Q-Tip’s tweeting is in the news. After posting on August 19th to Twitter.com/QTIPTHEABSTRACT, If you are a true blue new york jew DON'T vote for bloomberg!, and additional arguably controversial tweets regarding the re-election bid of the current mayor of New York City, Tip is now in some serious twit according to a few twats in the mainstream media.
Ironically, prior to those politically-charged postings HipHopDX was already planning to conduct our first ever Twitterview with the Tribe Called Quest frontman to highlight his consistently eye-grabbing tweets. With diverse tweets ranging in topic from sports [T. O. is a malcontent who will turn into dennis rodman when he retires], to the beating of a 15-year-old girl by Seattle police while in custody [That cop is a punk. I'm issuing a formal challenge to him. A 3 round boxing match the proceeds can go to a charity of his choice in seattle], to some self-promotion [NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO FROM THE RENAISSANCE! Life Is Better featuring NORA JONES.... sept.. 16th], to paying his respects to a fallen comrade [RIP to BAATIN of slum village. May God bless his soul], to just some of the downright weirdest tweets on Twitter [my feet smell like apple vinegar], Tip has shown and proven himself to be a Twitter star deserved of his own Twitterview.
While Twitterviews are actually not new – ABC political correspondent George Stephanopoulos is credited with conducting the first notable Q&A of its kind this past March with Senator John McCain – the format has previously been your standard interview form with just shorter, 140 character-limited, questions and answers. But in DX’s version of the Twitterview we’ve flipped the script, and instead of asking our questions via Twitter, or asking any questions at all for that matter, we’ve taken what Q-Tip has posted himself via his Twitter account over the six months prior to when this interview was conducted (on August 21, 2009) and asked the Abstract Poetic to expound on, or flesh out, what he was really trying to say in those brief tweets. Tweeting is far from a interpretation-free form of communication, and many artists are finding out that what they tweet doesn’t always reflect the full context of what they meant to express to the world (which still leaves room for this pesky thing called journalism to exist as much as Twitter-ing artists believe they can now tweet their way to avoiding inquiries into their activities).
But with the introduction of any new communication medium like Twitter, the initial reception is usually skeptical. And it was no different with the introduction of Hip Hop’s first Twitterview. Running late to his next appointment for the day as he maneuvered down a bustling New York City street, two hours after our originally scheduled start time and audibly exhausted after a day’s worth of long (likely repetitive) telephone interviews, it’s completely understandable why Tip wasn’t initially diggin’ this writer’s admittedly yet-to-be-refined new interview approach.
And so while a somewhat bumpy ride, HipHopDX’s Twitterview with Q-Tip was ultimately a worthwhile journey. So hopefully you’ll stay strapped into your seat through its entirety to learn plenty more about recent Tip tweets, including posts regarding the “One Love” producer’s professional reunion with Nas, as well as what could mark the permanent end to the instinctive travels of A Tribe Called Quest.
HipHopDX: This interview is not gonna be like any interview you’ve probably ever done. I went through your Twitter postings from the last six months, and I want you to expound on each of these dozen or so tweets I selected.
Q-Tip: [Interrupts] Aw, man. I don't know. [Short pause] Are you serious?
DX: Yeah, I mean, you’re not cool with that or…?
Q-Tip: I mean…arghhh!
DX: I got plugs in there for your tweets you made about the different projects you need plugged…
Q-Tip: [Hesitates] Ah-ah-ah alright, I just don’t wanna do anything negative.
DX: Okay, well I don’t got the Bloomberg stuff or none of that. This is all music…
Q-Tip: [Interrupts] Well I don’t care about that. I’ll deal with that. But I just don’t wanna deal with anything like if it [has a] negative answer. I wouldn’t wanna deal with it. But alright, go head.
DX: Okay. Well just let me know if it’s negative…
Q-Tip: [Interrupts] Okay, I will, alright.
DX: Alright. First tweet, I'm tired of every rap dude saying their album is "CLASSIC". No humility [1:16 PM Apr 30th].
Q-Tip: [Short pause] Right. [Short pause] So the question is? Expound on that. I mean, I just feel that when you see those posts sometimes, and dudes doing interviews, and they’re like, “Yo tell us about the album.” “Yo tell us about your album, obligatory emcee.” “Oh, you know, well it's classic. Knowhatimsayin’, it’s like [inaudible] di-di-di-da.” And that’s good, and you gotta promote your shit. And I understand that. But, when everybody calls it classic, and says that their shit is classic, it just – First of all, it lessens the term for those who it really is classic. And second of all, it’s just falsified. And third, you should just be blessed and humbled that you’re doing music. And if people like it then they like it. But when you just start becoming this self-proclaimed genius and classic, it’s just a little nerve-wracking. No other artist in any kind of other music genre really does that. You don’t see R&B artists saying “Yeah, this is Joe and my new shit is classic.”
