The group A Tribe Called Quest is and was enormously important for the development of hip hop music. In a time of aggressive and violent gangster rap they developed, together with De La Soul, a new way of producing and rapping. After the militant Public Enemy and the furious NWA, they redefined 'pro-black' in their lyrics on beats that were mainly based on jazz influences. The group leader Q-Tip
… launched a solo career in 1999 with the album Amplified, which was quite successful with hits such as Vivrant Thing and Breath And Stop. Almost ten years - and a CD rejected by Arista Records in the meantime - Q-Tip of Kamaal The Abstract returns with the album Renaissance. The title already reveals that the rapper has been reborn. Both the raps and the productions, which he largely put together himself, sound familiar, but still fresh. This album is a must for any ATCQ fan who wants to relive the feeling of the nineties. (GL)more
