The Renaissance (Q-Tip album)
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''The Renaissance'' is the second
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by American hip hop artist Q-Tip, released November 4, 2008, on
Universal Motown Records Universal Motown Records was an American record label that operated as a division of Universal Motown Republic Group. It was the contemporary incarnation of the legendary Motown Records label, and the "urban" half of UMG, although there were some ...
. The follow-up to his solo debut album, '' Amplified'' (1999), it was recorded after Q-Tip's ''
Kamaal the Abstract ''Kamaal the Abstract'' is the third studio album by American hip hop artist Q-Tip, released September 15, 2009, on Battery Records. Recorded in 2001,Thill, Scott (September 14, 2009)"Q-Tip, 'Kamaal the Abstract" Metromix. Retrieved on 2009-10- ...
'' (2009) was initially shelved in 2002 by his former label
Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...
and his proposed effort ''Open'' was shelved by Universal Motown, both deemed commercially inadequate by the labels.Lindsey, Craig D (December 3, 2008)
"New Q: Q-Tip Beats ''Democracy'' to the Punch with ''The Renaissance''"
''
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''. Retrieved on 2009-09-28.
''The Renaissance'' was produced primarily by Q-Tip and features guest contributions by
D'Angelo Michael Eugene Archer (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single "U Will Know" ...
,
Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...
,
Amanda Diva Amanda Ingrid Seales (born July 1, 1981), formerly known by the stage name Amanda Diva, is an American comedian and actress. Since 2017, she has starred in the HBO comedy series '' Insecure''. In 2019, HBO released her first stand-up comedy spe ...
, and
Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! In addition to his solo and group ...
. The album debuted at number 11 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 34,219 copies in its first week. It produced three singles and has sold 131,200 copies in the United States. Upon its release, ''The Renaissance'' received universal acclaim from music critics, who praised Q-Tip's lyricism and production aesthetic, and earned him a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
nomination for
Best Rap Album The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories ...
.


Background

The album is Q-Tip's second released studio effort, following his solo debut '' Amplified'' and the 2002 shelving of ''
Kamaal the Abstract ''Kamaal the Abstract'' is the third studio album by American hip hop artist Q-Tip, released September 15, 2009, on Battery Records. Recorded in 2001,Thill, Scott (September 14, 2009)"Q-Tip, 'Kamaal the Abstract" Metromix. Retrieved on 2009-10- ...
''.Columnist
Q-Tip Ushering in Creative 'Renaissance'
''
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''. Retrieved on 2009-12-08.
Q-Tip put together a band for recording ''The Renaissance''. In an interview for ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' magazine, he discussed his musical direction for the album, stating "I wanted a hip-hop sonic feel, something pure to the sound of hip-hop with real drums, real emotion and people taking solos… In that sense this record feels like we're moving in a new direction … something hip-hop should do". Production for ''The Renaissance'' was primarily handled by Q-Tip, with the exception of the
J Dilla J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon varia ...
-produced "Move." The album also features contributions from such artists as
Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...
,
D'Angelo Michael Eugene Archer (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single "U Will Know" ...
,
Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! In addition to his solo and group ...
and
Amanda Diva Amanda Ingrid Seales (born July 1, 1981), formerly known by the stage name Amanda Diva, is an American comedian and actress. Since 2017, she has starred in the HBO comedy series '' Insecure''. In 2019, HBO released her first stand-up comedy spe ...
. The album cover art features Q-Tip in a silver suit holding an
MPC2000XL The Akai MPC (originally MIDI Production Center, now Music Production Center) is a series of music workstations produced by Akai from 1988 onwards. MPCs combine sampling and sequencing functions, allowing users to record portions of sound, modif ...
in front of his face.Chinen, Nate; Hall, Jim; Frisell, Bill (November 2, 2008)
"New CDs (Q-Tip: 'The Renaissance')"
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. Retrieved on 2009-09-13.


Release and promotion

Following Q-Tip's nine-year hiatus from releasing studio material on a label, ''The Renaissance'' was released November 3 in the United Kingdom and November 4, 2008 in the United States on
Universal Motown Universal Motown Records was an American record label that operated as a division of Universal Motown Republic Group. It was the contemporary incarnation of the legendary Motown Records label, and the "urban" half of UMG, although there were some ...
. Q-Tip made appearances during September to November 2008 in promotion of the album, including performances at
Santos Party House Santos Party House was a New York City nightclub located at 96 Lafayette Street between Walker and White Streets in the TriBeCa neighborhood of downtown Manhattan. Originally named the "Lafayette Street Jungle Gym", Santos Party House was recogni ...
, the
Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...
, ''
VH1 Hip Hop Honors The Hip Hop Honors is an annual event that airs on VH1. The television special honors old school and golden age hip hop rappers and contributors for their long-term influence and importance in the history of hip hop culture. It features live p ...
'', and the ''
Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...
''. Music videos have been made for "Gettin' Up", "Move", "Renaissance Rap","Life Is Better" and "Manwomanboogie". There is also a remix to "Gettin' Up" featuring
Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...
produced by
Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, disc jockey (DJ) and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the ag ...
, a remix to "Renaissance Rap" featuring
Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon The Chef, or simply Raekwon (), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success ...
,
Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...
, and
Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...
., and a remix to "We Fight/We Love" featuring
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
&
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.