DX: [Laughs].
Q-Tip: [Laughs] Knowhatimsayin’? It’s just a little – the ego is just crazy to me.
DX: Alright, next tweet, oh boy gang.... imbeefing with my record company and it doesnt look good [12:39 PM Mar 2nd].
Q-Tip: I can’t remember what that was in reference to, specifically.
DX: It was back on March 2nd. I don’t know if that gives you any…
Q-Tip: I don’t know, it was probably over some budget or something… That was probably just in regards to me riffin’ about some budgetary thing or something. But I’ve grown up since then. I don’t tweet like that anymore. [Laughs]
DX: Okay [Laughs]. Well, next tweet from like a month later [Laughs], record companies dont care about albums i had the prez of uni/mo tell me to put out a maxi single instead of an album [7:28 PM Apr 13th].
Q-Tip: She was just introducing that idea to me about albums don’t sell anymore, they don’t matter, you should just put out a maxi-single and rock like that… Not a maxi-single, but like four songs, figure it out, see what happens… And it just takes away from the credence of an album. And I think we are artists. And the operative word there is artist. You have a vision. And sometimes your vision can’t be… I can’t get it with just one or two songs. It’s like a whole album. You can pull one song that you [want] to say, "Hey, this is the single of a greater group of work." But, I believe in the album format.
DX: Next tweet, another question.. when are these new, highly touted m.c.'s gonna put some music out??
Q-Tip: [Interrupts] Ah, this sounds like I’m hatin’…
DX: Well that’s why I’m giving you a chance to expound on it, ‘cause tweets – The whole point of this [is] tweets are brief. And that this is a chance to flesh out what you were trying to say, youknowhatImean?
Q-Tip: I know, but all of ‘em are pretty self-explanatory. And they all come from a spirit of complaint. So it makes me look like I’m just out-my-mouth and hatin’, and I’m not that. Like, those things are very specific, and maybe a few tweets out of some 150 posts that I made.
DX: Well I got more. [Laughs]
Q-Tip: Okay, let’s get the next one then.
DX: @flyinmoon phife = good. tribe = no [10:39 AM May 30th]
Q-Tip: @flyinmoon…oh okay, somebody musta asked me how’s Phife and are you guys doing another [A Tribe Called Quest] [click to read] album. So, that was that one.
DX: Okay. Next one, im working on cons and nas' albums [12:30 PM Jul 2nd].
Q-Tip: I just did a joint the other night for [Consequence] [ciick to read] – pretty insane. Uh…working on that album with Kanye [West], and that’s going really good. But he has a really solid album… And Nas, I been trying to connect with him. I think he’s running around, but we gonna get it. I have a few joints that [are] ready for him, ready to go.
DX: And the next tweet, and im abt to start my NEW JOINT [12:30 PM Jul 2nd].
Q-Tip: I am actually. And I’m gonna eventually tell everybody the title. But that’ll probably be next year.
DX: Next tweet, This tribe documentary is produced by nas and directed by mike rappaport [7:29 PM Mar 31st], and, I just looked at footage from the tribe documentary... I'm not just saying it its FUCKING AMAZING!!! Can't wait for yall to see this! [7:18 PM Mar 31st]
Q-Tip: Yeah, the little [clips] that he put together for me to see, it really looked great. They’ve actually started editing it now. I’m anxious and excited to see how the rest of it came out.
DX: Okay.
Q-Tip: I’m surprised you don’t have my Twitticide thing on there. I’m surprised you don’t have the [tweet] where I committed Twitticide [on July 2nd].
DX: Yeah, I saw that.
Q-Tip: [Laughs] Ohhhh boy…
DX: Next one, prince just called.... thats kinda bugged out right? [6:22 PM Mar 24th]
Q-Tip: [Laughs] Yeah, that…it’s wow when you think about it. It’s like, “Shit, Prince called?” It’s just like, you don’t expect him to call you. You expect him to be in the studio bangin’ out, or whatever.
DX: Next one, Tickets going fast!! MJ bday CELEBRATION aug 29th nokia theatre NYC.. TIMES SQUARE!![7:11 PM Aug 5th]
Q-Tip: Yeah man, that is something that we have to do ya know? [Michael Jackson] was like the best who ever did it. And that’s his birthday. That’s the day they’re gonna bury him. And, you know, just gonna pay tribute to him.
DX: And you’re gonna be working on a remix album too I understand [click to read]?
Q-Tip: Yeah, remixing one of his songs and…yeah, just trying to keep his legacy going.
