Q Tip THE RENAISSANCE

Q-Tip's 1999 solo debut, AMPLIFIED, was perhaps too party-oriented, too pop-influenced, too strayed from straightforward hip-hop, to have pleased die-hard A Tribe Called Quest fans. After nine years of the genre's evolution, which saw a handful of experimenters (i.e., Andre 3000, Kanye West, Pharrel Williams) running with Tip's instincts to great mainstream success, the positivistic, soft soul-based hip-hop sound purveyed by the nasal-voiced Tribe frontman now seems a whole lot closer to rap conventions.Tip's second official solo release, THE RENAISSANCE, has been a long time coming and is a welcome breath of fresh air. The man once known as the Abstract Poetic lets his complex lyrical intuitions run wild as he spits some of his most intricate free-associated verses since his Tribe days. Entirely self-produced (save for one gem, "Move," from the late J Dilla), THE RENAISSANCE relies on spacey jazz grooves, looping guitar lines, uplifting soul samples, and melodically suave vocal work c