Recorded in 2001 but shelved because there were no “hits,” Kamaal
the Abstract is a great leap for Q-Tip, expanding and delivering on
everything to which A Tribe Called Quest aspired. True to its title,
the album is predominantly a meditation on free jazz forms, funk and
hip-hop, with many long improvised passages. Q-Tip’s signature rap
style is left to the last three (most Tribe-like) tracks; he sings or
interjects intermittently, giving his musicians more room to maneuver.
Even though The Roots, Andre 3000 and others have continued to push the
boundaries of hip-hop since this album was originally supposed to have
been released, Kamaal the Abstract is still a genre-busting work of
genius that reconfirms Q-Tip’s supremacy as a progressive composer.
This article appears in Oct 15-21, 2009.