DX: Okay. Alright, the next tweet is just a opportunity to plug the new album, kamaal the abstract album by qtip.... release date SEPTEMBER 15th!! look out for BARELY IN LOVE & EVEN IF SHE IS...[3:39 PM Jul 14th]
Q-Tip: Um, yep, that’s still coming out, September 15th. Um…excited about that. Hopefully people will check it out. It’s the album that I did a while ago. So, looking forward to that.
DX: Okay. Uh, and the next one, industry rules!! the book! [http://bit.ly/10Cscs 3:07 PM Jul 16th]
Q-Tip: Mm-hmm. I did a deal with Random House, and we are in the midst right now of figuring out who we’re gonna get to pen it… So, we’re just going through [that process] right now.
DX: Okay, alright. Well, I don’t wanna take any more of your time.
Q-Tip: Nah, you’re good, brother. You’re good. I actually like this. This is kind of a cool idea actually. I was kinda like, "Huh, what?" But now it’s like, wow this shit is dope. This is smart of you to do this.
DX: It’s not really eliciting the type of replies I need for quotes and stuff, so… I was hoping that – This didn’t really work out to elicit longer quotes, so…
Q-Tip: Oh, you want it to be longer quotes you said?
DX: Yeah, I just needed longer replies, but…
Q-Tip: So my replies were too short?
DX: Well just, the short, "Yeah, we’re doing that" kinda thing like…
Q-Tip: Well where did I say that at? Talk to me. Where did I say that at?
DX: Uh, just on a few of the different…
Q-Tip: Like, okay let’s go, tell me what you want from me; let’s fix it.
DX: Um…let me see…for instance on the Tribe documentary, I was just hoping for some details about what we’re gonna see in the movie.
Q-Tip: Okay, well I think what’s gonna be in it is like, from what I saw in the clips, it’s stuff that other people like Ghostface [Killah] [click to read] and Nas and Busta [Rhymes] [click to read] [and other artists said] about us, which is actually funny. Pharrell [click to read] [is] in there talking about shit like – Busta talking about like the “Scenario” session. Like shit of us performing on tour, when we was on the Rock The Bells like last year. And just talking about how we first started and going back to those memories. There’s a lot of that. And it’s ill to see other people talk about you too. So, that’s crazy. So did that help that one? Let’s fix the next one.
DX: Yeah, that definitely helped with it. Well this one is – I know you probably been asked a thousand times today [about this subject], but the phife = good tribe = no, just confirming that there’s not gonna be a Tribe album I know is gonna irritate the reader. They wanna know why there’s not gonna be a Tribe album.
Q-Tip: I mean, there’s not gonna be a Tribe album because we’ve already said basically everything that we had to say on record. And, we don’t wanna disrupt what little good we did so far. And people get so hung up sometimes, or pent up, with what Tribe does and Tribe activity that we’d just rather leave it where it is. Maybe do shows here and there, or you know, have this documentary come out and we’ll be good that way.
DX: Are Phife and Ali in agreeance with that? Is that just your perspective?
Q-Tip: This [isn’t] just my perspective; it’s all of [us]. Everybody feels that way. But if we had the opportunity, or if the opportunities may have been different from Jive [Records] – if they had taken care of us, and taken care of the contracts – then maybe we would recant that [retirement declaration] and maybe it would make us dust it off and make us reconsider. But right now that’s where it’s at.
DX: And can you flesh out for me a little bit with [regards to] the Kamaal The Abstract album? They sent me a press release saying the whole album’s been remixed, is that true?
Q-Tip: No, that’s not true. It’s the album in its original setting. And it’s probably two extra songs on there that we found out of the sessions. But it’s pretty much intact from what it was originally intended to be.
DX: So why release that now? Why seven years later, why not just leave that in the archives?
Q-Tip: Because people wanted to hear it. People were finding out about it and hearing it and talking about it and asking when it’s gonna be released. And because the people insisted that led me to investigating more [about obtaining the rights to the album], and good thing I did. Struck up a okay deal [with Battery/Red/Sony to release it], and here we are.
DX: And, the Michael Jackson stuff… I’m just curious, especially with the remix album…like I wanna hear somebody remix [The Jacksons'] “Blues Away,” or “Give It Up” from the Triumph album. Do you know which record you want to do yet?
Q-Tip: Well the thing is, is that this is a Motown thing, [and] those [songs] are Sony masters. So everybody basically has to [remix Michael Jackson’s recordings for Motown]. Shit, I was trying to do “Honey Love” [from The Jackson 5’s Moving Violation] and “Get It Together” [from The Jackson 5’s G.I.T.: Get It Together] and shit like that that’s rarely seen or heard. But, it’s hard to find those masters, so…
DX: And can you give us any like – just the MJ celebration, you said it’s…you deejaying and playing music…
Q-Tip: Yeah, it’s gonna be just us playing music, [and] we’re gonna have some of [The Jackson 5’s] memorabilia from back in the days, like some of their outfits and shit there on display, some different promotional items that they used to promote a couple of those albums on display, some old footage, a cool sound system, just everybody jammin’ and celebrating his life.
