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BY DYLAN PETERSON

Hip-hop is experiencing a rebirth.And, just as he was 20 years ago,Q-Tip is at the forefront of it.

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he early 1990s was a

good time for hip-hop.

Groups like A Tribe

Called Quest were

pushing the genre of the

streets into very new

territory, introducing

a fresh, intellectually

edgy brand of hip-hop to

the masses. Now, aftera decade-long lull of

bling and krunk, hip-hop

seems to be experiencing

a rebirth of sorts, with

a renewed emphasis on musical experimentation,

intelligent lyrics and style. Is it any wonder,

then, that after a decade-long hiatus, Q-Tip

is back?

His highly anticipated comeback album, The

Renaissance, released in late 2008 to much critical

acclaim. My last release was nine years ago, Q-Tip

says. I recorded a couple of albums, but unfortunately

one never came out. And for another one the label

folded. So my attempts were thwarted. But we stayed

resilient and surfaced with The Renaissance.

Q-Tip, whose given name is Kamaal Ibn John Fareed,

got his start as the frontman for A Tribe Called Quest

in 1988. Hailing from Queens, N.Y., the groundbreaking

group fused jazz influences into their unique brand of

hip-hop, a risky move at the time, but one that affirmed

their devotion to artistry before fame. And even though

Tribe found commercial success and legendary status in

the early 90s, their aspirations were not of capitalistic

gains. Tribe was a group for the intelligent hip-hop fan.

Q-Tips rhymes were not just about dancing or partying,

but of alternate ideas on the urban life.

Well, its easy to be hard, like that old song says,

he says. Its easy to operate behind a face of menace

rather than a face of goodness. Because, you know,

happiness and joy is viewed as weakness in this

society.

Today, Q-Tip is working to revitalize the hip-

hop world, one that has been barraged by years of

distasteful, unartistic frivolity. Just as A Tribe Called

Quest purposefully refrained from unimportant themes

in their beginning, Q-Tip keeps a positive outlook on the

future of hip-hop.

Menace and hardness and meanness are sometimes

viewed as strengths, usually synonymous with power,

he says. Especially our ideas of power in this country.

So when you grow up in the hood and you rap and you

have some sort of success and you make money, you

turn to menace and meanness to equate yourself with.

But I think thats weakness.

Q-Tips strength is seen in his endurance. He fronted

Tribe for 10 years, and hasnt stopped working on his

solo career since the group broke up. He was a leader

of a musical revolution and now stands as tall as ever in

hopes of hip-hops rebirth. The time has moved along,

because of that the landscape will change, he says.

In the 20 years since he hit the scene, the hip-hop

landscape has definitely changed. Its interesting, but

you dont really see groups anymore, he says. Back

in the day you had Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Run

DMC, NWA, A Tribe Called Quest. You know, it was more



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group-oriented. Today, its just solo.

Q-Tip wonders if this shift has been

detrimental to the art. Its very self-centric,

and because of that the spirit of the music has

changed, he says. The spirit of the business is

based on individuality and self-identity. Which

makes the music, on a whole, less communal.

And because of that the music has less stayingpower.

If staying power is any sort of indicator of

an arts value, then Q-Tip is right. Even today,

A Tribe Called Quest sounds fresh. And Q-Tips

new album sounds just as inspired as anything

Tribe released. His secret? I feel like you have

to be connected to a community. Even if youre

a solo artist, you have to be surrounded by some

sort of people that [share] your principles.

You probably know Q-Tips community

artists like Madlib, Talib Kwali, The Roots and

Kanye West are just a few of the artists who keep

each other on track creatively. We interact and

interface with each other, he says. I think for

what I do, my brand of hip-hop needs an alive,

vibrant community.

That community is growing. For his most

recent tour, Q-Tip brought along up-and-comers

The Cool Kids. Like Q-Tip, musically and lyrically

The Cool Kids espouse a minimalist/throwback

approach to hip-hop. The tour showcased two

generations mutual respect toward a purer kind

of hip-hop.

Im happy that Im still able to participate in

something thats considered new and fresh, its

truly a blessing, Q-Tip says. The renaissance is

for everybody. Im older than a lot of them, but

Im still nestled in a fresh, new category, which is

very nice. And I think that should exemplify what

the great possibilities are.

