When I think of a short list of hip-hop icons that I would want to sit and just talk music for hours with A Tribe Called Quest’s
Q-Tip is definitely on that list. Hes an individual that has always sought out to find the next level of personal development in life.
Now college students will get that opportunity almost daily as Tip will serve as co-teacher for a New York University class that will examine the connection between hip-hop and jazz, the rapper revealed on Twitter.
QTip on Twitter
Come to class! https://t.co/HxYbNYTmoO
The seven-class course, among the first of its kind, will begin in the fall semester at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music in the Tisch School of the Arts. Q-Tip, along with music historian Ashley Kahn, will teach students about the intersections and parallel developments of these musical styles, NYU said of the course.”
“I couldnt be more excited to share with the students what I know and I look forward to them also teaching me. Teaching is an exchange of sharing and receiving for all involved,” Q-Tip said in a statement.
“With A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip was one of the progenitors of the jazz-rap genre. In addition to Tribe Called Quest, the course will also examine the music from artists ranging from the Last Poets and Public Enemy to Lauryn Hill and Kendrick Lamar.
According to NYU, “Each class session is divided into two: students will complete focused readings and undertake listening and viewing assignments to investigate the social, cultural, musical, and business aspects of the relationships between jazz and hip-hop. The second half of each class focuses on musicianship, performance, composition, and production with students completing in-class and out-of-class assignments under Q-Tip’s mentorship, investigating compositional and studio choices at the nexus of hip hop and jazz, and working collaboratively to create, refine, and produce their own original musical works.”
When a Tribe Called Quest blasted off the groups first album since 1998 We Got It From Here … Thank You 4 Your Service in 2016, it was the first album without legendary Queens lyricist and international rap OG Phife Dawgs incomparable presence. The growth of the group and the evolution of the groups unique sound (with Jarobi back in the mix as a master contributor and lyrical asset to the ATCQ movement) and the emotionally-exhaustive journey the group has been on over the past decade oozed from the speakers of Generation Xers who crave that ole boom bap sound spliced with heat rocks pertaining to todays relevant information.
A Tribe Called Quest – We The People…. (Lyric Video)
“We got it from Here…
Q-Tip has always been the zen setter and trendsetter with his groundbreaking production etiquette for the group. His musical hand extends through myriad genres throughout his career which began in the 80s, but his blueprint emerged from the streets and saloon sounds of black jazz, funk, soul, and hip-hop.
His knowledge of the game is supreme and his understanding of current technology as it pertains to staying relevant (Q-Tip’s in his fourth decade in the music business) is as formidable as it gets. Those in attendance will be getting some serious jewels dropped on them.