DX: And, industry rules!! the book!, is it just gonna be about the industry, about the business, or is it gonna be your personal life or…?
Q-Tip: It’s gonna be about my experience with the business, and the things that I went through up to this point, and my views and perspectives on it…just a kinda satirical overview of that. It should be good. The tricky part is just finding the right person to collaborate with.
DX: Well I can write it in tweets. [Laughs]
Q-Tip: You can write it in tweets? [Laughs] That’ll be hot. A book in tweets, that’ll be a first. [Laughs]
DX: You cool to do some more new tweets or…?
Q-Tip: Go ‘head.
DX: Some of it does sound like hatin’, but that’s why I wanted you to flesh these out. And this is another one: ok so my question is... why do rappers say they retire so much?? especially these young, talented m.c.'s.. explain [5:06 AM Mar 17th].
Q-Tip: I just felt like these cats have so much promise – some of ‘em – that whoever have said that [about retiring] in the past, I feel those are the ones who really have that great promise and great outlook and seem to really have it good, and then just get frustrated without even putting their first record out and say that they’ve retired. I just don’t even understand that. It just frustrated me. Like, why deprive us of your talent forever and say you’ve retired? I could understand sabbaticals and taking time off. Or even if you’re a group, I could understand a group disbanding, but still in their own ways as individuals still remaining creative. So when you say you’ve retired, that means basically that you’re not touching it no more, no more music… Was that good?
DX: Yeah, that’s perfect [Laughs]… This is going back a little bit… what the is this vibe tourney ranking of m.c.'s??? so corny they need to guap up and let dudes just go in once and for all... [3:03 PM May 14th].
Q-Tip: I was just saying like everybody’s coming up with these lists of the best emcees, and the way that VIBE did it was like a tournament, like a competition. And I [was] like, a real thing would be to have a real battle. Get a [inaudible, distorted by traffic noise] and let the top tier emcees just go at it. And then you’ll have your tournament list. Then you’ll be able to put the list together. But until then, everybody’s opinion about who the best emcee is is sometimes questionable, because a lot of people who are in the business who are coming up with these lists [are] sometimes just doing it for their own reasons. Maybe they have…I don't know, they do it differently, and you can’t trust that. I think the best thing is to let the talent speak for itself. It would be dope if there was a purse, and dudes really went in, and there was like no beef. You know, just a…battle – dudes just air it out and see what happens. But that’s not gonna happen, so…
DX: This next tweet is real easy, BET is fucking trash!!![11:03 PM Jun 28th]
Q-Tip: [Laughs] See you got me hatin’ dude. You got me fuckin’ hatin’. I can’t do that. But you know what? I’ll say this, I tweeted that after I saw…everybody [was] expecting them to do a much better job with the whole Michael Jackson [tribute at the 2009 BET Awards] after he passed. And the way that they did it, and just that whole night, the way it was put together…it just wasn’t done right, man. It was embarrassing. And when you say that, you say that because you love BET, you love your people, you really do. And you get frustrated when they continually fall from grace… And in the end I was angered and I shouldn’t have said it like that… So, whatever, I’ve learned and grown up from all that [Laughs].
DX: So the next one @Earnest_E fuck radio [5:38 AM Mar 17th] [Laughs].
Q-Tip: Oh here we go. Okay, I can’t do that, ‘cause it’s like I’m looking crazy! It’s like what are you gonna headline this as? “The Angry Q-Tip”?
DX: [Laughs] Well here’s a nice one, Jadakiss is raw! [10:33 AM May 18th]
Q-Tip: He is. He’s the truth. I think he can talk about [being included in the list of] top emcees, best emcees. I think he's definitely one of ‘em. And he has never really diminished at all. He’s just tried and true. Like, the top notch lyrics, the delivery, the sarcasm, the poignant words, he encompasses so many traits of a real emcee. And he does it in a masterful way.
DX: And lastly, I need you to explain the following [tweets]: @dreamhampton guess what im wearing [9:20 AM Mar 25th], @bigsexy808 im back [2:30 PM Mar 20th], and finally, @Jdubs328 i like fish cakes! [7:43 AM Apr 9th]
Q-Tip: [Laughs] Well, I do remember the I like fish cakes thing because somebody had sent me something about the Kanye [South Park episode], the fish sticks, and they was like, “Hmmm Tip, what do you like? Do you like fish sticks?” And I was like, “No, nigga I like fish cakes.” [Laughs] So that’s what that was about. And then the dream hampton thing, I don’t remember that, that guess what I’m wearing, I don’t remember what that was in reference to. And what was the other one?
