like the time is ideal for something that has a revisionist spirit to it.

When you recorded People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, where did you expect to be in your career in 20 years?
When I recorded my first album, I was 19. So I was very much in the moment and did not think about my career past the following year, I guess. I knew I loved what I did and had big fun, but I never imagined this.

Aside from the racist element of that recent Spin article on D’Angelo, what comment do you have about the delay of Lauryn Hill, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Maxwell and yourself in releasing new material?
Well, I have to comment on Spin magazine. The only way they give black artists any purely positive coverage is when they are non-threatening, non-embracing of their sexuality, gender, or social political position, even in the days of Public Enemy. Whether it be parading blue-eyed soul singing girls as new queens of soul or the ripping apart of Lauryn Hill or myself, they are still unclear of who we black artists really are. With that said, there hasn’t been a delay, and I think I can speak for myself, Lauryn, Badu and D’Angelo when I say that we make music when the spirit is with us. We are a lot who is very observative as well as introspective. We paint intense, colorful pictures, so it takes time.

?uestlove explains modern black music in terms of pre-ATCQ and post-ATCQ. It’s as if ATCQ invented the jazzy-sample sound with beats that kick, a staple of the whole so-called “neo-soul” sound. Do you see it like Ahmir? How would you describe the musical legacy of ATCQ?
I see the Tribe legacy as one of the strongest in modern music. From us came so many artists, like Common, Mos Def, Talib, the Fugees and Kanye. I feel very honored to have been able to contribute in such a way that 20 years later it still is a reference point. It is a reciprocal notion as well.

Who produced The Renaissance?
I produced this album with the exception of “Move,” which was done by J. Dilla.

What circumstances led to the ATCQ reunion for the Rock the Bells Tour? What’s the status of new material from the group?
A Tribe Called Quest is no more.

How do you think the digital revolution affects how music is received in the hearts of fans? Before, we had the large album art to stare at while the vinyl played on the turntable, album credit liner notes to memorize, etc.
I think the digital consumption of music has hampered the relations between artist and fan, because the other senses are taken out of the process. What I mean is, we used to feel the perforated artwork on covers, read the thank yous, etc. It’s made the arena smaller.

Nas really took it there with Hiphop Is Dead. But you and I discussed that concept years earlier. What do you think of the state of hiphop 2008?
The state of hiphop is in conception now. Something else is happening to it and there’s a new approach; a rebirth that’s going on.

How has the digital revolution freed or restricted artists to be artists and not commodities?
One of the many cool things about the digital world is that it has grown the appetite for good music. Now people can find an obscure Beatles song or an EPMD remix online, so everyone is becoming more hip.