Q-Tip, Norah Jones. "Life is Better." The Renaissance, Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc., 2008.
The opening of this track always transports me to a dreamy place, that funky baseline, the electric keys, those drum beats, and Norah's soothing other-worldly vocals.
"I'm so into your rich histories," she coos, "tell me stories and take me away."
Q-Tip takes the bait and in the second verse goes into an incredible historical overview of hip hop, starting with "a man walked on the moon" and of course ending with the late great J Dilla. It's all a love letter to the genre's greatest.