DX: I just like the name that it was written to, @bigsexy808 im back. [Laughs]
Q-Tip: [Laughs] Yeah, that is kinda absurd, right?
Ironically, prior to those politically-charged postings HipHopDX was already planning to conduct our first ever Twitterview with the Tribe Called Quest frontman to highlight his consistently eye-grabbing tweets. With diverse tweets ranging in topic from sports [T. O. is a malcontent who will turn into dennis rodman when he retires], to the beating of a 15-year-old girl by Seattle police while in custody [That cop is a punk. I'm issuing a formal challenge to him. A 3 round boxing match the proceeds can go to a charity of his choice in seattle], to some self-promotion [NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO FROM THE RENAISSANCE! Life Is Better featuring NORA JONES.... sept.. 16th], to paying his respects to a fallen comrade [RIP to BAATIN of slum village. May God bless his soul], to just some of the downright weirdest tweets on Twitter [my feet smell like apple vinegar], Tip has shown and proven himself to be a Twitter star deserved of his own Twitterview.
While Twitterviews are actually not new – ABC political correspondent George Stephanopoulos is credited with conducting the first notable Q&A of its kind this past March with Senator John McCain – the format has previously been your standard interview form with just shorter, 140 character-limited, questions and answers. But in DX’s version of the Twitterview we’ve flipped the script, and instead of asking our questions via Twitter, or asking any questions at all for that matter, we’ve taken what Q-Tip has posted himself via his Twitter account over the six months prior to when this interview was conducted (on August 21, 2009) and asked the Abstract Poetic to expound on, or flesh out, what he was really trying to say in those brief tweets. Tweeting is far from a interpretation-free form of communication, and many artists are finding out that what they tweet doesn’t always reflect the full context of what they meant to express to the world (which still leaves room for this pesky thing called journalism to exist as much as Twitter-ing artists believe they can now tweet their way to avoiding inquiries into their activities).
But with the introduction of any new communication medium like Twitter, the initial reception is usually skeptical. And it was no different with the introduction of Hip Hop’s first Twitterview. Running late to his next appointment for the day as he maneuvered down a bustling New York City street, two hours after our originally scheduled start time and audibly exhausted after a day’s worth of long (likely repetitive) telephone interviews, it’s completely understandable why Tip wasn’t initially diggin’ this writer’s admittedly yet-to-be-refined new interview approach.
And so while a somewhat bumpy ride, HipHopDX’s Twitterview with Q-Tip was ultimately a worthwhile journey. So hopefully you’ll stay strapped into your seat through its entirety to learn plenty more about recent Tip tweets, including posts regarding the “One Love” producer’s professional reunion with Nas, as well as what could mark the permanent end to the instinctive travels of A Tribe Called Quest.
HipHopDX: This interview is not gonna be like any interview you’ve probably ever done. I went through your Twitter postings from the last six months, and I want you to expound on each of these dozen or so tweets I selected.
Q-Tip: [Interrupts] Aw, man. I don't know. [Short pause] Are you serious?
DX: Yeah, I mean, you’re not cool with that or…?
Q-Tip: I mean…arghhh!
DX: I got plugs in there for your tweets you made about the different projects you need plugged…
Q-Tip: [Hesitates] Ah-ah-ah alright, I just don’t wanna do anything negative.
DX: Okay, well I don’t got the Bloomberg stuff or none of that. This is all music…
Q-Tip: [Interrupts] Well I don’t care about that. I’ll deal with that. But I just don’t wanna deal with anything like if it [has a] negative answer. I wouldn’t wanna deal with it. But alright, go head.
DX: Okay. Well just let me know if it’s negative…
Q-Tip: [Interrupts] Okay, I will, alright.
DX: Alright. First tweet, I'm tired of every rap dude saying their album is "CLASSIC". No humility [1:16 PM Apr 30th].
Q-Tip: [Short pause] Right. [Short pause] So the question is? Expound on that. I mean, I just feel that when you see those posts sometimes, and dudes doing interviews, and they’re like, “Yo tell us about the album.” “Yo tell us about your album, obligatory emcee.” “Oh, you know, well it's classic. Knowhatimsayin’, it’s like [inaudible] di-di-di-da.” And that’s good, and you gotta promote your shit. And I understand that. But, when everybody calls it classic, and says that their shit is classic, it just – First of all, it lessens the term for those who it really is classic. And second of all, it’s just falsified. And third, you should just be blessed and humbled that you’re doing music. And if people like it then they like it. But when you just start becoming this self-proclaimed genius and classic, it’s just a little nerve-wracking. No other artist in any kind of other music genre really does that. You don’t see R&B artists saying “Yeah, this is Joe and my new shit is classic.”
DX: [Laughs].
