Hip-hop culture has emerged as perhaps the most prolific, disruptive and important movement of the last 50 years. Now, the Kennedy Center has recognized this by naming A Tribe Called Quest co-founder Q-Tip as the first-ever artistic director for hip-hop culture.

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"I think it's a great opportunity for this country in a lot of different ways," Q-Tip told NPR. "It would be great to see the Mormon family from Utah running into a family from Harlem, African-American family, and they both are looking at something or sharing something about hip-hop whether it be like a Tupac display or a Grandmaster Flash DJ mix, and they see that they have something in common. The church of the arts, it's a great idea."

Q-Tip performed recently for a special one-night only show with Jason Moran to usher in the hip-hop era at the Kennedy Center. With Tip now in the creative driver's seat, there's no limit to how the arts organization can honor hip-hop music and culture.

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