The Renaissance is a studio album by American hip hop musician Q-Tip, released November 4, 2008 on Universal Motown Records.
The album is Q-Tip’s second released studio effort, following Amplified (1998). Production for The Renaissance was entirely handled by Q-Tip with the exception of two tracks produced by the late hip hop producer J Dilla, while the album also features contributions from such artists as Norah Jones, D’Angelo, Raphael Saadiq and Amanda Diva.[1] The album cover art features Q-Tip in a silver suit holding an MPC2000XL in front of his face. It is a subtle homage to the cover of Herbie Hancock’s 1973 opus Head Hunters.
Following Q-Tip’s nine year hiatus from releasing studio material on a label, The Renaissance was greeted with universal acclaim and critical praise from several music publication outlets.[2][3] A music video has been made for the single “Move” and there’s also a remix to “Gettin’ Up” featuring Eve produced by Swizz Beatz.
The album debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard Top 200, selling 34,219 copies in its first week.[4]
