Q-Tip AKA Kamaal the Abstract
< author: ill lit >
Right now in the used vinyl section sits a resurrected album sampler from Q-Tip’s unreleased solo LP (under the name Kamaal the Abstract) just wating to be picked up by some lucky digger. Why unreleased, you ask??? Probably because it doesn’t sound like jazzy 90’s Tribe or his first solo effort Amplified (remember “Vivrant Thing”?). Instead, Tip — er, I mean Kamaal — rounds up a gang of musicians to lay down organic nu-jazz/rock/downtempo-ish beats underneath his signature nasal flow. There’s as much singing as rapping here, but Tip has no problem letting the musicians jam for longer than your token break-down.
The sampler gives you the more drum, guitar, and organ influenced tracks: “Heels,” “Feelin’,” and “Barely in Love,” plus instrumentals for the latter two. Since the master tapes are sitting somewhere in Arista’s vaults, don’t expect to see this around much.
