In the April issue of Interview magazine, three-time Academy Award-nominated actor Leonardo DiCaprio interviewed the front-man to one of his “favorite groups of all-time,” Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest.
The interview features Q-Tip‘s speaking about the future of the record industry, as well as revealing that Jive Records signed the quartet in the late ’80s for $350,000. In the piece, Q-Tip compares the present state of Hip Hop to the evolution of Disco in the ’70s. “Hip Hop is definitely not as good as it once was,” he continues, “There was a time when Disco was the shit and Steve Rubell had Studio 54. But the minute you heard ‘Disco Duck’ by Rick Dees, that was the telltale sign that Disco was over. I think that if Hip Hop continues on the path that it seems like it’s going down, then it looks like it’s not going to hold up.”
Later this year, Q-Tip is expected to release his long-awaited sophomore album The Renaissance on Universal/Motown Records. The magazine issue, featuring Madonna on the cover, is on newsstands now.
