2008 marked the much needed return of rapper Q-Tip. Ushering in The Renaissance, the former member of A Tribe Called Quest brought back the vintage sound to Hip-Hop which has since then been replaced with instrumentals that overshadow the overall message or lack thereof.
He followed up the release in 2009 by taking a step into the past and digging up his album Kamaal/The Abstract which had been shelved in 2002 by his former label Arista Records for not being commercially appealing to the masses.
Along with going back to 2002, the rapper has been in negotiations for the ownership of the masters of unreleased material from earlier in his career from previous labels. Once obtaining the material, the rapper hopes to release them independently.
Making an appearance on 106 And Park to unveil his latest video “Life Is Better” featuring Norah Jones, Tip took some extra time out to update the world of Hip-Hop on what’s been going on in the life of the Queens native.
Always one to be in the stands rooting for the genre, Tip has stated that he intends to put his producer’s hat back on and get back into the lab in order to work with the likes of Jamie Foxx and Nas. Aside from Distant Relatives, Nas has stated that he will be working on his solo project in 2010 and for those that remember the work with Tip and Nas on Illmatic, it will be something to definitely look forward to as it begins to shape up.
As a rapper that has continued to weather the storm and find a means to remain relevant in today’s music industry, the rapper gave his nod of approval to rappers such as Drake, Jeezy and T.I. as those that can stand the test of time and still be around 10 years from now.
The rapper confirmed that is currently working on a film titled Holy Rollers. Although details on the upcoming film are scarce, the film revolves around a boy living in Brooklyn that is lured into becoming an Ecstasy dealer by a friend that has ties to an Israeli drug cartel. As it stands now, it has been reported by the likes of IMDB.com, The Internet Movie Database, that Tip will play a character named Ephraim. The rapper has stated that the project is looking to be released around Christmas.
Fans can expect to see Q-Tip next on the Voodoo Music Experience on Halloween in New Orleans which is also set to have Eminem scheduled to perform.
