One of the most influential figures in hip-hop will now take a lead role in one of the nation's most prestigious cultural institutions.

Q-Tip, along with Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White, formed A Tribe Called Quest in the early '90s. The hip-hop collective introduced smooth beats and sharp social commentary inspired by the group's friendship and the issues of the time.

Last year, the group released what would turn out to be its final album, We Got It from Here ... Thank You 4 Your Service, after the death of Phife Dawg.

But now Q-Tip, the group's unofficial frontman, has a new role as the first artistic director for hip-hop culture at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Q-Tip tells NPR's Michel Martin that the new position will help "institutionalize hip-hop."

Listen to the NPR Interview here