A Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip has joined the creative team for Ali, a new musical theater production based on the life of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali. As revealed by Deadline, he has signed on as music producer, co-lyricist, and cast album producer.
Directed by Clint Dyer with music composed by Teddy Abrams, Ali began its journey as a multimedia project titled The Greatest: Muhammad Ali, which premiered in 2017 with the Louisville Orchestra (of which Abrams is the director). Abrams and other collaborators had the idea to turn the project into a full-on musical designed for Broadway, and since then, momentum has grown, with acclaimed saxophonist Casey Benjamin and music supervisor Sean Mayes coming aboard.
Q-Tip will contribute to the show alongside Dyer (who also wrote the book) and Abrams. “I am very excited to be collaborating with Teddy, Clint, Casey and Sean in telling The Greatest’s story on stage,” the rapper said in a statement. “Muhammad Ali has always been a hero to me!”
Ali underwent “extensive private workshops” this past summer in Louisville, with more planned for this winter and next spring. The musical is expected to premiere in Louisville in the fall of 2024, with the possibility of opening on Broadway sometime in 2025.
Speaking to Deadline, lead producer Richard Willis explained that the creative team hopes to “take the traditional musical theater structure” and “tip it on its ear a little bit.” Continuing, he said, “Q-Tip produces songs and albums for a massive audience, so he knows how to do that thing that’s slightly different than what normal musical theater is. So, we tip it, and make it original and fresh and new and hummable.”
Dyer, for his part, expressed his excitement to be working with Q-Tip. “I could not be happier with this appointment,” he told Deadline. “Q-Tip has proven himself as one of the greatest hip-hop artists of his generation and beyond. Having his talents onboard will give this musical every possibility to honor Ali’s greatness… You’ve got to remember that Q-Tip’s into all kinds of music, not just jazz and hip-hop.”
He added that the team is already hard at work: “We’ve all been in the room together, we’re working, we’re not wasting any time.”
Read the full Deadline report here.
Meanwhile, A Tribe Called Quest were passed over by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this past spring after being nominated for the second time. This past August, Consequence ranked the group’s track “Scenario” as the fourth-best hip-hop song of all time.
