47 Things to See, Hear, and Do This Fall

If not for the sixteen years Guns N' Roses has spent tinkering with Chinese Democracy, a lot of people would be making jokes about The Renaissance. Over the course of nine years, Q-Tip started and abandoned three different records for three different labels before finally settling on a title, a track list and a release date for his second solo album. If the sample gets cleared, The Renaissance will open with a sound byte from a Barack Obama speech, setting the tone less for a political album than a carnival of guest spots. So far, Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, D'Angelo, Raphael Saadiq and, in her first hip hop dalliance, Norah Jones, are all in. No word if Axl Rose will be joining them.

— Josh Tyrangiel