Song: Life Is Better (feat. Norah Jones)
Artist: Q-Tip
Album: The Renaissance
Despite the low point hip-hop is currently in, I must say that three of my favorite records of 2008 have been from hip-hoppers. Kanye knocked it out of the park with an interesting left-of-center album earlier this month, and I am also digging the new Common album, and all last month I was hooked on the not so prolific Q-Tip’s latest, “The Renaissance.” I was always a huge Tribe Called Quest fan, and always thought his lazy-ish flow was some of the best in the game. But aside form “Vibrant Thing,” I haven’t really followed his solo work.
Well on a lark I got “The Renaissance” and really really have been spinning it quite a bit. His amazing flow is intact, and at this point, his old school jazz leaning music sounds practically classic. Which leads me to this… if hip-hop has finally dried up all the hot and futuristic beats, isn’t the natural progression to look backward and make some classic sounding new music? Regardless… “The Renaissance” does just that.
It’s more of a mood record, a bit down-tempo (no real club bangers) and the special guests really don’t distract from the overall vibe like they can on a lot of hip-hop records. It’s more like Q-Tip’s party that special guests come to throw down a verse or two. My favorite being the seemingly odd pairing with Nora Jones. I’ve never been a huge fan of hers, but I do like her voice, and it totally works for “Life is Better.” I HIGHLY recommend this release if you’re a fan of Tribe or Q-Tip.
Enjoy.
Even the video is old school…
Move
Getting’ Up
Artist: Q-Tip
Album: The Renaissance
Despite the low point hip-hop is currently in, I must say that three of my favorite records of 2008 have been from hip-hoppers. Kanye knocked it out of the park with an interesting left-of-center album earlier this month, and I am also digging the new Common album, and all last month I was hooked on the not so prolific Q-Tip’s latest, “The Renaissance.” I was always a huge Tribe Called Quest fan, and always thought his lazy-ish flow was some of the best in the game. But aside form “Vibrant Thing,” I haven’t really followed his solo work.
Well on a lark I got “The Renaissance” and really really have been spinning it quite a bit. His amazing flow is intact, and at this point, his old school jazz leaning music sounds practically classic. Which leads me to this… if hip-hop has finally dried up all the hot and futuristic beats, isn’t the natural progression to look backward and make some classic sounding new music? Regardless… “The Renaissance” does just that.
It’s more of a mood record, a bit down-tempo (no real club bangers) and the special guests really don’t distract from the overall vibe like they can on a lot of hip-hop records. It’s more like Q-Tip’s party that special guests come to throw down a verse or two. My favorite being the seemingly odd pairing with Nora Jones. I’ve never been a huge fan of hers, but I do like her voice, and it totally works for “Life is Better.” I HIGHLY recommend this release if you’re a fan of Tribe or Q-Tip.
Enjoy.
Even the video is old school…
Move
Getting’ Up
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