The Evolution of Q-Tip

From Linden Boulevard to hip hop hall of fame status.

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)
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)
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)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 - 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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