Q-Tip Returns To The Fold

Our look at the closing lines of reviews of the week’s biggest new music continues with a look at the reviews of The Renaissance by Q-Tip, which lands in stores today:

• “After all the trouble Tip’s second solo album, Kamaal the Abstract, ran into before his former record company ultimately shelved it in 2002, it’s great to see Q-Tip return at the top of his game. The Renaissance is real.” [Newsday]

• “Cloaking its eclecticism with a homogenizing sheen, the album’s frequent changes of mood and direction dazzle. There’s golden-age hip-hop on ‘Move,’ piano and P-funk bass on ‘You,’ and loud rap of the highest quality on ‘Won’t Trade.'” [Guardian]

• “Kamaal Fareed, the name that Q-Tip took in the mid-’90s after converting to Islam, is at the helm here, but like a good actor, he’s knows how to draw power even when he’s not letting the rhymes go. It’s a renaissance with redemption and humility but maybe also, if the adage about success is true, a touch of sweet revenge.” [LA Times]

• “And there is one pleasant side effect of Q-Tip’s lengthy absence: His music now seems as fresh and necessary an alternative to rap’s mainstream as it did when Tribe first arrived. Welcome back, old friend.” [Entertainment Weekly

• “Another artist that the game has been missing is the troubled neo-soul crooner D’Angelo, who Q-Tip re-introduces to the music world on ‘Believe.’ ‘Life is Better’ featuring Norah Jones is a highlight on the album with Jones blending perfectly with brash beats. Additional inspiration is found on the intro, ‘Shaka,’ which features an inspiring Barak Obama soundbite. In a sentence, Q-Tip’s long-awaited release looks to get people to thinking, loving, and dancing, as usual.” [URB]