As mentioned earlier, one of hip hop’s most prominent artists is The Dream. He has hit songs like “Make Love To You,” “Love Is The Answer” and his latest single “Sexy Mama.” His music is mostly about love and sex, making him seem appropriate for what he does.
He got famous in part due to his work with another artist that we will look at in this article: rapper/producer/performer Q-tip. They worked together on several tracks including one song which received over 1 million views on YouTube! This song was so popular that it helped launch The Dream’s career as well. Let’s take a closer look at how they connected and what made the song special.
Q-tip is an interesting person himself. He grew up in different parts of Chicago and had various experiences. Some people may know him from his time working at a Kia dealership or his almost seven years hosting MTV Live. Others may have heard his music before now, such as his solo album titled Confidential (his first major studio album).
His rise to fame began when he met The Dream while both men were serving their respective apprenticeships under A&R directors. After meeting each other, Q-tip was asked if he wanted to join The Dream’s team. At first he said no, but after thinking about it for a few days he agreed.
As we know, music has always played an integral part in our lives. It comes in many forms; from singing songs alone to creating your own music or listening to others’ music. Some people even make their living off of music by performing it or writing song lyrics.
Q-tip is one such person. He grew up in South Central Los Angeles with little money and no connections who now performs as a bass guitarist at top recording studios across the country.
He started his career backing vocalists while he was still in high school. After graduating college, he began working as a session musician where he would back other singers and musicians.
His first big break came when he backed Grammy award winning singer Lauryn Hill during her early years as a rapper. Since then, he has worked with several more A-list rappers including The Game, Future, Rick Ross, Kanye West, Drake, and Jay Z.
One of his earliest appearances as an artist is on The Blueprint, Jay Z’s 2001 album that features several featured artists including Da Ill Man, Nas, André 3000, and Queen Latifah. During the song “The Takeover,” Q-Tip raps two lines.
He first mentions how he got his start in music by performing at local parties where people would gather to listen to hip hop. Then he says he opened up for Big Rap Stars back when they were hot.
After leaving home with no money and no car, he took what little savings he had and bought a pair of white Reebok Pumps. He marketed himself by posting pictures of them on social media sites like Instagram and Twitter.
His marketing strategy worked; he was soon working with some of the biggest names in rap. His success landed him a job hosting MTV's RapFix Live show which allowed him to showcase his talent while being paid well.
As mentioned earlier, Jay Z is one of hip hop’s most successful entrepreneurs. He founded his own record label, owns The Shop that sells his merchandise, and he even started his own fashion line. But aside from all those business ventures, he also produces music.
He has collaborated with several artists including Rihanna, Kanye West, Drake, and Nicki Minaj to name a few. Many people know him for producing songs like “Bam Bam” and “Ours” which feature Eminem.
But there are some who may not know about his other contributions to music. One such artist is Queen Bey herself!
Q-Tip made an appearance on at least five of Beyoncé’s studio albums.
After starting his career as an artist, performing at house parties throughout Chicago, Q-Tip eventually made the transition to music by creating his own style.
He is best known for producing and writing many of Beyoncé’s songs including “Ring The Alarm,” her 2006 hit single. He also worked with Jay Z on their track "Ooouuu" off of The Blueprint 3 album.
Q-Tip has also starred in his own movie titled Tha Product.
As mentioned earlier, one of the main people in Jay Z’s career is rapper/producer The Dips! He helped him get famous by producing many of his songs including some hit ones such as “Oooh My God” and “Takeover.”
Tunji was born Clarence Toliver Jr. in Chicago, Illinois on March 16, 1969. His father died when he was twelve years old so he grew up with his mother who was very supportive.
He began rapping at an early age and would write his rhymes while sitting outside or walking around. Some of his earliest collaborators were older rappers like Nas and Rakim, but he didn’t really connect with them too much.
It wasn’t until high school that he met someone who seemed to appreciate what he had to say. This person eventually got Tupelo Records (an independent label) to listen to some of his work and offered him a deal. Now he needed a stage name and he chose Quest because it sounded cool.
Quest then went onto tour across America performing for small crowds. It took him almost ten more years before he received his first major break though. In 1997, he signed a contract with No Limit Entertainment and was managed by El Rey.
In 1998, he produced two tracks for fellow artist Big Sean called “Dope Man Testify” and “Talk That Talk.
In 1997, while working as an assistant manager at Foot Locker, rapper/producer The Dutty Boy Entertainment (DTE) was signed to Jay Z’s label Roc Nation. He launched his own clothing collection with Reebok.
The brand was called OBEY GIRELLI and it featured leather jackets, cargo pants, and other rugged clothes that were designed exclusively for black men.
Q-TIP is the grandson of sharecroppers in Mississippi so he knows what it means to struggle and succeed. His style is very expensive but he has always dressed well and made sure everyone around him did too.
He always wears nice shoes, designer bags, and flashy jewelry. But how did A Tribe Called Quest member get here?
It seems like every time he steps out of the house, people recognize him and ask about his success. It might be because he is famous or known for being generous and respectful towards others.
In 1993, after leaving his position as an accountant at Ernst & Young, Aundre “Q” Quawntin founded Ghetto Foodz, a hot dog eating competition in Chicago.
He recruited friends to be business partners and they built up the website hungrypalm.com where people could enter contests for food challenges and win money or free foods by watching YouTube videos of Q doing his business.
With the help of media personality Peter Miellis (also known as The Sauce Guy), he launched a line of low cost canned sauces that were marketed under the name Sauceify.
Since then, Q has opened several more restaurants, helped launch other businesses, appeared on TV shows, recorded music albums, and is now considered one of the most prominent figures in the hip hop industry.
As mentioned earlier, A Tribe Called Quest was one of the first groups to truly push hip hop into an area where it is now popularized. They were known for their witty lyrics and infectious songs that always got people moving.
Q-tip has done many things in his career, but starting his own music company is definitely worthy of attention. He took what he learned as a producer and mixed it with how business works to start his own label.
He also made sure to include himself as part of the team by offering use of his personal resources to help grow the company.
It’s no wonder then why he is often referred to as The Prince Of Rap. He inspired other artists to start their own labels and helped them do so!
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