Other Side of the Tracks 12/3/2008: Q-Tip The Renaissance Review

Column | Mark | December 3, 2008 at 10:29 am

Q-Tip – The Renaissance

Genre – Rap/Hip Hop

Label – Universal Motown

Quick Take: Back to the Golden Age indeed

Get it if: You’re tired of bitches and bling.

Don’t get it if: If you think rap is just a guy talking.

I’m a big fan of what some consider to be the “Golden Age” of rap, which would be the early to mid-90’s. It’s what occurred in between old-school and the materialistic flash of today’s rap. I’m sure I’m going to get beat up in the forum over that definition, but in any case, this period of time gave me some of my favorite artists, including Q-Tip and A Tribe Called Quest. Q-Tip has arguably one of the most distinctive voices in rap and one we haven’t heard since his solo debut Amplified in 1999. I couldn’t wait to hear what Q-Tip had to offer after all of these years, and I wasn’t disappointed in the least.

The Renaissance is track after track of Q-Tip’s smooth flow over upbeat, mid-tempo tracks. Maybe too mid-tempo. If I had to find one fault with this record, it would be that all of the songs are around 95 beats per minute. Not that that’s a bad thing, but sometimes the beats and samples seem to run together. Ok, now that my harshest criticism is out of the way, I’ll just get back to inflating your expectations for this album.

The thing I like most about this album is the overall mood of the album which projects a feeling of mellowness which is never over-produced and when mixed with Q-Tip’s fluid style gives us something that although may not be the renaissance of rap, it is definitely a revival for Q-Tip and one you shouldn’t miss.

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