"Call it TRADITIONAL hip hop" — Q-Tip disagrees with 9th Wonder's notion that adult contemporary rap needs its own category

In response to 9th Wonder’s X post on July 12 stating the need for adult contemporary hip-hop to have its own category, Q-Tip said there is no need for such categorization. There has already been much discussion about such labeling in terms of sub-genres. Q-Tip opined such a classification would be ‘divisive’.

He also added that even if there is a need to add a sub-genre, he would prefer it to be called ‘traditional’ rather than ‘adult’.

“Adding ‘Adult Contemporary’ category 2 hip hop programming is divisive. It would be nice to have everything in one pot BUT…if there is a need to do so..call it TRADITIONAL hip hop as ‘ADULT’ will make it AGEIST prejudge,” Q-Tip posted in a now unavailable tweet on X.

In the original post, 9th Wonder pointed out that the albums released by American rappers Common and Pete Rock warranted creating a separate category for Adult Contemporary Hip-Hop. The rappers released an album, The Auditorium Vol. 1, in July this year.

The hip-hop producer’s post seemed to have attracted mixed opinions from all music fans.

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9th Wonder’s post adds significance to a burgeoning debate

The All Love singer later compared the creation of a new genre to the creation of the term 'Neo-Soul' from the 1990s. This musical genre is a fusion of contemporary R&B and soul, in addition to having components of jazz, gospel, and hip-hop.

Neo-Soul was not only separated from other R&B styles but it also created the inception of a new musical movement.

While most fans have agreed to the creation of sub-genres like they are in place for rock music, others felt that such a distinction would alienate the upcoming generation of artists. Some X users believed creating the sub-genre would motivate the original artists to produce more content.

In response to 9th Wonder's post, one netizen pointed out that it should be called ‘Grown Up Rap’.

“You hit this on the nail. I also think this will motivate the ogs to put out more content,” wrote an X user.

Twan Mack, an adult contemporary hip-hop artist, also added his thoughts on the ongoing discourse. As per a post shared by the artist on July 29, he is happy to see adult contemporary hip-hop being mentioned in bigger spaces.

He added that the genre is all about forwarding the culture. While responding to the question of advantages that this genre gives to rapping, he said,

“#AdultContemporaryHipHop is necessary to differentiate people like me from those that are still dealing with their lower selves. It’s about the people who pay the mortgages and send the babies to good schools. It’s not about age. It’s about making music to forward the culture.”

Q-Tip did not favor creating a sub-genre, which 9th Wonder suggested because it is just hip-hop to him. While Mack’s opinion is unclear whether he wanted a different sub-genre, he had thoroughly been a strong advocate of adult contemporary hip-hop. Others opined it would create a demarcated space for older artists to produce new music.