Q-Tip: [Laughs] Knowhatimsayin’? It’s just a little – the ego is just crazy to me.
DX: Alright, next tweet, oh boy gang.... imbeefing with my record company and it doesnt look good [12:39 PM Mar 2nd].
Q-Tip: I can’t remember what that was in reference to, specifically.
DX: It was back on March 2nd. I don’t know if that gives you any…
Q-Tip: I don’t know, it was probably over some budget or something… That was probably just in regards to me riffin’ about some budgetary thing or something. But I’ve grown up since then. I don’t tweet like that anymore. [Laughs]
DX: Okay [Laughs]. Well, next tweet from like a month later [Laughs], record companies dont care about albums i had the prez of uni/mo tell me to put out a maxi single instead of an album [7:28 PM Apr 13th].
Q-Tip: She was just introducing that idea to me about albums don’t sell anymore, they don’t matter, you should just put out a maxi-single and rock like that… Not a maxi-single, but like four songs, figure it out, see what happens… And it just takes away from the credence of an album. And I think we are artists. And the operative word there is artist. You have a vision. And sometimes your vision can’t be… I can’t get it with just one or two songs. It’s like a whole album. You can pull one song that you [want] to say, "Hey, this is the single of a greater group of work." But, I believe in the album format.
DX: Next tweet, another question.. when are these new, highly touted m.c.'s gonna put some music out??
Q-Tip: [Interrupts] Ah, this sounds like I’m hatin’…
DX: Well that’s why I’m giving you a chance to expound on it, ‘cause tweets – The whole point of this [is] tweets are brief. And that this is a chance to flesh out what you were trying to say, youknowhatImean?
Q-Tip: I know, but all of ‘em are pretty self-explanatory. And they all come from a spirit of complaint. So it makes me look like I’m just out-my-mouth and hatin’, and I’m not that. Like, those things are very specific, and maybe a few tweets out of some 150 posts that I made.
DX: Well I got more. [Laughs]
Q-Tip: Okay, let’s get the next one then.
DX: @flyinmoon phife = good. tribe = no [10:39 AM May 30th]
Q-Tip: @flyinmoon…oh okay, somebody musta asked me how’s Phife and are you guys doing another [A Tribe Called Quest] [click to read] album. So, that was that one.
DX: Okay. Next one, im working on cons and nas' albums [12:30 PM Jul 2nd].
Q-Tip: I just did a joint the other night for [Consequence] [ciick to read] – pretty insane. Uh…working on that album with Kanye [West], and that’s going really good. But he has a really solid album… And Nas, I been trying to connect with him. I think he’s running around, but we gonna get it. I have a few joints that [are] ready for him, ready to go.
DX: And the next tweet, and im abt to start my NEW JOINT [12:30 PM Jul 2nd].
Q-Tip: I am actually. And I’m gonna eventually tell everybody the title. But that’ll probably be next year.
DX: Next tweet, This tribe documentary is produced by nas and directed by mike rappaport [7:29 PM Mar 31st], and, I just looked at footage from the tribe documentary... I'm not just saying it its FUCKING AMAZING!!! Can't wait for yall to see this! [7:18 PM Mar 31st]
Q-Tip: Yeah, the little [clips] that he put together for me to see, it really looked great. They’ve actually started editing it now. I’m anxious and excited to see how the rest of it came out.
DX: Okay.
Q-Tip: I’m surprised you don’t have my Twitticide thing on there. I’m surprised you don’t have the [tweet] where I committed Twitticide [on July 2nd].
DX: Yeah, I saw that.
Q-Tip: [Laughs] Ohhhh boy…
DX: Next one, prince just called.... thats kinda bugged out right? [6:22 PM Mar 24th]
Q-Tip: [Laughs] Yeah, that…it’s wow when you think about it. It’s like, “Shit, Prince called?” It’s just like, you don’t expect him to call you. You expect him to be in the studio bangin’ out, or whatever.
DX: Next one, Tickets going fast!! MJ bday CELEBRATION aug 29th nokia theatre NYC.. TIMES SQUARE!![7:11 PM Aug 5th]
Q-Tip: Yeah man, that is something that we have to do ya know? [Michael Jackson] was like the best who ever did it. And that’s his birthday. That’s the day they’re gonna bury him. And, you know, just gonna pay tribute to him.
DX: And you’re gonna be working on a remix album too I understand [click to read]?
Q-Tip: Yeah, remixing one of his songs and…yeah, just trying to keep his legacy going.
DX: Okay. Alright, the next tweet is just a opportunity to plug the new album, kamaal the abstract album by qtip.... release date SEPTEMBER 15th!! look out for BARELY IN LOVE & EVEN IF SHE IS...[3:39 PM Jul 14th]
Q-Tip: Um, yep, that’s still coming out, September 15th. Um…excited about that. Hopefully people will check it out. It’s the album that I did a while ago. So, looking forward to that.
