glenn gamboa: stuff&nonsense

Q-TIP

“The Renaissance” (Universal Motown)

THE GRADE B

BOTTOM LINE Still a “vivrant” thing.

It’s hard to believe it’s been nine years since Q-Tip’s first - and, technically, only - solo album, “Amplified,” considering how much he has to say and how well he says it. And one spin through “The Renaissance” (Universal Motown) will have everyone wondering how he could have stayed away so long.

He trades rhymes with Amanda Diva over the funk groove of “Manwomanboogie,” showing how the battle of the sexes is counterproductive. With help from Norah Jones, who sounds more like Erykah Badu than her come-away-with-me self, Tip pays tribute to inspiring hip-hoppers on “Life Is Better.” And he teams with D’Angelo on the gorgeous “Believe,” which could jump-start the neo-soul movement all on its own.

Q-Tip works best solo, though. He chooses deep grooves that are interesting enough to be memorable, but not so wild that they detract from his distinctive flow. His unique voice generally rides the beat for the chorus and then bounces over it to deliver his strongest rhymes.

“We can start a clan just like the Kennedys,” he raps in the first single “Gettin’ Up,” which shows him at his most potent. “You respect me like a friend, but love me like your man? No other could contend.”

After all the trouble Tip’s second solo album, “Kamaal the Abstract,” ran into before his former record company ultimately shelved it in 2002, it’s great to see Q-Tip return at the top of his game. “The Renaissance” is real.

Janet Jackson has had a tough year - releasing an underperforming album, “Discipline,” parting ways with her record company, and that’s before her recent well-publicized bouts with vertigo that led to a string of rescheduled concerts. But Jackson seems to be taking it all in stride, happy to be back on the road and for the new chance to connect with her fans.

This year’s class - which includes Public Enemy and LL Cool J - shows how important Long Island was to the development of hip-hop, an influence that was also celebrated last month at VH1’s Hip-Hop Honors, which paid tribute to Amityville’s De La Soul and others with performances from Roosevelt’s Public Enemy, Brentwood’s EPMD and Uniondale’s Busta Rhymes.

Chuck D says Long Island’s hip-hop influence came from its artists’ unique take on the world and a confidence to express it.

“There are a lot of places that ask for people to love them,” he says. “We’ve always had a feeling, especially in my crew, of ‘take it or leave it.’ I think a lot of cats from Brooklyn and Queens or the Bronx were looking for acceptance. What we tried to instill on Long Island, back in the day, was ‘If you don’t like what we got, you can go to hell.’”

Donnie Klang’s rocket ride to stardom has come so fast, he hasn’t had the time to let it sink in yet.

A little more than a year ago, Klang was working in a warehouse and going to business school, thinking seriously about abandoning his dreams of being a singer after two failed “American Idol” auditions and years of struggling with little to show for it.

He auditioned for Sean Combs’ MTV reality show, “Making the Band 4,” on a lark and was shocked on live television last August when he wasn’t selected to become part of the group assembled, Day26, but instead received a recording contract as a solo artist with Diddy’s Bad Boy Records.

On Tuesday, only a year and a week after his selection, Klang’s debut, “Just a Rolling Stone,” will hit stores and, with Combs’ backing, has a legitimate shot at No. 1.

Her new album “Breakout” (Hollywood), however, captures her awkward in-betweenness and puts it on display. “Breakout” is supposed to be her debut as a “serious” artist, the album that shows she’s ready to match up with the adults. Truth is, she’s not.