The Very Good Agency

Q-Tip – The Renaissance

Can he kick it again?

Yes he can… after 9 long years, Q-Tip a.k.a. the brother Abstract, has hit back with another solo album entitled ‘The Renaissance’. Q-Tip continues to reinvent himself as well as the benchmark for lyricists throughout the world and has taken his place on the world stage as one of the fathers of modern Hip Hop. Giving so much to the Hip Hop scene through various solo projects, groups including A Tribe Called Quest and more recently The Standard with friend and collaborator Common, & a string of hit features from the late eighties, the mere mention of Q-Tip’s name is enough to interest this fan in this new release, but if that’s not enough, he’s brought along some awesome collaborations on the album including D’Angelo, Norah Jones, & Raphael Saddiq to name a few. Speaking to www.okayplayer.com this week Q-Tip explained the 9 year pause between solo albums… “I think I can speak for myself, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu and D’Angelo when I say that we make music when the spirit is with us. We are a lot who are very observant as well as introspective. We paint intense, colorful pictures, so it takes time.” If it was anyone else comparing  themselves to these amazing, iconic, soulful artists I would just laugh at their arrogance, but it’s not anyone else, it’s Q-Tip, and no-one belongs on your lips in this context more then he does.

Q-Tip Gettin Up

Having re-united A Tribe Called Quest this year for the incredible ‘Rock The Bells’ tour, Q-Tip has dispelled the rumours that they are set to reform permanently on this album with his track ‘A Tribe Called Quest is no more’. Heart breaking although it may be, at least we can continue to bump fresh music as he continues to create his own style of jazz infused, introspective, old school hip hop. This pioneer has paved the way for hip hop to be enjoyed by all walks of life, meshing with so many artists of as many genres in his partnerships over the years, and ‘The Renaissance’ seems to offer the same diversity and creativity as always, opening up the doors even further for hip hop as it fast becomes a dominant force in the music industry.

Q-Tip – Let’s Ride (from his debut solo album Amplifier)

You can check out more of Q-Tip at:

www.q-tip.com

www.myspace.com/qtip

…bs

Tags: hip hop, Jazz, Old School

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