DX: Okay. Uh, and the next one, industry rules!! the book! [http://bit.ly/10Cscs 3:07 PM Jul 16th]
Q-Tip: Mm-hmm. I did a deal with Random House, and we are in the midst right now of figuring out who we’re gonna get to pen it… So, we’re just going through [that process] right now.
DX: Okay, alright. Well, I don’t wanna take any more of your time.
Q-Tip: Nah, you’re good, brother. You’re good. I actually like this. This is kind of a cool idea actually. I was kinda like, "Huh, what?" But now it’s like, wow this shit is dope. This is smart of you to do this.
DX: It’s not really eliciting the type of replies I need for quotes and stuff, so… I was hoping that – This didn’t really work out to elicit longer quotes, so…
Q-Tip: Oh, you want it to be longer quotes you said?
DX: Yeah, I just needed longer replies, but…
Q-Tip: So my replies were too short?
DX: Well just, the short, "Yeah, we’re doing that" kinda thing like…
Q-Tip: Well where did I say that at? Talk to me. Where did I say that at?
DX: Uh, just on a few of the different…
Q-Tip: Like, okay let’s go, tell me what you want from me; let’s fix it.
DX: Um…let me see…for instance on the Tribe documentary, I was just hoping for some details about what we’re gonna see in the movie.
Q-Tip: Okay, well I think what’s gonna be in it is like, from what I saw in the clips, it’s stuff that other people like Ghostface [Killah] [click to read] and Nas and Busta [Rhymes] [click to read] [and other artists said] about us, which is actually funny. Pharrell [click to read] [is] in there talking about shit like – Busta talking about like the “Scenario” session. Like shit of us performing on tour, when we was on the Rock The Bells like last year. And just talking about how we first started and going back to those memories. There’s a lot of that. And it’s ill to see other people talk about you too. So, that’s crazy. So did that help that one? Let’s fix the next one.
DX: Yeah, that definitely helped with it. Well this one is – I know you probably been asked a thousand times today [about this subject], but the phife = good tribe = no, just confirming that there’s not gonna be a Tribe album I know is gonna irritate the reader. They wanna know why there’s not gonna be a Tribe album.
Q-Tip: I mean, there’s not gonna be a Tribe album because we’ve already said basically everything that we had to say on record. And, we don’t wanna disrupt what little good we did so far. And people get so hung up sometimes, or pent up, with what Tribe does and Tribe activity that we’d just rather leave it where it is. Maybe do shows here and there, or you know, have this documentary come out and we’ll be good that way.
DX: Are Phife and Ali in agreeance with that? Is that just your perspective?
Q-Tip: This [isn’t] just my perspective; it’s all of [us]. Everybody feels that way. But if we had the opportunity, or if the opportunities may have been different from Jive [Records] – if they had taken care of us, and taken care of the contracts – then maybe we would recant that [retirement declaration] and maybe it would make us dust it off and make us reconsider. But right now that’s where it’s at.
DX: And can you flesh out for me a little bit with [regards to] the Kamaal The Abstract album? They sent me a press release saying the whole album’s been remixed, is that true?
Q-Tip: No, that’s not true. It’s the album in its original setting. And it’s probably two extra songs on there that we found out of the sessions. But it’s pretty much intact from what it was originally intended to be.
DX: So why release that now? Why seven years later, why not just leave that in the archives?
Q-Tip: Because people wanted to hear it. People were finding out about it and hearing it and talking about it and asking when it’s gonna be released. And because the people insisted that led me to investigating more [about obtaining the rights to the album], and good thing I did. Struck up a okay deal [with Battery/Red/Sony to release it], and here we are.
DX: And, the Michael Jackson stuff… I’m just curious, especially with the remix album…like I wanna hear somebody remix [The Jacksons'] “Blues Away,” or “Give It Up” from the Triumph album. Do you know which record you want to do yet?
Q-Tip: Well the thing is, is that this is a Motown thing, [and] those [songs] are Sony masters. So everybody basically has to [remix Michael Jackson’s recordings for Motown]. Shit, I was trying to do “Honey Love” [from The Jackson 5’s Moving Violation] and “Get It Together” [from The Jackson 5’s G.I.T.: Get It Together] and shit like that that’s rarely seen or heard. But, it’s hard to find those masters, so…
DX: And can you give us any like – just the MJ celebration, you said it’s…you deejaying and playing music…
Q-Tip: Yeah, it’s gonna be just us playing music, [and] we’re gonna have some of [The Jackson 5’s] memorabilia from back in the days, like some of their outfits and shit there on display, some different promotional items that they used to promote a couple of those albums on display, some old footage, a cool sound system, just everybody jammin’ and celebrating his life.
