Back in the days when I was a teenager, Before I had status and before I had a pager, You could find The Abstract listening to hip-hop, My pops used to say, it reminded him of be-bop, I said, well daddy don't you know that things go in cycles, The way that Bobby Brown is just ampin' like Michael, It's all expected, things are for the lookin', If you got the money, Quest is for the bookin'...

Q-Tip

Categorized in : Rap Teenager Daddy

All we want in this life is peace, prosperity and a little paper.... by Q-Tip

All we want in this life is peace, prosperity and a little paper...

rap hip-hop paper

The thing that men and women need to do is stick together by Q-Tip

The thing that men and women need to do is stick together

together forever men

know the feelin, when you feelin like a villain, by Q-Tip

know the feelin, when you feelin like a villain,

rap stress moving

The world is kinda cold and the rhythm is my blanket by Q-Tip

The world is kinda cold and the rhythm is my blanket

cold rap world

We got to mediate our greedy levels, by Q-Tip

We got to mediate our greedy levels,

rap hip-hop lust

I am recognizing that the voice inside my head by Q-Tip

I am recognizing that the voice inside my head

rap hip-hop voice

There's divinity within because we come from the divine, by Q-Tip

There's divinity within because we come from the divine,

stars rain baby

Satisfaction, I have the right tactics... And if you need em I go... by Q-Tip

Satisfaction, I have the right tactics... And if you need em I got crazy prophylactics.

rap hip-hop crazy

We got to stay awake for all these lizards and snakes; by Q-Tip

We got to stay awake for all these lizards and snakes;

snakes rap hip-hop

Genetics and beats? I feel like the drumbeat is a natural thing. Our heartbeat moves at a certain BPM. The drumbeat, being the first instrument, the platform for us, being that we all kind of come from that - it's all beats.

kind moving firsts

Shorty, let me tell you about my only vice: by Q-Tip

Shorty, let me tell you about my only vice:

rap hip-hop nice

We all have our own takes on things. To being yourself. The abstract, the whole thing that I play with, seems to result in seeing through your lenses, and once you express how you see things to others, you start to see there are similarities between all people. It's kind of like, no matter how far you go, you're still where you started, in a way.

being-yourself play people

One thing the music industry has taught me is to manage my expect... by Q-Tip

One thing the music industry has taught me is to manage my expectations.

music-industry taught expectations

How far must you go to gain respect? Um... by Q-Tip

How far must you go to gain respect? Um...

rap crazy simple

And even though we both fly by Q-Tip

And even though we both fly

space eye evil

For me with art and all that stuff - I like abstraction. I like contortion. I mean, it's still truth. But it's truth through the center of the individual. It doesn't necessarily mean that it's fallacies or falsehoods. It just happens to be one perception of what's happening.

stuff-i-like mean art

Rock and roll to the beat of the funk fuzz by Q-Tip

Rock and roll to the beat of the funk fuzz

rock-and-roll rocks rap

So concisely, musically we are the herb by Q-Tip

So concisely, musically we are the herb

whales rap light

I have a very connected history with Bilal. I heard his demo years ago. I heard all of the magic instantly. He's a master at interpretation of song.

magic song years

For people who love Tribe, I'm the defector. They say, 'You should get back with Ali to do the beats.' But a lot of people don't realize I did all the music in Tribe. In the first three albums, I did all the beats!

albums three people