Q-Tip has signed on as a music producer and co-lyricist to the creative team for the upcoming musical “Ali,” based on the life of famed heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali.
“Ali” will premiere at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in Ali’s hometown of Louisville in the fall of 2024, with plans to bring the production to Broadway sometime in 2025. The rapper-producer joins a collective that includes executive producer Richard Willis, composer Teddy Abrams, director and writer Clint Dyer, associate music producer Casey Benjamin and music supervisor Sean Mayes.
“Muhammad Ali has been a lifelong inspiration to me,” said Q-Tip. “I look forward to working with Teddy, Clint, Casey, Sean and the entire creative team to tell the story of the great man in this way.
In 2017, Abrams, who is music director of the Louisville Orchestra, first wrote what’s described as a “multimedia opera-rap-oratorio mashup” called “The Greatest: Muhammad Ali,” which premiered at the Kentucky Center. This led Abrams and the creative team to explore the idea of a Broadway musical based on the boxer’s life.
Q-Tip, who got his start in music as a founding member of A Tribe Called Quest, has been very selective about his projects over the years. He last released an album as part of Tribe in 2016 with ‘We Got It from Here… Thank You 4 Your Service’ and has promised three solo albums in 2020, including ‘The Last Zulu’, which he has been teasing since 2013.
“We are beyond excited and grateful to have living legend Q-Tip join this extraordinary creative team on ‘Ali,'” Willis said. “Q-Tip’s artistry, knowledge and experience are unparalleled. As if that weren’t enough, having the incredible Casey Benjamin and the brilliant Sean Mayes join the team makes it all feel a little surreal, yet fitting for The Greatest.
“I’m thrilled to be working with Q-Tip, who is one of my musical heroes and the perfect person to help us tell Muhammad Ali’s story, as well as the uber-talented Casey and Sean,” said Dyer. “Q-Tip is definitely one of hip-hop’s greatest artists and a great collaborator/producer. Co-writing the lyrics for ‘Ali’ with him will be an honour”.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have Q-Tip, Casey and Sean join the music team,” Adams added. “They are all world-class talents with tremendous musical vision and knowledge; they are already bringing extraordinary energy and inspiration to the musical.
