q-tip-zulu
Okayplayer-for-life Q-Tip called in to Cipha Sounds & Peter Rosenberg's Juan Epstein radio show on Hot97 this morning to speak about his signing to Kanye West's G.O.O.D. music label, which was officially announced yesterday. Tip ran down his behind-the-scenes involvement with Kanye projects like Watch The Throne and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, collaborations which naturally lead, he said, to the new partnership. He also confirmed that he will have tracks on the G.O.O.D. music comp in the works and revealed that the name of his forthcoming LP (slated for 2013) will be The Last Zulu.
Interestingly, he says the name was inspired by a DNA test his manager arranged that traced his roots to South Africa--results that seem (?) to contradict the on-camera DNA test he did with Okayafrica and AfricanAncestry.com, which place his genetic origins with the Djola people of Guinea-Bissau. Of course (to get technical for a sec) that was Tip's maternal DNA and it's always possible that he's referring to another test tracing his paternal DNA. (Although, because the trans-Atlantic slave trade focused on West & Central Africa, Zulu DNA in the new world is a rare thing indeed--best believe we take such things seriously round here, stay tuned while we get to the bottom of this super-scientifical mystery!) All of that does nothing, of course, to change Tip's so-so-real legacy as the most visible face of New York's very own Zulu Nation, founded by the legendary Afrika Bambaataa. And if The Last Zulu is going to carry that spirit into the realms of pop radio Kanye is currently owning, it can't drop soon enough. Get your Zulu beads here and listen to audio of the full interview below.
spotted at NR
