Sir Elton John interviewed Q-Tip for his Beats 1 radio show, Rocket Hour, where he raved about A Tribe Called Quest’s influence and impact. In clips of the episode, the “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” singer called Q-Tip “a legend,” and thanked him for his service with the Tribe, who he called the “seminal hip-hop band of all-time.”
“If you don’t know A Tribe Called Quest, you’re stupid,” he said. “But if you listen to [‘Electric Relaxation’], you’ll understand why I rave about them.” Sir Elton John was part of ATCQ’s final album, We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service, for the song “Solid Wall Of Sound.” The latter interpolates the British musician’s song “Bennie And The Jets.”
“I was so happy to play that,” Sir Elton beamed of the 2016 song. “That’s where we first met you came to London, and we did a track in the studio, and it was such a huge honor for me. I was so excited. I just absolutely love this. This is such a takedown of what’s going on … That is such a great track. The album is a fantastic record. If you’re gonna bow out with a record, you better do something like that.”
Q-Tip was audibly thrilled to hear the compliments from the music legend, stating that John’s thoughts on “Electric Relaxation” being one of his favorite tracks from the year 1993 was a “pinch-me” moment.
“I’m just like still kind of like, ‘Am I dreaming?’ I feel like I’m in a different universe,” he said.
Elton John has been vocal about his appreciation for hip-hop and R&B in the past. Recently, he did a cover of Khalid’s song “Young, Dumb and Broke,” and he has an affinity for the music and style of Young Thug.
Listen to the clips from the show below.