The Renaissance opens with 'Johnny Is Dead', a statement of intent from Q-Tip, reflecting the soulful samples that proliferate a Kanye West chorus. The sounds and styles of the new school of hip-hop influenced by A Tribe Called Quest (West, Common, Lupe Fiasco) flow throughout the album, but Q-Tip keeps this grounded by not shying away from the things which prevailed in the genre during the Tribe's heyday.
'Won't Trade' brings with it sampling, scratching and a simple, repeated rhythm. Q-Tip's rhyming - high-pitched, rushed and lacking in ingenuity on 1999's Amplified - is composed, humorous, and intelligent throughout both the track and the album. A nod to albums of the past is also evidenced by the flawless fades from one track to another, recalling some of the great soul albums of the early 1970s, such as Innervisions and What's Going On.
Gettin' Up
Another nod to the past comes from the short length of the tracks. There are no over-extending choruses or pointless cameos from friends, but instead tight tracks whose danceability are enhanced by the compressed running times. 'Gettin' Up', the lead single, is prove of this, Q-Tip's lyrics promoting positivity and the beat never overstaying its welcome. As with much of the album, 'Gettin' Up' manages to sound at the same time to sound both classic and contemporary, a sound indicative of recent hip-hop releases.
'Official' continues with the sassy, sexy, rhyming Q-tip has built a career upon, the beat relying on a simple and effective combination of bass and guitar. 'You' employs some backing vocals and a more remorseful, slightly bitter Q-Tip. The chorus is a master class in creating rhythm through a few simple words, again conforming to the principle of less is more.
'WeFight/WeLove' features the first major guest appearance (from Raphael Saadiq) and a move in to the politicised rapping which has prevented the release of several of Q-Tip's albums in the last decade. 'WeFight/WeLove' makes great use of Saadiq's voice, its beauty the perfect vehicle to question the proliferation of violence in modern society and its consequent moral blurring. Q-Tip takes a look in to the Iraq war, humanising the soldiers involved, but questioning the reasoning for their service, all the while holding back from a sermon.
Move
To break from such heavyweight ideas, 'Manwomanboogie' strips things down to a simple come on, the musical jam accompanying it reminiscent of the jazzy explorations of A Tribe Called Quest. With the record in such a direction, second single 'Move' blasts in with a dense and upbeat production from the late J-Dilla.
Manipulated voices, processed horns and a direct and playful lyric from Q-Tip ensure that the track produces its intended reaction, creating the need to move. 'The Renaissance Rap' blends in with 'Move', a summation of Q-Tip's meaning behind the album. The affected voices used in the backing track add a robotic sound, contrasted with the humanity and immediacy of Q-Tip's rapping style.
'Dancing On Glass' features an a cappella opening from Q-Tip, and a criticism of the more successful yet unthreatening work of some of today's hip-hop artists. The track is the most like the early work of A Tribe Called Quest, with its simple and effective use of samples and a near constant rhyme from Q-Tip.
Life Is Better
Most unlike A Tribe Called Quest is the commercial, Norah Jones-featuring, 'Life Is Better'. Jones' vocal is typically effective, and the differing vocal of the chorus stops the track from sounding too much like the typical 'Hip-hop artist + female vocalist' single which has proven a successful if unwelcome distraction from many rappers in the 2000s. Q-Tip's homage to the great names of hip-hop during the track is a notable indication to what he enjoys and aims for, with Outkast the most popular and recognisable name from his respects to the new school.
'Believe' touches on neo-soul musically, and with the addition of D'Angelo on vocals, cements that sub-genre. The track sounds like a late-90s piece, but with Kanye West exploring the 1980s recently, Q-Tip by comparison is taking a more cutting-edge approach. The album closer, 'Shaka', is a summation of the record as a whole, making use of spoken word, sung and musical samples, allied with Q-Tip's thoughtful lyrics and an overall production which encourages the track to be played on the dancefloor.
The Renaissance, in its willingness to cherry-pick from the best of hip-hop over its thirty years of success, is further proof of a new resurgence in hip-hop, with Kanye West, Common, and Lupe Fiasco pushing it forward, whilst not moving too far from what made it a success in the first place.
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