Q-Tip

“I'm pretty sure that Dick Cheney went down there as vice president and as chairman of Halliburton, ... I don't want to see another Pilgrims/Indians situation. ... We have to do everything we can as a hip-hop nation to secure that land.”

Q-Tip is a multitalented hip hop singer, writer, producer, and actor. He is best known as being one third of the group A Tribe Called Quest.

Starting Out

Q-Tip (real name Jonathan Davis) was born in 1970 in Queens, New York. His father was from a British territory called Montserrat and his mother was from Alabama. He was interested in music from a very young age and remained active in it throughout school.

He attended high school at Murry Bergtraum in Manhattan. He got his nickname of Q-Tip at a young age because he was a skinny kid with a big head of hair. He says the Q stands for Queens now. In the mid nineties he changed his legal name to Kamaal Ibn John Fareed after converting to Islam.

A Tribe Called Quest

In high school Q-Tip met his friends Phife Dawg and later on Nico Rey de Castro. Q-Tip had already previously worked as a solo artist going by the name MC Love Child. Q-Tip was hesitant to join initially because he wanted to pursue a career in basketball. He finally agreed to join and the group originally came together as a quartet along with Jarobi White.

After working on many different demos under multiple recording labels, the group finally released their first album People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. The album was initially met with very mixed reviews. Some loved the unique style and samples while some thought it was too unique to even imagine why people would enjoy it. It was a modest hit but over time reached Gold status. In retrospect the record has become universally praised for being ahead of its time. After its release Jarobi left the group citing personal reasons as the cause.

By the year 1998 the group had released 5 albums and gained quite a reputation in the R&B community for their meaningful lyrics and inspiring bass tracks. In 1999 the group disbanded and Q-Tip decided to venture off on his own in his solo career. The group would later come together again (including Jarobi) in 2004 and again in 2006 for a series of successful reunion concerts.

Going Solo

Now under the management of Violato record label, launched two successful singles (Breathe and Stop and Vivrant Thing) from his gold selling album Amplified. Overall his work outside of A Tribe Called Quest was seen as more mainstream oriented and missing the edge that had existed in the group’s work.

Q-Tip struggled with his next two releases (The Renaissance and Kamaal/The Abstract) because of the lack of faith in them by his record label Arista Records. He eventually left the label and managed to release the albums under Motown/Universal where the albums found more success. The Renaissance was nominated for a 2010 Grammy for Rap Album of the Year.

Films

Q-Tip also found work in various feature films throughout his career starting with Poetic Justice in 1993. He went on to appear in additional hits like Brown Sugar, Fast & Furious, and Spike Lee’s She Hate Me.

Did you know that...

...Q-Tip is a very established and respected DJ?
...Q-Tip has collaborated with Kanye West, Mobb Deep, and Black Eyed Peas?
...Q-Tip is one of the most searched rap artists searched in free mp3 music downloads?
...Q-Tip has worked as a producer for artists Nas, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston?

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