Q-Tip Had The 2008 AOTY

You know, since I actually had planned updating this thing on a somewhat regular basis, I was going to do a big end-of-the-year music post. So here we are, two months after the start of 2009, and I'm the last blogger on the internets to be putting up an album of the year post. But, it's my damn blog, so I'm going to do whatever the hell I want.

I'll admit, I didn't expect much from Q-Tip's The Renaissance when it was released. It seemed like a huge build up to something that was way too ambitious. It was Q-Tip's first release since the rocky Amplified nine years ago, and a full decade since the last A Tribe Called Quest LP. How could something that people have been waiting for that long possibly live up to the expectations? And he dropped the album on ELECTION DAY!? I'm not sure why I even gave it a listen, I was only going to be disappointed...

And then I actually did give it a spin. And another. And one more time. And once more in the car. In the first bars of Johnny Is Dead, the opening track, Tip blurts out "What good is an ear if a Q-Tip isn't in it?" This would typify the whole album, as the album features no rhymes from anybody other than the legendary Abstract. It does however feature hooks from some of the best voices around, and not a single one sounding out of place. Norah Jones lends her unique voice in Tip's homage to the past in Life Is Better, Raphael Saadiq continues his comeback tour on We Fight / Love, and D'Angelo hops on for the ridiculously soulful Believe towards the end of the album.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that Q-Tip produced eleven of the twelve tracks on the album. He weaves together the tracks to the point where it's actually hard to imagine anybody other than Tip rapping over it. The one track he didn't produce, Move, was produced by the late J Dilla, undoubtedly a tribute to the late great's life. Dilla worked with Tip extensively both with A Tribe Called Quest and on the Abstract's first album.

In looking at other reviews of this album, I've noticed a lot who thought it was either above average or even good, but not among the best. I judge an album's greatness by the amount of times I can listen to it without getting totally sick of it. I'm still listening to The Renaissance, and I can't see myself stopping anytime soon.



Strongest Track: Manwomanboogie feat. Amanda Diva

• They don't call him the Abstract for nothing. This is a very unique cut, where the beat sounds so simple, but it totally works. Amanda Diva provides a pretty funky hook to bring it together.

Weakest Track: Gettin' Up

• This was the first single for the album, and probably brought the bar down a little bit in my mind. I just didn't view it as all that compelling compared to the rest of the album. Now, don't get me wrong, it's still a nice track, but I had choose something as the weakest.