The Renaissance

Performer: Q-Tip
Artist: Raphael Saadiq; Amanda Diva; Norah Jones
Engineer: Kamaal Fareed; Q-Tip; Blair Wells
Producer: Q-Tip
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Q-Tip (keyboards, programming); Chris Shola, Kurt Rosenwinkel (guitar); Kamaal Fareed (keyboards, drums, programming); Marc Colenburg (keyboards, drums); James A. Hunt, Robert Glasper Trio, Marc Cary (keyboards); Amanda Diva, Norah Jones, Raphael Saadiq (background vocals). Audio Mixers: Kamaal Fareed; Blair Wells. Recording information: Legacy Recording Studios; The Abstract Ranch. Photographer: Danny Clinch. Q-Tip's 1999 solo debut, AMPLIFIED, was perhaps too party-oriented, too pop-influenced, too strayed from straightforward hip-hop, to have pleased die-hard A Tribe Called Quest fans. After nine years of the genre's evolution, which saw a handful of experimenters (i.e., Andre 3000, Kanye West, Pharrel Williams) running with Tip's instincts to great mainstream success, the positivistic, soft soul-based hip-hop sound purveyed by the nasal-voiced Tribe frontman now seems a whole lot closer to rap conventions. Tip's second official solo release, THE RENAISSANCE, has been a long time coming and is a welcome breath of fresh air. The man once known as the Abstract Poetic lets his complex lyrical intuitions run wild as he spits some of his most intricate free-associated verses since his Tribe days. Entirely self-produced (save for one gem, "Move," from the late J Dilla), THE RENAISSANCE relies on spacey jazz grooves, looping guitar lines, uplifting soul samples, and melodically suave vocal work courtesy of guests Norah Jones, D'Angelo, Amanda Diva, Raphael Saadiq, and, of course, Tip himself. THE RENAISSANCE is both nostalgic and forward-looking--one of the most rewarding and well-rounded albums of 2008. When the best rapper/producer in hip-hop history spends almost a decade without a record on the shelves (despite his best efforts), it has to be considered a crime -- if not a tragedy. Difficult to tell, though, is why Q-Tip was bounced to five different labels within six years. He never pronounced himself angry about the situation, saying only that he continued to work, reportedly recording three full albums that were never released. (At least one of those, 2003's Kamaal the Abstract, was a reality, since it was only denied a release after promos were sent out.) His long-awaited return on The Renaissance is no disappointment, offering more of the same understated, aqueous grooves and fluid rapping that the Abstract Poetic has built his peerless career on. Although it has a few more message songs than his dance-heavy debut from 1999 (Amplified), many of these tracks are club grooves painted with the same production touches as ten years earlier; his work is still excellent 20 years after his career began, but he seems less interested in spinning four minutes of fluent rap for each track. (Granted, he's carrying this show alone, with no Phife Dawg to take every other verse.) Some of the songs are built with a live group (including guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel), although they usually sound programmed. One thing is for sure: Q-Tip is still a master of pacing and atmosphere, structuring the first half of the record so smoothly that listeners may not notice a transition until the sixth track, "We Fight/We Love," which contrasts the perspective of a man in the middle of war with a woman left alone. The closer, "Shaka," got the most attention leading up to release, since an early version sampled Barack Obama (perhaps coincidentally, The Renaissance was originally scheduled to be released on Election Day). Sounding like a latter-day Midnight Marauders and The Love Movement, and very similar to the unreleased Kamaal the Abstract, The Renaissance is a worthy comeback for the man who's arguably done more to make hip-hop enjoyable than any other figure. ~ John Bush

Spin (p.112) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he Tribe Called Quest leader lays his eloquent flow over liquid arrangements shimmering with rhythmic finesse." Mojo (Publisher) (p.100) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "The liberal issues remain present and correct....It's the spare, funky twang of tunes like 'Man Woman Boogie' and 'Official' that convince you this relic of the Daisy Age is anything but a spent force." Blender (Magazine) (p.82) - 3.5 stars out 5 -- "THE RENAISSANCE hints at newness, but its cushy boom-bap grooves, airy soulfulness and rhymes about struggle and redemption recall rap's Edenic 'golden age'..."

Born Jonathan Davis, the distinctively nasal-voiced MC/producer founded A Tribe Called Quest in 1988 with fellow high-schoolers Phife and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. Releasing five acclaimed albums over ten years, Tribe led a jazz-based hip-hop revolution espousing positive lyrics and intelligent wordplay. Throughout the `90s, Q-Tip also worked as producer and mentor for a handful of upcoming artists (Mobb Deep, Nas, Jay Dee/J Dilla). A year after Tribe's 1998 break-up, he presented his solo debut, AMPLIFIED, a more pop-oriented, genre-bending effort, to a mixed reception. Mired in label entrapments, Tip saw three subsequent projects shelved before returning in 2008 with his triumphant second official LP, THE RENAISSANCE.

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