Q-Tip

Kamaal Ibn John Fareed (born Jonathan Davis; April 10, 1970), better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American ^{United States} hip hop ^{hip hop music} artist, producer, singer, and actor from Queens, New York City, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest.

  Born Jonathan Davis on April 10, 1970 in Harlem, New York, he converted to Islam in the mid-1990s, and changed his name to Kamaal Ibn John Fareed. He moved to (Jamaica) Queens as a child. Famously known from "Check the Rhime", he mostly resided at Linden Boulevard. His father was from Montserrat, a British ^{United Kingdom} territory in the eastern Caribbean.Q-Tip also did production work (under his production alias the Abstract or often—along with fellow Tribe member Ali Shaheed Muhammad and the late Slum Village member Jay Dee ^{J Dilla} —as part of The Ummah), as well as solo production work for such artists as Nas ("One Love", from Illmatic, 1994), Mobb Deep ("Give up the Goods (Just Step)", "Temperature's Rising", and "Drink Away the Pain", from The Infamous, 1995) and R&B singers Mariah Carey ("Honey ^{Honey (Mariah Carey song)} ", from Butterfly ^{Butterfly (Mariah Carey album)} , 1997) and Whitney Houston ("Fine ^{Fine (song)} ", from Whitney: The Greatest Hits). He also co-produced jazz guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel's 2003 release Heartcore ^{Heartcore (Kurt Rosenwinkel album)} . Q-Tip also provided the rap element of the highly successful track "Groove Is in the Heart" performed by Deee-Lite.A Tribe Called Quest disbanded in 1998 ^{1998 in music} , after which Q-Tip pursued a solo career. His first solo singles, "Vivrant Thing" and "Breathe & Stop", were far more pop-oriented than anything he had done in A Tribe Called Quest, as was his solo debut LP for Arista Records, Amplified ^{Amplified (Q-Tip album)} . His 2002 ^{2002 in music} follow-up, Kamaal/The Abstract, although critically acclaimed and issued a catalog number, wasn't released at that time because the label believed that it did not have commercial appeal. Q-Tip also featured on R.E.M.'s album Around The Sun during this period, with a rap on "The Outsiders". Kamaal/The Abstract was finally released on September 15, 2009 on Battery Records ^{Battery Records (hip hop)} after being shelved for seven years.

A Tribe Called Quest reunited in 2006 and played a limited number of dates. The group was composed of its original lineup, including Q-Tip and occasional member Jarobi White. Early the next year, Q-Tip signed a new solo deal with Motown ^{Motown Records} /Universal Records ^{Universal Music Group} .

As of late, Q-Tip has been very active, once again happily reunited with the full line-up of A Tribe Called Quest on the 2K7 NBA Bounce Tour, Rock the Bells Tour '08, and regaining control of his previously label-owned MySpace page. He has announced that he is negotiating for the ownership of the masters of earlier material from his previous labels and plans to release them independently. His latest album The Renaissance ^{The Renaissance (Q-Tip album)} was released on November 4, 2008 through Universal Motown and was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2010 Grammys.07 Q-Tip is among a group of producers (also including RZA and Pete Rock) that has been reportedly brought in by Kanye West to work on his fifth album, A Good***Job. He is also set to appear on Mark Ronson's latest album, Record Collection, with a song entitled Bang Bang Bang with MNDR, for which a video was released.

He also appeared on Dj/Producer Statik Selektah's first album, Spell My Name Right, on "Stop, Look, & Listen" with Styles P & Termanology.

Q-Tip has recently recorded with Mark Ronson, for the music "Bang Bang Bang", along with singer Amanda Warner from MNDR.*Grammy Awards
**2010, Best Rap Album: (The Renissance), Nominee
**'2006, Best Dance Recording: "Galvanize", Winner'
**2000, Best Rap Solo Performance: "Vibrant Thing", Nominee
**1999, Best R&B Song: "Honey", Nominee

*MTV Video Music Awards
**2000, Best Hip-Hop Video: "Vibrant Thing", NomineeFareed regularly acts as a disc jockey, most notably at Santos Party House where he hosted a weekly residency called OPEN.gallery-3489. He currently hosts a Friday Night Party at NYC's ACE Hotel.* 1999: Amplified ^{Amplified (Q-Tip album)}
* 2008: The Renaissance ^{The Renaissance (Q-Tip album)}
* 2009: Kamaal/The Abstract* 1993: Poetic Justice ^{Poetic Justice (1993 film)}
* 1999: Love Goggles
* 2000: Disappearing Acts
* 2001: Prison Song
* 2002: Brown Sugar ^{Brown Sugar (2002 film)}
* 2004: She Hate Me
* 2008: Cadillac Records
* 2009: Fast & Furious
* 2010: Holy Rollers ^{Holy Rollers (film)}