Reception


Commercial performance

''The Renaissance'' debuted at number 11 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart with first-week sales of 34,219 copies. It has sold 131,200 copies in the United States, according to
Nielsen Soundscan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...
.


Critical response

''The Renaissance'' received universal acclaim from music critics. At
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an
average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...
score of 82, based on 24 reviews. ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' writer
Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...
praised Q-Tip's rapping and production, commenting that "Comebacks don’t come more effortlessly than this". Anthony Henriques of ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' complimented its "
Ummah ' (; ar, أمة ) is an Arabic word meaning "community". It is distinguished from ' ( ), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national community with a common history. It is a synonym for ' ...
-era aesthetic – smooth, soulful, jazz-infused" production, writing that "''The Renaissance'' feels like a complete album. Each song has distinctive characteristics, and brilliant sequencing allows for seamless transitions between tracks".
About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...
's Shannon Barbour called it "a polished production that makes the most of every song". ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' writer
Jim DeRogatis James Peter DeRogatis (born September 2, 1964) is an American music critic and co-host of ''Sound Opinions''. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as ''Rolling Stone'', '' Spin'', ''Guitar World'' and ''Modern Drummer'', and for 15 ...
commented that guest appearances by Raphael Saadiq, Norah Jones, and D'Angelo "sound inspired".Alt URL
/ref> Steve Jones of ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' complimented Q-Tip's "ever-cool flow over a self-produced blend of jazzy samples and live instrumentation", stating "Q-Tip delivers danceable rhymes, mostly about love of self, women and hip-hop. He also touches society and music industry politics with an intelligence often lacking in today's music". Barry Walters of ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' noted "his eloquent flow over liquid arrangements shimmering with rhythmic finesse" and commented that the album "blurs distinctions between accessibility and avant-gardism". ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''s Angus Batey wrote that the album "cloak its eclecticism with a homogenising sheen frequent changes of mood and direction dazzle". Areif Sless-Kitain of ''
Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...
'' viewed it as a return for Q-Tip to lyrical "old-school basics", stating "It’s a reverse renaissance: The suave MC returns to his glory days as part of the
Native Tongues The Native Tongues were a collective of late 1980s and early 1990s hip-hop artists known for their positive-minded, good-natured Afrocentric lyrics, and for pioneering the use of eclectic sampling and jazz-influenced beats. Its principal me ...
posse, showcasing his nimble rhymes and clever phrasing". In his Consumer Guide,
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
gave the album a one-star honorable mention () while picking out its two songs ("Shaka" and "Official"), and quipped, "If jazz lite it must be, by all means, rap on top."


Accolades

''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' ranked ''The Renaissance'' number five on its list of the year's best albums, and ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' named it the best hip hop album of 2008.Huff, Quentin B
The Best Hip-Hop of 2008
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
. Retrieved on 2009-09-28.
''The Renaissance'' received a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
nomination for
Best Rap Album The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories ...
in 2009. The album was also included in the book ''
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...
''.


Track listing

*All tracks produced by Q-Tip, except tracks 8 and 14 produced by
J Dilla J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon varia ...
. ;Sample credits Credits adapted from liner notes.Track listing and credits as per liner notes for ''The Renaissance'' album *"Gettin' Up" samples " You and I" by
Black Ivory Black Ivory is an American R&B group from Harlem, which had a number of hits in the 1970s, including "Don't Turn Around", " You and I", " Time Is Love", and "Will We Ever Come Together". History Early days The group was originally known as th ...
. *"Move" samples "
Dancing Machine "Dancing Machine" is a song recorded by American R&B outfit the Jackson 5, and was the title track of their ninth studio album. The song was originally recorded for the group's 1973 album '' G.I.T.: Get It Together'' and was released as a remix ...
" by
The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...
. *"Renaissance Rap" samples "Will O' The Wisp" by
Steve Howe Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist in the progressive rock band Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, North London, Howe developed an interest in the guitar and began to l ...
. *"Won't Trade" samples "You Made a Believer Out of Me" by Ruby Andrews. *"Manwomanboogie" samples "Aspectacle" by
Can Can may refer to: Containers * Aluminum can * Drink can * Oil can * Steel and tin cans * Trash can * Petrol can * Metal can (disambiguation) Music * Can (band), West Germany, 1968 ** ''Can'' (album), 1979 * Can (South Korean band) Other * C ...
. *"We Fight/We Love" samples "Meaningless" by
Café Jacques Café Jacques are a progressive rock band originally formed in Edinburgh, Scotland and most active in the 1970s. An early version of Café Jacques numbered seven musicians, but the most successful line-up was a trio, consisting of Chris Thomson ...
.