Hopefully those popular artists that are

putting out that same type of music all the time

will start to open their minds and take more

musical chances. Hip-hop, and music in general,

is something that should be diverse. At the same

time Jay-Z gets recognition, Talib Kwali should,

too. When Beyonce is getting it, so should her

sister.

Q-Tip believes the times are right for a change

in hip-hops scenery. The playing field should be

leveled, so all people can hear all types of music.

Thats my hope for music.

His hope is most appropriately displayed

through The Renaissance. The album showcases

Q-Tip rapping and producing with finesse

and style. Like the Tribe albums before it, The

Renaissance has a timeless quality. It doesnt

sound like 2008, just as Midnight Marauders

doesnt sound like 1993.

The meaning of the renaissance is rebirth or

an awakening of spirit, an artistic spirit usually,

Q-Tip says. The renaissance right now is about

waking up to whats happening in a sociopolitical

sense and hopefully an artistic sense, too. You

can have a reawakening, a rebirth, at any time.

So why not now?

As is usually the case with good art, a

representation of the times is apparent in the

music. The most fascinating coincidence of The

Renaissances timing is its release dateNov.

4, 2008; the day Barack Obama was elected

to be the next president of the United States of

America.Its monumental on so many different

levels, Q-Tip says. You know, obviously race

is one. The Bush administration is another. The

economic plight is a third. And the war in Iraq.

You know, there were a lot of things that were

pointing to a complete seismic shift. And I think

that his election exemplified that. What people

think of my record, and the timing, it all seems

very serendipitous. Im proud to say that I did

something on that day that I can share with my

kids and they can share with their kids. Its a

great thing; it was a great day.

Q-Tip believes the rebirth, a reawakening of

spirit, can be linked sociopolitically to President

Obamas election. For this country and the

world, I hope that were patient with the new

president and new administration, he says.

Because its going to get a lot worse before it

gets better. I just hope people are patient. Stay

vigilant. Stay focused.

With The Renaissance, Q-Tip is pushing

forward into a world ravaged by negativity. Over

the past few years, whether it be Oprah having a

two-show discussion about hip-hop and the hip-

hop generation or whatever, we see a bunch of

rappers getting arrested and being careless, he

says. The kind of statements being made are

frivolous and over trite issues. You hear rappers

saying, Yo man, I sold x-amount in my first week

of dis-a-dissa, yknow? Stuff like that lowers

the integrity of hip-hop.

If a rapper wants to go on about diamonds

or hardness, theyre putting the cart before the

horse. Q-Tip explains: [It comes back to] the

type of music being made. It should be more

about the craftsmanship of the music. It should

be more about what the music is, and then

what it does. What it is is going to dictate what

it does. So you should try to make what it is

special. Then, what it does will be even more

special.

A Tribe Called Quest was special for what

it is, meaning its music was crafted with a

desire for communal interaction and thoughtful

discourse. And time proved that what it does

ended up being something special as well.

Tribe inspired many other artists to make

music that was different, music that didnt just fit

into the status quo, but challenged the norm and

cultivated hope for the future. When art inspires

new hope, then it does something special.

Q-Tip makes music that is hopeful. Now we

have the privilege of being able to watch that

music and see what it does. 2

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Goldexpanded the scope of hip-hop in

ways we wont fully appreciate for quitesome time. After 12 years, this Minneapolisduo is finally on the map in a major way andwill continue to set the standard for sometime to come.

COMMON

MARKETAnyone who candisperse the conceptsof Wendell Berry assmoothly as DJ Sabziand emcee RA Scion

deserves to be heard at the highest levels.Unfortunately the masterpiece known as

Tobacco Road largely goes unheard. Yetfor those fortunate few, Common Marketdelivers a complete album centered on abrilliant ecological and historical treatise.

BISC1The energy of NYCsurban sprawl after duskcomes to life on Bisc1swork, a former graphicdesigner for the emceeshe now calls colleagues.

After putting together the packaging forRJD2, Aesop Rock and the like, Bisc1 slowlybegan piecing together his own creationand ended up delivering a stellar effort withWhen Electric Night Falls.

DAGHABostons hip-hop sceneis one of the strongestin the country, andDagha stands as thebest example of theunder-the-radar talent

located there. The Divorce pulses bothdirect and daring and the production is top-notch. Hes shared the stage with Wyclef,Common, KRS-1 and others, so its only amatter of time for Dagha to hit the big time.



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