Q Tip - The Renaissance

 
Not releasing a record for almost a decade when you’re one of the most revered MCs in the business could be considered a risky strategy - if not out and out mean when you consider the millions of fans anxiously awaiting new material.

Luckily, Q Tip has excuses: good ones. Chief among them the fact he’s been trying to put music out since 1999’s club classic Amplified, but for various, not-always-very-clear reasons, hasn’t been able to. His 2002 album (as Kamaal the Abstract) never saw the light of day, and a later record, Open, reached the promo stage but was eventually pulled back by his label.

In the absence of a new Tip beat banquet to feast on, we’ve had to be satisfied with gobbling up crumbs: guest verses for the Chemical Brothers, Busta Rhymes, Hi Tek, Lupe Fiaco; cuts and scratches for DJ Shadow (“Enuff”); a smattering of remixes and productions…even a dash of acting (Prison Song; Poetic Justice). And then of course there’s been the occasional A Tribe Called Quest reunion tour (2004/2006).

But one spin of The Renaissance and all is forgiven. Musically, the record has more in common with 1993’s ATCQ classic Midnight Marauders or The Love Movement - the last record the group made before breaking up in 1998 - than the lustrous pop sheen of Amplified, although it’s leaner, tighter and broader than those albums, as you’d expect from a solo record.

Its twelve neatly sutured tracks (plus a J Dilla produced bonus on the UK edition) add up to a meagre 40-odd minutes. But it’s testament to Tip’s veteran talents that he can cram so much into a record without making it feel in any way rushed or compressed. The Renaissance is so luxuriously crafted and unhurried it feels almost twice as long as its recorded time.

On swirling opener “Johnny Is Dead,” the rapper ain’t far wrong when he rhymes: “and it's up to me to bring back the hopeful / feeling in the music that you can quote,” over a tune that boasts a babbling bassline, rhythmic rave stabs and a feelgood chorus. “Won’t Trade” is even more spirited, making good use of Ruby Andrew’s soul-funk classic "You Made a Believer Out of Me," - Tip rides its striding bass and piano with an action-packed barrage of sharp, infectious rhymes.

The old-school warmth continues on "Gettin' Up" which transforms Black Ivory’s ballad “You and I” into a heartfelt, positive tune – its crunchy beats are scratched neatly into the ATCQ-style “Official,” which hits with jazzy inflections and slick backscratches. Cheating girl song “You” is one of the album’s weakest tracks (lines like “I had a notion that things were fishy / but everything was fine so I'd be pissy” don’t help), slowing things right down before the second part of the record kicks in.

It’s worth pointing out that up to now all the beats and rhymes have been handled by Q Tip. Those surprised at the quality should remember that the producer made the majority of the riddims on the first three Tribe albums – all of which are stone-cold classics. The fact he’s holding an MPC 2000 over his face on the front cover of The Renaissance is no superficial coincidence.

The second part of the album hands over some of the production and vocal duties to guests. Raphael Saadiq adds his mellifluous voice to the slick “We Fight/We Love”; Floetry member Amanda Diva provides a fonky chorus for the infectious, Can-sampling “ManWomanBoogie”; and the late J Dilla, a frequent Q Tip/ATCQ collaborator back in the day, supplies a potent Jackson-5 borrowing groove for “Move” – it’s one of the strongest tracks here, and one that Tip jumps on to maximum effect, spitting out a string of great rhymes in his timeless nasal tones.

Those same vocals hold down an a capella for a full minute on “Dance On Glass,” before a ringing beat kicks in. “Life Is Better”, (with Norah Jones) is the closest The Renaissance gets to pop, while D’Angelo makes an appearance for the swooning jazz jam “Believe”. By the time the shimmering synths and classic beats of finale “Shaka” kick in, you’d be forgiven you’ve time-warped right back to the late 90s – to before hip hop sold its soul for a case of Cristal. Let's hope it won't be 2019 before we get to insert more Q Tip in our ears.