DX: And, industry rules!! the book!, is it just gonna be about the industry, about the business, or is it gonna be your personal life or…?
Q-Tip: It’s gonna be about my experience with the business, and the things that I went through up to this point, and my views and perspectives on it…just a kinda satirical overview of that. It should be good. The tricky part is just finding the right person to collaborate with.
DX: Well I can write it in tweets. [Laughs]
Q-Tip: You can write it in tweets? [Laughs] That’ll be hot. A book in tweets, that’ll be a first. [Laughs]
DX: You cool to do some more new tweets or…?
Q-Tip: Go ‘head.
DX: Some of it does sound like hatin’, but that’s why I wanted you to flesh these out. And this is another one: ok so my question is... why do rappers say they retire so much?? especially these young, talented m.c.'s.. explain [5:06 AM Mar 17th].
Q-Tip: I just felt like these cats have so much promise – some of ‘em – that whoever have said that [about retiring] in the past, I feel those are the ones who really have that great promise and great outlook and seem to really have it good, and then just get frustrated without even putting their first record out and say that they’ve retired. I just don’t even understand that. It just frustrated me. Like, why deprive us of your talent forever and say you’ve retired? I could understand sabbaticals and taking time off. Or even if you’re a group, I could understand a group disbanding, but still in their own ways as individuals still remaining creative. So when you say you’ve retired, that means basically that you’re not touching it no more, no more music… Was that good?
DX: Yeah, that’s perfect [Laughs]… This is going back a little bit… what the is this vibe tourney ranking of m.c.'s??? so corny they need to guap up and let dudes just go in once and for all... [3:03 PM May 14th].
Q-Tip: I was just saying like everybody’s coming up with these lists of the best emcees, and the way that VIBE did it was like a tournament, like a competition. And I [was] like, a real thing would be to have a real battle. Get a [inaudible, distorted by traffic noise] and let the top tier emcees just go at it. And then you’ll have your tournament list. Then you’ll be able to put the list together. But until then, everybody’s opinion about who the best emcee is is sometimes questionable, because a lot of people who are in the business who are coming up with these lists [are] sometimes just doing it for their own reasons. Maybe they have…I don't know, they do it differently, and you can’t trust that. I think the best thing is to let the talent speak for itself. It would be dope if there was a purse, and dudes really went in, and there was like no beef. You know, just a…battle – dudes just air it out and see what happens. But that’s not gonna happen, so…
DX: This next tweet is real easy, BET is fucking trash!!![11:03 PM Jun 28th]
Q-Tip: [Laughs] See you got me hatin’ dude. You got me fuckin’ hatin’. I can’t do that. But you know what? I’ll say this, I tweeted that after I saw…everybody [was] expecting them to do a much better job with the whole Michael Jackson [tribute at the 2009 BET Awards] after he passed. And the way that they did it, and just that whole night, the way it was put together…it just wasn’t done right, man. It was embarrassing. And when you say that, you say that because you love BET, you love your people, you really do. And you get frustrated when they continually fall from grace… And in the end I was angered and I shouldn’t have said it like that… So, whatever, I’ve learned and grown up from all that [Laughs].
DX: So the next one @Earnest_E fuck radio [5:38 AM Mar 17th] [Laughs].
Q-Tip: Oh here we go. Okay, I can’t do that, ‘cause it’s like I’m looking crazy! It’s like what are you gonna headline this as? “The Angry Q-Tip”?
DX: [Laughs] Well here’s a nice one, Jadakiss is raw! [10:33 AM May 18th]
Q-Tip: He is. He’s the truth. I think he can talk about [being included in the list of] top emcees, best emcees. I think he's definitely one of ‘em. And he has never really diminished at all. He’s just tried and true. Like, the top notch lyrics, the delivery, the sarcasm, the poignant words, he encompasses so many traits of a real emcee. And he does it in a masterful way.
DX: And lastly, I need you to explain the following [tweets]: @dreamhampton guess what im wearing [9:20 AM Mar 25th], @bigsexy808 im back [2:30 PM Mar 20th], and finally, @Jdubs328 i like fish cakes! [7:43 AM Apr 9th]
Q-Tip: [Laughs] Well, I do remember the I like fish cakes thing because somebody had sent me something about the Kanye [South Park episode], the fish sticks, and they was like, “Hmmm Tip, what do you like? Do you like fish sticks?” And I was like, “No, nigga I like fish cakes.” [Laughs] So that’s what that was about. And then the dream hampton thing, I don’t remember that, that guess what I’m wearing, I don’t remember what that was in reference to. And what was the other one?
DX: I just like the name that it was written to, @bigsexy808 im back. [Laughs]
Q-Tip: [Laughs] Yeah, that is kinda absurd, right?
