Back in 2012, Q-Tip began to drop off the first in a trail of breadcrumbs that have led us here.
Announcing that his next solo album would be entitled The Last Zulu, Q-Tip revealed that the project would have a significant Kanye West footprint as it would be released under the G.O.O.D. Music imprint, but that his style would not wane because of it. “It’s gonna be me, straight up and down,” he told VIBE. “That’s the thing about ‘Ye. He respects me, I respect him. We all know what it is.” “I’m coming with boom-bap, unrelenting, lyrical, thoughtful, edgy […] I’m really excited about it.”
Now, six years later as the world is lending its hear to the host of G.O.O.D Music deliveries from the past few weeks, Q-Tip has once more revived The Last Zulu, taking to Twitter to announce that the long-awaited project will be arriving soon, even adding on an extension to the name and calling it The Riot Diary.
The Last Zulu will arrive as Q-Tip’s fourth studio outing, preceded by 2009’s Kamaal/The Abstract, 2008’s Grammy-nominated The Renaissance, and 1999’s Gold-certified Amplified debut which hosts the singles “Vivrant Thing” and “Breathe And Stop.”
As all his efforts tested various waters for Q-Tip, there’s no telling just where the direction of The Last Zulu will land. It’s very likely that Tip’s previous description of the sound has changed in a little over half a decade, but naturally, only time will tell.