Q Tip ft. Obama?

According to the New York Post’s Page Six, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama will appear prominently on Q-Tip’s upcoming solo album, The Renaissance.

The rapper, formerly of the group “A Tribe Called Quest,” will debut a solo album this June that’s heavy on guest stars, including presidential hopeful Barack Obama, who speaks throughout one song. “I’ve got Norah Jones on there, but Barack is the big one. You’ll see what happens, I can’t reveal too much,” Q-Tip told Page Six Thursday at the Details magazine party at Le Royale for his album, “The Renaissance,” and a photo shoot he did for the March issue.

Filmmaker Spike Lee also reportedly makes an appearance.

Portlant starts "Hip Hop" High

The Portland Oregon school board has officially approved a new charter high school that will highlight Hip-Hop music and culture. The school board unanimously approved the high school in a 6 to 0 vote paving the way for The High School of Recording Arts Portland to open in 2011. The next 18 months will be spent developing the schools curriculum according to local news reports. The school’s goal is to prepare students for society through education and incorporating hip hop culture. A number of popular local rappers also participated in the development of the curriculum including versatile of the local group Lifesavas as well as hometown favorite rapper Cool Nutz.