Q Tip The Renaissance Rare
Q-TIP: The Renaissance - Album Review. The man formerly known as Jonathan Davis (AKA: living hip-hop legend Q-Tip) was known for coming correct with a distinctively nasal message of positivity wrapped in the choicest rare grooves available, going against the then-prevalent Thug Life grain of bitches/blunts/bling.
- Accompanied by the historic election, Q-Tip’s second album, The Renaissance, presented itself as the perfect declaration of change on all fronts. Tip had a good idea of what he was up against.
- As a result, Q-Tip, like so many other artists with “lost” albums (the coming weeks, we'll discuss two other artists in this camp), now has a de facto online journal of his music. And as the emcee prepares for a third time to release his “sophomore” album, The Renaissance, a look back at a select sampling of.
The Renaissance is Q-Tip’s second studio album, though it could have been his third or fourth. After having his intended sophomore release Kamaal/The Abstract shelved at Arista Records, the same fate befell the next two albums he recorded for Motown: Open and Live at the Renaissance.
His bad luck streak with Industry Rule #4080 finally ended on November 4, 2008 when The Renaissance finally saw the light of day. And that light dawned with a sunny first single entitled “Gettin' Up.” Q-Tip handled all of the production for this album except on his second single “Move” which was produced by the late J. Dilla.
Q Tip The Renaissance Rare Edition
Although Tip can handle himself in the studio without help, he felt no need to prove it this time around. The Renaissance boasts some impressive guest personnel: Raphael Saadiq (“We Fight/We Love”), Robert Glasper (“You”), Norah Jones (“Life Is Better”), D'Angelo (“Believe”) and others.
After all the creative frustration, Q-Tip turned out an essential record with The Renaissance. The album reached #2 on the Billboard Rap charts and #3 on R&B. It even netted a much-deserved Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album in 2010.