Former A Tribe Called Quest frontman Q-Tip will release his new solo album, The Renaissance, on December 18th. The rapper told SOHH.com, "I felt that music overall is in need of some sort of awakening. I’m going to surprise you."

Q-Tip added, "Hip-Hop now is the dominant culture around the world, not just in America, worldwide. We’re reaching the corners of the planet that we hadn’t in maybe 15 years and I think that it’s great. We’re growing up too and we’re making strides and that’s a thing that should be applauded. I love it dearly, so I feel if anybody has a right to critique in a positive or negative way, it’s me, being that I’ve given a lot to the form and the idiom."

For his new album, Q-Tip recruited a new band but not in the traditional sense. The rapper explained, "It’s not a band in the traditional sense. I have samples, they replay them and embellish so it still has that gritty hip-hop sound. It’s a bit more musical. As well as having actual songs with my band, I have certain things I chopped up, so it’s a mixed bag, but the dominating factor is the musicians."

As far as the content of the music, the rapper said, "I have songs speaking on the desperation of a generation. We are so entrenched in self-involvement and putting that out to the world, we forget about the rest of mankind. That’s evidenced through what’s happening with the environment, in America it’s evidenced in the rate of people getting divorced."

The first single from the new album is "Work It Out."