Q-Tip Is Kennedy Center’s Director Of Hip Hop Culture Because of Kendrick Lamar

Hip Hop icon Q-Tip owes genre favorite Kendrick Lamar big time. As it turns out, the To Pimp A Butterfly rapper’s blaze of recent success is what got Tip his newly announced gig as the curator of hip hop culture for Washington’s prestigious Kennedy Center. Back in October, Lamar performed with The Kenedy’s National Symphony Orchestra, and ignited an interest in hip hop that, the DC elite presumably hasn’t seen before. Why? Because Kendrick’s injection of hip hop culture caused a new kind of serge popularity, media coverage, and money that hadn’t been seen before. So, even though Kendrick wasn’t the first rapper to perform with the Orcastra, the surge his performance caused has more than incentivized the powers that be to enlist Q-tip to ensure that he won’t be their last.

According to a press release, the 45-year-old Tribe Called Quest member will be responsible for curating performances for Kennedy this summer.

“Q-Tip will establish a dynamic, new program that will stretch across all disciplines, bringing the historic roots, contemporary expressions, and transformative power of Hip Hop to the [Kennedy] Center and local and national audiences.”