In 1999 after parting ways with his group A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip released his first solo record called Amplified or as some called it Puff-ified. One major hit single later, Vivrant Thing, a star was born. After supporting the record Tip jumped back into the studio in 2001 to record the follow-up which was to be called Kamaal The Abstract. Circling back to his rap roots, the album infused the usual jazz and hip-hop influences that had been the norm in his days with Tribe and it was certainly a departure from his previous effort. Arista, his record company at the time, thought it was just a bit too much of a depature and shelved the project due to a lack of commercial viability or so they said. So there it sat waiting to be heard. Actually several pre-release demo's had circulated to the press and even a few reviews popped out here and there...it got good reviews btw, so initial reaction was positive. But to no avail. So someone like me was left to sign a web petition demanding it's release and scouring the internet for a possible download (yup I got it). What a great record, I loved it's energy, it's rawness and it's complete departure from Amplified, of course the record company would hate it, it was real art! Not soon after that Arista dropped Q-Tip from it's roster of artists and he was left to fight them for control of his un-released works (actually there was a second album recorded as well but has yet to be released). Eventually by 2008 Tip was a free man releasing the amazing 'comeback' (don't call it a comeback) record The Renaissance further showcasing his abilities to make great music. Then a year later Kamaal The Abstract was finally released to the public on 9/15/09 to modest success. Of course we will never know what would have been if the music had been available when it was originally intended to, I'm just glad I have it.
This is the original album artwork
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