Preview Of Q-Tip’s “The Renaissance”

Events    By LC Weber on October 16, 2008 at 12:09 pm

Last night in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles, an impromptu listening party filled DJ boutique Turntable Lab in anticipation of Q-Tip. Heads, hipsters and ardent ATCQ fans formed intermingled pockets throughout the shop, waiting to see what he’d show up with. When he walked through the door, Tip carried his forthcoming album The Renaissance and the air of a DJ — a forever fan of music not stuck on himself.

“I don’t walk around with a million bodyguards,” Tip told the crowd when he stepped behind the DJ booth. “I’ve never been about trying to sell a million records… When we made records like “Bonita Applebum,” radio stations would say ‘I like this, but it doesn’t fit with this Guy record and this Public Enemy record.’ Now it’s ‘I like “Gettin Up” but how am I going to play it with this T-Pain?’”

Tip dropped the first joint, “Dance On Glass,” with a cutting snare and smooth bass line he described as “sharp as shit.” The often stiff crowd of jaded L.A. went wild from the onset, prompting the MC to take what was to be a three or four and stretch it twice as long.

Two cuts with Dilla — “Move” and “Fever” — blazed darkened flames like only Detroit joints do. An up-tempo “Man/Woman Boogie” was a funkdafied jump up with palpable slap bass and gas-faceable drums. But the stand out of the night was a “personal favorite” of Tip’s featuring Norah Jones, called “Life Is Better.”

“This shit is about my love for Hip-Hop,” he said. “It’s about the founding members of this shit — Afrika Bambaataa, Jelly Roll, Lead Belly — who laid the foundation without care of money. I really fuck with this shit, so rock with it.”

With that, Tip launched the crowd into a tough bass, synth and clap that fit Norah’s sweet croon to a tee. In his verses, Tip covers the spectrum of artists he’s been heavily influenced by such as Rakim, Primo, Slum Village, Dilla, LL and Outkast among others. This name-dropping ode to Hip-Hop was the way The Game should have done it — once and well. And it made you wonder just how many of those artists were influenced by Q-Tip in turn.

“I know some of you, shit, probably grew up listening to my music,” he laughed. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years. I’ve been very blessed.”

Knowing the never-ending question hung stagnant overhead, Tip gave a preemptive strike to the crowd with “No more Tribe. No more Tribe. We’re all good,” he laughed. “I don’t want to tarnish it with a reunion record and have it fall short.”

But Tip did open the room up for questions, and revealed he will be working on a project with Common some time late next year.

“Why is this album called The Renaissance, and not any of the albums before it? Why this one?” I asked.

“Because of where we’re at,” he said. “Although the music is big, the music has not been major. There are fewer bright lights. It’s not the same as it was when everyone was inspired by each other. I remember being in ciphers with Puba, Kane. We’d start talking afterward and we’d be like ‘We’re mad colorful.’ We’d be checking on each other’s spins [on the radio]… So The Renaissance was a good title because there needs to be a rebirth of when things were at a fever pitch.”

And few could argue with that.

Look for Q-Tip’s album The Renaissance in stores November 4th.

Previously Posted — Q-Tip – “Move” Video

Posted in Events, GENERAL, REVIEWS — Tags: ATCQ, Get Up, Q-Tip, The Renaissance