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Rapper Q-Tip To Rock The Bells In Miami

Photo from Universal/Motown

At Rock the Bells in Miami, rapper Q-Tip will perform songs from his upcoming solo album as well as classics from his A Tribe Called Quest days.

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By SARAH HOYE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 15, 2008

TAMPA —Rapper Q-Tip will perform on the Rock the Bells hip-hop music tour in Miami on Aug. 2.

The daylong traveling festival features more than 20 performances on two stages. The festival series kicks off July 19 in Chicago and then moves on to a 10-city outdoor amphitheater tour.

Q-Tip will perform along with his former group A Tribe Called Quest, the tour's headlining act. Other live performers include Nas, Mos Def, Method Man, The Pharcyde, Santogold, Kids In The Hall and more.

Q-Tip plans to promote his work from upcoming album "The Renaissance" -- his first record since the release of his solo album, "Amplified" ("Vibrant Thing") in 1999 -- during his Rock The Bells appearance.

"It's good, no bias," Q-Tip says, then laughs during a phone interview from New York City on Wednesday. "[The album] is very hip-hop, very Tribe-esque. I did it because it's the timing, it was inspiration, the life where I'm at and what I'm going through. You can hear it."

Fans unable to catch Q-Tip live at Bicentennial Park, where he will have his own solo performance in between sets with Tribe, can listen to the single "Gettin' Up" on his MySpace page.

Talking about his new album, Q-Tip describes hip-hop as a genre in transition.

"I think it went off the track there for a while, but it's coming around to something more substantive and more imaginative, which is great," he says. "It's always been man versus machine, and that is still in play and that's why it's not a lost cause. It's good, I like to see people trying to reach back to move forward."

A Tribe Called Quest, known for its socially conscious themes and jazz fusions, disbanded in 1998. The group produced two of the most well-known hip-hop albums, "People's Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm" (1990) and "Low End Theory" (1991).

The members of Tribe last performed together onstage at VH-1's Hip Hop Honors Award Show in 2007, leaving Q-Tip excited and nervous about their upcoming gig.

"You have people like Nas, or Meth [Method Man] or Santogold, it's just like, phew, you want to keep your end of the bargain. And at the same time, I'm just a fan as well," he says of the day's lineup. "I just want to rock people's bells, have fun and give a good performance, and have people enjoy themselves and enjoy ourselves. I'm stoked."

Tickets are $55 to $175 and available by calling Ticketmaster at (813) 287-8844.

Reporter Sarah Hoye can be reached at (813) 259-7832 or shoye@tampatrib.com.

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