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The Evolution of Q-Tip - Talk about a good week. Yesterday, April 10, was Q-Tip's 42nd birthday. Believe it or not, the rapper-producer has been making classic music for almost a quarter-century now. And his long career has actually been on an upswing over the past few years, punctuated by today's announcement that he's signed a deal with Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music imprint. It's the perfect moment to look at back at Q-Tip's journey from Linden Boulevard (represent, represent-sent) to hip hop hall of fame status. —Alex Gale(Photo: Roger Kisby/Getty Images)

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The Evolution of Q-Tip - Q-Tip was born Jonathan Davis on April 10, 1970, in Harlem (though he changed his name to Kamaal Ibn John Fareed when he converted to Islam in the mid-'90s). He was raised in the St. Albans neighborhood of Southside Queens. (Photo: Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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The Evolution of Q-Tip - Q-Tip went to the same high school as the groundbreaking rap trio Jungle Brothers, and he made his debut on "In Time" and "Black Is Black" from their classic 1988 LP Straight Out the Jungle. (Photos: Scott Eells/Getty Images; Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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The Evolution of Q-Tip - But Tip's real breakthrough came with his own group, A Tribe Called Quest, which included another classmate, DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and neighborhood friends Phife and Jarobi. Led by Tip's buttery delivery, abstract lyrics and breezy production, the crew's 1990 debut, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, is a groundbreaking alt-rap classic. (Photo: Jive Records)

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The Evolution of Q-Tip - Tip had his biggest success to date with his cameo rap on Dee-Lite's dance classic "Groove Is in the Heart," which hit No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1990.(Photo: Elektra Records)

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The Evolution of Q-Tip - Tribe hit their stride with their 1991 sophomore effort, The Low End Theory. Darker, more polished, and more explicitly jazz-influenced than its predecessor, the album is another Tribe classic, featuring timeless standouts such as "Scenario" and "Check the Rhime."(Photo: Jive Records)

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The Evolution of Q-Tip - With 1993's Midnight Marauders, Tribe released yet another unforgettable magnum opus. Tribe's first three albums comprise what is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable runs in hip hop history.  (Photo: Jive Records)

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The Evolution of Q-Tip - On top of his success with Tribe, Tip began branching out by producing for other artists, including Nas, who killed Tip's xylophone-laced production on his 1994 classic "One Love."  (Photos: Soren McCarty/WireImage/Getty Images; John Ricard/BET)

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The Evolution of Q-Tip - Q-Tip's first solo effort, Amplified, hit a year later. Many Tribe fans were disappointed by the album's pop-oriented "jiggy" leanings as Tip invaded the charts in force with the lead single "Vivrant Thing."(Photo: Arista Records)

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The Evolution of Q-Tip - While Q-Tip's solo career stalled — he reportedly clashed with his label over the experimental stylings on his unreleased sophomore album, Kamaal the Abstract — Tribe reunited for a series of shows in the late 2000s, including the acclaimed Rock the Bells tour. (Photo: Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

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The Evolution of Q-Tip - Q-Tip returned to the solo spotlight with 2008's acclaimed Renaissance, which found him mining his classic abstract-rap sound but updating it with sung vocals and live instrumentation. (Photo: Motown Universal Records)

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The Evolution of Q-Tip - Q-Tip began producing for Kanye West during the recording sessions for Yeezy's epic 2010 LP My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. One of the resulting songs, "Chain Heavy," ended up as part of the series of orchestrated music leaks that built anticipation for the album, while "That's My B---h" landed on Ye's and Jay-Z's Watch the Throne.  (Photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

Photo By Johnny Nunez/WireImage

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The Evolution of Q-Tip - Tribe was thrust back into the spotlight yet again with the acclaimed 2011 documentary Beats, Rhymes & Life. Tip clashed with director Michael Rapaport about the way he and the group were portrayed in the film, which largely focused on the internal conflicts that drove them apart.(Photo: Rival Pictures)

Photo By Courtesy Rival Pictures

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The Evolution of Q-Tip - In 2012, Tip is staying busy by DJing around the world and working on his next solo album. There are also rumors that he's working on a dream-team project with Common and Nas, reportedly named The Standard.(Photo: Getty Images)

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The Evolution of Q-Tip - On April 11, Tip and Kanye took their working relationship to the next level, announcing that the Abstract had signed to Yeezy's G.O.O.D. Music roster. Tip's next album, The Last Zulu, is expected to drop early next year.(Photos: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for GQ; Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)