Having to wait nine long years for the followup to Q-Tip's debut, Amplified, is enough to make even the most ardent fan's enthusiasm fade. At one point, the rapper’s rumoured love interests (Nicole Kidman? Mariah Carey?) and jaw-busting right hooks, which caused him some legal grief, threatened to overshadow his musical legacy. All that is in the past, though, and Q-Tip is back on track, doing what he was truly born to do.
Any questions as to whether he still has the skills are dispelled in short order, as The Renaissance is a supremely confident and spectacular album. His flow is every bit as good as it was on A Tribe Called Quest's seminal albums from the early ’90s, but the true highlight is Q-Tip's criminally overlooked proficiency as a producer. The beats are hard and funky, and live musicians augment the soulful samples to wondrous effect. The Renaissance is easily the frontrunner for hip hop album of the year.
Post the first comment: (Login or Register)