Q-Tip, the legendary rapper and founder of A Tribe Called Quest, plays The Ambassador on the 7th of July.
Q-Tip is one of the great voices of Rap, the man who fronted on of the most influential hip-ho groups of the '90s, A Tribe Called Quest and who proved just as popular as a solo artist with his hit album, Amplified and his more eclectic release from 2002, Kamaal The Abstract.
Q-Tip formed A Tribe Called Quest with his old friend from Queens, Phife and high school friend, DJ Ali Shaheed Muhummad in the late '80s. Even before the group had started recording, Q-Tip was hot property having guested on several tracks from De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising album and Deee-Lite's hit single, “Groove Is In The Heart”. A Tribe Called Quest signed to Jive Records in 1989 and released their debut album, People's Instinctive Travels and Paths of Rhythm the following year. Like De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest fused rap and jazz to create infectious and funky hip-hop with intelligent and socially conscious lyrics.
A Tribe Called Quest's inventive artistry was evident on their first big hit “Can I Kick It?” which featured a break down that sampled the bass part from Lou Reed's “Walk on the Wild Side”. Although their debut album impressed critics and hip-hop fans, A Tribe Called Quest's follow-up albums, The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders are seen as the band's high water mark and some of the best hip-hop albums ever made. A Tribe Called Quest star started to wane with the release of Beat, Rhymes and Life in 1996 and having released their final album The Love Movement in 1998, the band broke up.
Q-Tip embarked on a solo career and released his debut album a year later. Amplified took off from where The Love Movement ended with deep grooves, clipped beats and Q-Tips smooth and inventive rap style. Amplified sold well off the back of the hits singles, “Vibrant Things” and “Breathe and Stop” and put Q-Tip back in the hip-hop charts. Q-Tip released his second album, Kamaal the Abstract in 2002 with a sound that saw him broaden his musical palette. While Amplified focused on bouncy cut-up beats, Kamaal the Abstract features a diverse sound reminiscent of Stevie Wonder and Prince. Featuring songs such as “Feelin'”, “Even If It Is So” and “Do You Dig”, Kamaal the Abstract brings Q-Tip closer to the inventive creativity of a N.E.R.D. album.
Time: 8pm
Tickets: €36.50
Tickets are available from Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.ie
The Ambassador
O'Connell Street,
Dublin 1.
