THE BLOG

3/17/2008 1:22:00 PM

Style (and Rhymes) that Stand

The vibe nods and then parks somewhere between Uptown, sexy chic and soulful, ghetto funk. The walls and every inch of space in between at New York City’s downtown club, le Royale, seem permanently lined with model types or model-look-a-likes trying to “find a way” to see and be seen in the place to be.

The reason for the commotion? That dude. The old school, funk-jazz, upbeat, happy-to-be lyrical-slinging wiz who often rocks oversized plastic frames absent of lens, Q-Tip. Celebrating his first album in eight years, The Renaissance, the multi-level space leased out by Conde Nast’s Details Magazine has bars lined with Hennessey and barely empty glasses.

The music spun by DJ Cassidy is blaring. Q-Tip stands to the back of the DJ booth, coyly but confidently nodding his head to the beat of his first single, “TK.” Tip’s style, both musically and fashion-wise straddle the lines of a Lower East Side Prep meets Queens hood-boy – a style that predates Def Jam’s Mr. West. Tip’s in your face, razor-sharp asymmetrical-cut wearing style began captivating audiences in1991 when the term hip hop was still searching to be defined and few understood that hip-hop culture would be the blueprint for pop, prep, and urban style alike.

What do you say to a rapper-cum producer who rocks a Mohawk one day, a bright purple afghan around his neck the next, and a fitted cap to the back paired with an unbuttoned freshly starched button-down still the next?

I walk up to him, behind the booth, introduce myself and say, “I like you’re style. Like the song on this album… it’s official.”

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Style expert, Tai Beauchamp, is one of the fashion and beauty industry's most sought after style expert. She's worked in the fashion and beauty departments of Haper's Bazaar, O, the Oprah Magazine and Seventeen Magazine. She also served as the Deputy Editor of VIBE Vixen Magazine. Tai is the writer of iVillage.com's blog Compacts & Vignettes. She frequently contributes to Inside Edition and has appeared on BET, CNN, The Today Show, and Good Day New York.