Q-Tip was born 44 years ago in Harlem, New York, then moved to Queens shortly after. He attended Murry Bergtraum High School in Manhattan, alongside such other notable hip-hop artists as Brother J from X-Clan and members of the Jungle Brothers. But his own career took off when he and childhood friend Phife linked up with Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi to form A Tribe Called Quest, who recorded some of hip-hop's most well-regarded albums: Low End Theory, and Midnight Mauraders in particular.
This, you already know.
What don't you know about Q-Tip? He's enigmatic, and hasn't done all that many interviews—although he's opened up in recent years, even sitting down with Chairman Mao for a two-hour session for Red Bull. Nonetheless, there are plenty of facts that folks just don't know about Tribe's primary beatmaker...oops, just gave one away.
Without further ado, here are 20 Things You Didn't Know About Q-Tip.
Ken Duro Ifill—a famous engineer and CEO of Desert Storm Records—interned with Q-Tip during The Infamous sessions.
Q-Tip liked to stack drums in the studio when producing Tribe albums, laying different drum sounds on top of each other.
Dilla met Q-Tip backstage at Lollapallooza in 1994, when Dilla and T3 were managed by Detroit Piston John Salley.
MC Hammer dissed Q-Tip on The Funky Headhunter.
"Keep It Moving" was a response to MC Hammer.
In 1993, Q-Tip was attacked by members of Wreckx-n-Effect ("Rumpshaker") and gets a black eye.
Much of the pre-production for Tribe's debut album was done at the house of Deee-lite member Towa Tei.
Big Daddy Kane let Q-Tip hear his single "Raw" before it was released.
Q-Tip and Phife knew each other from the time they were babies.
Although the beats on the first few Tribe albums are credited to the group, they were almost all produced by Q-Tip himself.
DNA analysis determined that he is mainly descended from the Jola people of Guinea-Bissau.
Q-Tip co-wrote D'Angelo's "Left & Right."
In 1998, a fire destroy Q-Tip's home, computer, and a huge music collection.
Q-Tip once had a hit out on his life.
Q-Tip produced Mariah Carey's megasmash single "Honey."
Ali Shaheed Muhammad first knew Q-Tip as the kid who used to rap Jimmy Spicer's "Adventures of Super Rhyme" to himself in high school.
No word on whether or not he could rap all fifteen minutes.
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Q-Tip was responsible for informing Kanye West about blood diamonds in Sierra Leone.
Between "Amplified" and 2008, Q-Tip recorded 500 songs.
Q-Tip, accompanying Nicole Kidman, was almost ejected from the premiere of "The Hours" by a publicist who thought he wasn't supposed to be there.
Q-Tip's original stage name was "MC Love Child."
