Rapper, singer, producer and DJ Q-Tip celebrates 53 years of life today, on that has blessed him with countless songs and immeasurable success in the music business.
Born Jonathan William Davis in Harlem, the artist is professionally known by his stage name but has also been given the nicknames, Qualiall, The Abstract Tip The Lone Ranger, and The Last Zulu. In addition to his success as a solo artist, Q-Tip has been a part of the music groups A Tribe Called Quest, Native Tounges, Soulquarians, and The Ummah.
One of the most prominent figures in the hip-hop music genre, Q-Tip has always been a team player, beginning his career as a member of and producer of the group A Tribe Called Quest throughout most of the 80s and 90s, creating its own music production team, The Ummah, active from 1996-2000. It inspired another music collective, the Native Tongues, which worked concurrently with A Tribe Called Quest from the late ’80s until the late ’90s.
The group released their debut studio album, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, in 1990, peaking at number 23 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Its lead single, “I Left My Wallet in El Segundo,” peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart. After initially breaking up in 1998, the hip-hop group would reunite intermittently from the late 2000s to 2010s, releasing their final studio album, We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service in 2016. The group would become members of the Native Tongues from 1988 until the late 90s, and Q-Tip would become a member of the Soulquarians from the late 90s to early 2000s, itself inspired by A Tribe Called Quest.
The Ummah’s first project would be serving as a producer for A Tribe Called Quest’s fourth studio album, Beats, Rhymes and Life. The album was criticized for moving away from the group’s earlier, denser, and bottom-heavy sound to a more laid-back and polished tone. The group would continue this sound with their next album, The Love Movement, in 1998, which was released to a lukewarm reception. They would ultimately not release another album for more than 10 years, until their sixth and final studio album in 2016. The Ummah’s final production would be Q-Tip’s first solo release in 1999.
The Soulquarians collaborated with The Ummah on the production of Q-Tip’s debut solo studio album. Before that, the first record they produced was 1999’s Things Fall Apart, the fourth studio album by the hip-hop band The Roots. They would work with The Roots again on their next studio album, Phrenology in 2002. Significantly, they worked on the production of the debut studio by Brooklyn-born Talib Kweli, Quality, that same year. The last album the Soulquarians produced was Bilah’s leaked second album, Love for Sale, in 2006.
Q-Tip’s solo career began with 1999’s Amplified, which peaked at the number four spot on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Its lead single “Vivrant Thing,” became the fourth rap song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot R&B Airplay chart since its 1992 inception. Q-Tip has performed at the New York Town Hall, Brooklyn Bowl, Output, and Stage 48, just to name a few, and he is currently working on three more albums yet to be announced release dates: The Last Zulu, AlGoRhythms, and Riotdiaries.
Q-Tip has also ventured into television, appearing as a guest on good friend Dave Chappelle’s sketch comedy series on Comedy Central, Chappelle’s Show, in 2004. In 2015, Chappelle, with fellow comedian and actor Chris Rock, appeared on Q-Tip’s Abstract Radio, his radio show on Apple Music 1. A Tribe Called Quest appeared as a musical guest with Chappelle on the Nov. 12, 2016, episode of Saturday Night Live, shortly after Donald Trump won the 2016 Presidential Election, where Chappelle gave a monologue that he ended with “I’m wishing Donald Trump luck, and I’m going to give him a chance, and we, the historically disenfranchised, demand that he give us one too.”
In celebration of Q-Tip’s life, check out his work anywhere music is sold, and join the New York State Music team in wishing him a happy birthday, here’s to 53 more years!
