Q-Tip doesn’t think that there should be a new subgenre of Hip-Hop. He expressed his thoughts on X following legendary producer 9th Wonder’s recent call for a new one to be made.
9th Wonder shared his take with the world after listening to Common and Pete Rock’s collaborative album, The Auditorium Vol. 1, which dropped last month on July 12, 2024.
“This Common and Pete Rock album begs the conversation I’ve been having with folks for at least 20 years now,” he wrote. “Adult Contemporary Hip-Hop needs its own category. Word to DO IT ALL from Lords of The Underground….we’ve been said this homie!!!”
His post sparked both agreement and debate from his followers. One user in particular wrote him in response, saying, “Let’s leave it at that instead of trying to magnify differences.”
9th Wonder also responded by bringing up the creation of neo-soul music. “Tell that to the moment in music history when they created the term “Neo-Soul”., he wrote. “It not only separated it from other R&B styles, but it damn came with a starter kit.”
Q-Tip hopped into the discussion with his own X posts detailing his stance that another subgenre is not needed.
“Adding “ADULT CONTEMPORARY” category 2 hip hop programming is divisive,” he wrote. “It would be nice to have everything in one pot BUT..if there is a need to do so...call it TRADITIONAL hip hop as 'ADULT' will make AGEIST prejudge.”
He went on to quote responses from his followers in which he cosigned their beliefs to keep hip-hop as it is currently. Later on, he replied to a fan with more of an explanation for his reasoning.
“To me it’s just hip hop,” he wrote. “I never considered a recent Nas release that, nor do I consider the new common ‘adult contemporary.’”
When hip-hop and its subgenres aren’t on his mind, Q-Tip is thinking about a woman that he went to a Prince concert with in high school named Pamela Sweat.
Last year, the legendary rapper posted on X (then Twitter) and asked his followers to help him locate the woman.
“There was a girl I went to HS with.. PAMELA SWEAT we went to the PRINCE concert in 9th grade. @ MSG Pam if you’re out there I’d love to know u r well i think of u often,” he wrote.
Soon after, his investigative fans found an old photo of the woman and then shared a picture from her Instagram account.