The Q in his name stands for Queens, and it is also said to be a name that represents his ability to get into one’s ears.
Early career:
Q-Tip's first appearance on record was on the Jungle Brothers' Straight Out the Jungle in 1988. Besides performing with his popular and successful jazz-influenced hip hop group, 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 — as part of The Ummah) for artists such as Nas ("One Love," from Illmatic, 1994), Mobb Deep (co-producer on "Give up the Goods (Just Step)," "Temperature's Rising," and "Drink Away the Pain," from The Infamous, 1995) and even R&B divas Mariah Carey ("Honey," from Butterfly, 1997) and Whitney Houston ("Fine," from Greatest Hits).
Solo career:
A Tribe Called Quest disbanded in 1998, 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. His 2002 follow-up, Kamaal the Abstract, although critically acclaimed and issued a catalog number, was never released because the label believed that it did not have commercial appeal. His next album, The Renaissance, was released November 2008.
A Tribe Called Quest reunited in 2006 and played a limited number of dates. The group was composed of its original lineup, including Tip and occasional member Jarobi White. Early the next year, Tip signed a new solo deal with Motown/Universal Records.
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 and regaining control of his previously label-owned MySpace page. He has filled the page up with demos and rarities, (some of them from Kamaal the Abstract), and has announced he is negotiating for the ownership of the masters of earlier material from his previous labels and plans to release them independently. Currently, he resides in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Q-Tip has recently stated that he will be forming a hip hop group with fellow rapper Common, called "The Standard."
Feelin'
Q-Tip Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like everything was cool so I went on my way
I guess I walk with a bop so then this profilin' cop
Said wait a minute there yo don't tell me to stop
So this profilin' cop with his profilin' hands
Figured the best that he could do was find a cat to harass
That little kitten was me, not that one in a tree
A black one with the promises that wished to be free
I mean damn policeman can't you leave me alone
I'm a prince plus a poorper with this business i'm on
See this rackin' I'm in, needs somebody like me
All of us is concentratin' on the things that we see
How much we make, so you see it ain't great
We're not makin' this slate, cos it's juts in our fate
I refuse to get blue so just hand me that thing
Yo what's happenin' today?
Yo we Gotta bring back that feelin'
What happened to that feelin?
The lyrics in Q-Tip's song "Feelin'" explore themes of racial profiling and the struggle for freedom, individuality, and success in a society that seeks to box people in and hold them down. The song opens with Q-Tip expressing his positive outlook on life, which is quickly interrupted by a police officer who stops him for "profilin'". Q-Tip describes the officer's actions as a form of harassment and bullying, and he reveals that he is a musician trying to make it in the music industry. The lines "See this rackin' I'm in, needs somebody like me / All of us is concentratin' on the things that we see" suggest that Q-Tip is determined to succeed despite the odds stacked against him.
The chorus of the song, which repeats the lines "Yo we gotta bring back that feelin' / What happened to that feelin'", reflects Q-Tip's desire to recapture the sense of hope and possibility that he felt when he woke up that morning. By questioning what happened to that feeling, he is asking his listeners to consider what has gone wrong in society, why people are being oppressed and held back, and what needs to be done to rebuild a sense of community and shared purpose. The song is a commentary on the social and political issues of the time, and it speaks to the struggles that many people, particularly black Americans, face in their daily lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Had this good feelin' when I woke up today
I started my day with a positive feeling.
Like everything was cool so I went on my way
I felt relaxed and at ease, so I continued with my day.
I guess I walk with a bop so then this profilin' cop
I think I walked confidently, which caught the attention of a police officer.
Said wait a minute there yo don't tell me to stop
The officer stopped me and demanded I wait.
So this profilin' cop with his profilin' hands
The officer, who was racially profiling me, started searching me with his hands.
Figured the best that he could do was find a cat to harass
The officer didn't find anything on me, so he decided to look for someone else to bother.
That little kitten was me, not that one in a tree
I was the one he targeted, not the cat in the tree.
A black one with the promises that wished to be free
I was a young black man who dreamed of freedom and equality.
I mean damn policeman can't you leave me alone
I pleaded with the officer to let me go.
I'm a prince plus a poorper with this business i'm on
I see myself as both a king and an everyday person, doing what I need to do to survive.
See this rackin' I'm in, needs somebody like me
The music industry needs someone like me to succeed.
All of us is concentratin' on the things that we see
Everyone is focused on their own goals and interests.
How much we make, so you see it ain't great
Even though we make money, it's not as much as people think.
We're not makin' this slate, cos it's juts in our fate
Our success or failure is predetermined and out of our control.
I refuse to get blue so just hand me that thing
I won't let myself get down, so give me something to lift me up.
Yo what's happenin' today?
What's going on today?
Yo we Gotta bring back that feelin'
We need to bring back that positive feeling we started the day with.
What happened to that feelin?
What caused us to lose that positive feeling?
Contributed by Elliot J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.