Q-Tip “The Renaissance” Review

It is often difficult to gain a balanced perspective on an album after reading a single summary of the music. Bias can tilt the review, as can personal taste, history and just about everything else that is unique to the person writing it. So in an effort to offer an expanded perspective on the music here are four reactions, four impressions, Four Takes on Q-Tip’s The Renaissance.

20 years in the game, and Tip definitely hasn’t lost a step. He’s still got that confident, deliberate flow, still delivering complex ideas with deceptively simple rhymes, and still has that voice, one of the most unique vocal instruments in all of hip hop. The Renaissance isn’t the work of an aging veteran struggling to remain relevant; it’s a solid entry intro the catalog of a legend. For as many underground rappers who cite Tip as an influence, the self-proclaimed “Luke Cage of the loose-leaf page” has never been a punch-you-in-the-face kind of MC, trying to bludgeon you with complex rhyme schemes and beat-dropping punchlines. Instead, he displays a refreshing lack of pretentiousness; throughout The Renaissance, Q-Tip raps like someone with nothing to prove. While this approach could hypothetically betray a certain lack of ambition or creative fire, Tip turns it into a strength. “Swagger” is what the young people would call it. The beats, mostly from Q-Tip himself but also including two songs from the late J Dilla and one from Mark Ronson, definitely plays a role in that. The album is exceptionally well-produced, providing a smooth, engaging sound palette that meshes perfectly with Q-Tip’s cartoon-character voice. The Renaissance continues the tradition of the classic neo-soul hip hop albums produced by the Soulquarians (of which Q-Tip was a member), a sound that has recently devolved into self-parody, but one for which Q-Tip has, in a sense, facilitated a rebirth. [Kyle "Guante" Myhre]

Normally, I am quite wary when an artist title’s their new record something like The Comeback, The Return Of… or, in Q-Tip’s case, The Renaissance. It usually means two things: one, their last album (or two) sucked big time, and two, this is their idea of a return to whatever sound propelled the artist to prominence in the first place, and usually fails miserably. Luckily, for all of us that like good hip-hop, Q-Tip’s album does not suffer from the latter, even though he is quite guilty of the former. He sets the album off quickly with opening track “Johnny Is Dead,” which signals not only a return to his renowned form, but is a direct reference to the symbolic death of his old self and his old name of Jonathan, before he converted to Islam in the mid 1990′s and became Kamaal. Q-Tip has always had the smooth voice and lyrical flow that set him apart from other MCs in the past, and as long as he’s not being backed by the sub par dance beats that have often plagued his solo efforts, his records are bound to shine simply by his rhymes alone. And, other than the tracks backed by guest stars D’Angelo, Norah Jones, and Raphael Saddiq, this is purely Q-Tip’s show, with his vocals front and center in the mix, and the relaxed, jazzy beats never threatening to overwhelm the true star of the show. Q-Tip is lively on the mic, clearly happy to have resolved the label issues that have kept his last two records technically “unreleased,” and it shows in his lyrics, which are quick, fluid, and suave. And there’s no real filler or needless skits on the record, all the tracks are sound and indispensable. Kamaal’s not back to make any grand statements or reclaim whatever throne he once found himself on, he’s just back because he is born MC who has always had something original to say. And, with The Renaissance, Q-Tip is back in a major way that is sure to keep heads bobbing through 2009. Once again, hip-hop is going to have to scramble to catch up with an MC who has continually proven himself to be ahead of the game. [Erik Thompson]

I like Q-Tip. Even at what many considered his worst (his “Vivrant Thing“-era), I liked him. So it’s without shock that I think The Renaissance is fantastic. Prior to the album’s release, with the videos for “Gettin’ Up” and “Move,” it was easy to hear that Tip was falling back on what made him relevant in the first place; not necessarily on level with A Tribe Called Quest, but solid all the same. “Move,” in particular, pumps a beat ready to be bit on by a hundred mixtape MCs. Last month Q-Tip joined a legendary cast of artists in celebrating De La Soul for VH1′s Hip Hop Honors. During his multiple performances, Tip put out a fantastic energy, one that made me feel like he was “back,” and that energy effortlessly transfers to the album. “Dance on Glass” has a beat that revisits “Find a Way,” and “Won’t Trade” blends Tip’s casual style with a blistering lyrical pace. Even while I didn’t think Amplified was too bad, songs like these make me scratch my head, thinking “where has this Q-Tip been for the past decade?” I guess that somewhere along the way, the MC apparently reconsidered why people loved him 20 years ago. The Renaissance isn’t a rebirth, or a reinvention of self, but rather just a statement saying that Tip remembered what separated him from other MCs in the first place. [Chris DeLine]

In an industry that hasn’t always been too kind to its elders, it’s hard not to approach a work by one of Hip Hop’s “past masters” without a little trepidation. After less than terrific releases from some of rap’s old guard this year (Nas, Pete Rock, Kool Keith) I was almost ready to write off Q Tip’s The Renaissance, without even hearing it. It’s a good thing I didn’t though since, while his new album may not approach the quality of Tribe Called Quest’s early work, it is far from a write off. “Won’t Trade” for instance just may make my list of favorite hip hop songs this year. The funky moody beat features Tip at his finest, rapping in that unique laid back flow of his that brings back good memories of the early Nineties “Golden Age.” “Official” sounds like vintage Tribe, a welcome jazz-based sound that seems to show the Abstract returning to his roots. Even the Norah Jones collaboration that I was a little afraid to listen to really isn’t terrible. Jones was originally a bona fide jazz singer and she takes her pop hat off and puts her jazz hat back on with some success. While this may not be one of those cases when a legend releases their best work in their golden years, it’s certainly another very good milestone in a solid career. [Jon Behm]

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Also: Q-Tip “The [Abstract] Best” Mixtape