PopBliss Favorites of 2008: The Renaissance by Q-Tip

Over the next few weeks, I will be listing my favorite CDs of 2008, and there were a bunch of good ones.  This year marked the return of one of hip hop's most talented and influential MCs, Q-Tip. In the 90s, A Tribe Called Quest blended jazz, funk, and intellectual lyrics to create a fusion of old school and new school. Then, they broke up and Q-tip released his first solo album Amplified, and that was eight years ago. Finally, the Abstract Poet has unleashed his new album The Renaissance. Apparently, he's been working on it for a while, but some typical bullshit with the record company delayed it. Nonetheless, it was worth the wait. 

The opening track, "Johnny's Dead," let's you know that Q-tip is back in solid-form: "And it's up to me to bring back the hop-e/Feeling in the music that you could quote/Not saying that I hate it cause here/I kinda dig it/But what good is a'ear/if a Q-tip isn't in it." That last line couldn't be more true. Like Tribe's music, the overall vibe is laid back and the beats are funky and there's plenty of jazzy riffs to go around. But, what I love the most is Q-tip's unique delivery--every line flows and he even rips it freestyle on the tune, "Dance on Glass:" "Who can make it up, dark ages here in rap/And the constant conversation has been let's bring it back/Corny rap style niggas they lack the pedigree/Deep waters they be in when they are just the manatee." Not only does he call other musicians out, but who else can fit "manatee" into their rhymes. This is the work of a man on a mission to make authentic hip-hop, and this is truly a renaissance for the genre.

Check out Q-tip's performance of "Move" on Letterman: