Q-Tip, a man once called the best hip-hop producer of all-time, has been named head of Kennedy Center’s Hip-Hop Culture Council. Best known for his time as producer and emcee in the pioneering group A Tribe Called Quest, Q will lead other luminaries and iconoclasts from hip-hop’s thirty-five (plus!) years of history in initiatives designed to deepen the general public’s knowledge of hip-hop music, culture, and art. They will also be tasked with working hand in hand with existing Kennedy Center programs to re-enforce an already established Hip-Hop Culture Program at the Center to bring a fuller, more representative view of the art and culture in America.
Or, as Q-Tip says in the announcement video:
“The Kennedy Center’s Hip-Hop Culture Council reflects the creative, social, and intellectual wealth of the hip-hop community… The members are the embodiment of what we stand for and all that we aspire to achieve with the hip-hop
culture program.”
Founding members of the council include household names like Questlove, Common, LL Cool J, and MC Lyte. Other well-known and respected ambassadors, entrepreneurs, writers and community leaders like Grant Hill, Large Professor, and Black Thought help round out the council. The first announced projects will include a screening and celebration of what is considered hip-hop’s first movie, Wild Style, on 03/16/18 — it’s 35th anniversary — complete with a panel discussion of the film with council members afterwards.
