Q-Tip (rapper)
| Q-Tip | |
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Q-Tip in Washington, D.C., 2008
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jonathan William Davis |
| Also known as | Tip, The Abstract, Kamaal Fareed, Kamaal Ibn John Fareed, The Abstract Poetic, MC Love Child |
| Born |
April 10, 1970 Harlem, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Origin | St. Albans, Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, singer, actor, record producer, DJ |
| Instruments | Vocals, keyboards, drums, bass guitar, turntables, sampler |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Labels | Jive, Very G.O.O.D. Beats, Arista, Universal Motown, Battery, Def Jam |
| Associated acts | A Tribe Called Quest, Kanye West, Mobb Deep, De La Soul, Beastie Boys, The Chemical Brothers, J Dilla, Jungle Brothers, Busta Rhymes, Mary J. Blige, Nas, Pharrell Williams, Queen Latifah |
| Website | qtiponline |
Kamaal Ibn John Fareed (born Jonathan William Davis on April 10, 1970), better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American rapper, singer, actor, record producer and DJ. He embarked on his music career as part of the critically acclaimed East Coast hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. John Bush of AllMusic called him "the best rapper/producer in hip-hop history," while editors of About.com placed him #17 on their list of the Top 25 Hip-Hop Producers, as well as placing him #38 on their list of the Top 50 MCs of Our Time. In 2012, The Source ranked him #20 on their list of the Top 50 Lyricists of All Time.
Born Jonathan Davis on April 10, 1970 in Harlem, he converted to Islam in the mid-1990s, and changed his name to Kamaal Ibn John Fareed. He moved to St. Albans, Queens as a child. As referenced in the song "Check the Rhime", he mostly resided around Linden Boulevard. His father was from Montserrat, a British territory in the eastern Caribbean. His mother is an African American from Alabama. His sister, Gwen, is eight years his elder. He attended Murry Bergtraum High School in Manhattan, New York. According to Fareed, he was given his stage name by Afrika Baby Bam of Jungle Brothers, which he used as a replacement for his prior name, MC Love Child.
He has also said that the Q in Q-Tip stands for Queens and he is often referred to as Tip. In 1999 a Southern rapper known as TIP signed to Arista Records, but shortened his name to T.I. to avoid confusion with his then-labelmate Q-Tip. Throughout his career, he also called himself "The Abstract". He said that one of the main people in his life that inspired him was his childhood friend, Mohammed Sead. Q-Tip lives in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. He is the cousin of Consequence, who was featured heavily on Beats, Rhymes and Life. According to a DNA analysis, he descended, mainly, from the Jola people of Guinea-Bissau.
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