Something (Sort Of) Different: Q-Tip - Kamaal the Abstract (September 15, 2009)

A Tribe Called Quest’s The Love Movement dropped on September 29, 1998 (one of the greatest days in the history of hip hop, but that’s a story for another day). Shortly afterward, the group effectively disbanded, leaving the various members to explore solo careers. The late Phife Dawg released his only solo project to date, Ventilation: Da LP, in 2000, while Ali Shaheed Muhammed helped form the supergroup Lucy Pearl that same year. While it seemed like those two took a breather before exploring their options, however, producer-slash-rapper Kamaal “Q-Tip” Fareed took the fuck off, dropping his solo debut, Amplified, a mere year after his group called it quits. (They later reformed for one final album, 2016’s We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service, but that isn’t the point of today’s post.)

Reader Review: Q-Tip - The Renaissance (November 4, 2008)

(For today's Reader Review, PeterStarkz, who has contributed reviews in the past and also has his own blog that you can check out, provides a short and sweet critique on Q-Tip's newly Grammy-nominated The Renaissance. You'll probably breeze through this one in about five minutes, so be sure to leave your thoughts below.)

The Hard Sell: Q-Tip - The Renaissance (November 4, 2008)

I really wasn't kidding in my Gut Reaction post. I'm atoning for my sin of not supporting Q-Tip by telling everyone that they need to pick The Renaissance up ASAP. And with the recent news that the man's long-awaited "true" sophomore album, Kamaal The Abstract, will be seeing an official release this September, there's no better time to start wondering what it will take to get A Tribe Called Quest together again.

100 Calorie Gut Reaction: Q-Tip - "Renaissance Rap (Remix)" feat. Busta Rhymes, Raekwon, & Lil' Wayne

A remix for a track that was kind of hidden on Q-Tip's The Renaissance? Why the fuck not? The original "Renaissance Rap" was one of the best tracks on an album that already rocked shit anyway, so throwing a seemingly random assortment of rap artists over the same beat is the logical next step.

My Gut Reaction: Q-Tip - The Renaissance (November 4, 2008)

So, yeah, I fucked up. A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip released his second solo album, The Renaissance, in November of 2008 (on the same day that Barack Obama was elected President). But did I run out to buy it, the same as I would, apparently, any b-grade Wu-Tang Clan album? I most certainly did not. Some Tribe fan I am, right?

Q-Tip - Amplified (November 23, 1999)

Q-Tip, formerly of the seminal group (and my second-favorite, behind the Wu) A Tribe Called Quest, reacted to the group's breakup in a way that I couldn't have anticipated. At this point, Tribe had released their final two albums to critical derision; I believe they may have broken up simply because they ran out of positive things to talk about. As Tip, whose real name is both Jonathan Davis and Kamaal Fareed, was the main rapper, he was the primary voice of the group, so whatever he ended up doing would inevitably receive the Tribe comparisons, so many fans sat on pins and needles, anticipating Tip's new stuff that would undoubtedly blow their minds.