Personnel

Credits for ''The Renaissance'' adapted from liner notes.Credits: Q-Tip – The Renaissance. Universal Motown – 602517876422 * Antuan Barrett – bass (tracks 3, 6, 7 and 10) * Sandy Brummels – creative director *
Marc Cary Marc Cary (born January 29, 1967) is a post bop jazz pianist based out of New York City. Cary has played and recorded with several well-known musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie, Betty Carter, Roy Hargrove, Arthur Taylor, Abbey Lincoln, Carl ...
– keyboards (track 3) *
Danny Clinch Danny Clinch (born 1964) is an American photographer and film director. Biography Born in Toms River, New Jersey, Clinch graduated from Toms River High School East in 1982. After attending Ocean County College, he attended the New England Scho ...
– photography * Mark Colenburg – drums (tracks 1, 4, 7, 10, 11 and 12), keyboards (tracks 6 and 10) * Ed Richardson - A&R manager for Universal Motown *
Amanda Diva Amanda Ingrid Seales (born July 1, 1981), formerly known by the stage name Amanda Diva, is an American comedian and actress. Since 2017, she has starred in the HBO comedy series '' Insecure''. In 2019, HBO released her first stand-up comedy spe ...
– background vocals (track 7) * Phylicia Fant – publicity *
Kamaal Fareed Kamaal Ibn John Fareed (born Jonathan William Davis, April 10, 1970), better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American rapper, record producer, singer, and DJ. Nicknamed The Abstract, he is noted for his innovative jazz-influenced style of ...
(Q-Tip) – bass (tracks 5 and 9), drums (tracks 3 and 6), keyboards (tracks 9 and 11), programming (tracks 1, 5, 6 and 9), engineer, producer, mixing * Tatia Fox – marketing *
Robert Glasper Robert Andre Glasper (born April 6, 1978) is an American pianist, record producer, songwriter, and musical arranger with a career that bridges several different musical and artistic genres, mostly centered on jazz. To date, Glasper has won fou ...
– keyboards (tracks 5 and 10) *
Derrick Hodge Derrick Hodge (born July 5, 1979) is a composer, musical director, bandleader, producer bassist and advocate. To date he has been awarded two Grammys, named a Sundance Composer Fellow, received a Motif Award; one of world's highest honors for C ...
– bass (tracks 1 and 4) * James A. Hunt – keyboards (tracks 4 and 12) *
Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...
– background vocals (track 10) *
Mike Moreno Mike Moreno (born October 8, 1978) is a jazz guitarist and composer from Houston, Texas. According to an NPR interview in 2008,Jackson, Josh, (Feb. 5, 2008).Mike Moreno: Jazz Guitar 'Between the Lines'. NPR. Retrieved Jan. 28, 2013. Moreno's ma ...
– guitar (track 7) *
Kurt Rosenwinkel Kurt Rosenwinkel (born October 28, 1970) is an American jazz guitarist, keyboardist, composer, bandleader, producer, educator and record label owner. Biography A native of Philadelphia, Rosenwinkel attended the Philadelphia High School for the ...
– guitar (tracks 1, 4, 6 and 12) *
Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to fame as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! In addition to his solo and group ...
– bass (track 11), background vocals (track 6) * Chris Sholar – guitar (track 5) * Blair Wells – engineer, mixing


Charts


References


External links

*
The Renaissance
' at
Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
*
Q-Tip interview
at ''
Blues & Soul ''Blues & Soul'' is a British music magazine, established in 1967 by John Abbey. ''The Independent'' has noted ''Blues & Soul'' as being the equal of magazines such as ''NME'' and '' Q''. ''Billboard'' magazine has called ''Blues & Soul'' "a r ...
''
Q-Tip: A Solo Quest
— By Chris Lee {{DEFAULTSORT:Renaissance, The 2008 albums Albums produced by J Dilla Albums produced by Q-Tip (musician) Q-Tip (musician) albums Universal Motown Records albums