The Renaissance

Performer: Q-Tip
Artist: Raphael Saadiq; Amanda Diva; Norah Jones
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: 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.

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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