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Q-Tip - Kamaal the Abstract
| Allmusic |
| A personal, unique project compared to Amplified (Q-Tip's first under his own name), Kamaal the Abstract fittingly sounds more like a solo album; whereas Amplified merely built on the digital soul of the last Tribe Called Quest album (The Love Movement), this one is wide-ranging and diverse, a relaxed, loose-limbed date. Q-Tip lays way back on these cuts, rapping in a quick, low monotone for the opener, "Feelin'," even while the song breaks into some restrained guitar grind on the choruses. Guitars, in fact, crop up all over this record. Setting aside comparisons to the contemporary record by N.E.R.D. (the rock side project of hip-hop super-producers Neptunes), Q-Tip crafted a record that pays homage to the last gasp of organically produced mainstream pop in the '70s and '80s, paying a large compliment to Prince and Stevie Wonder, even as he proves himself far more talented than D'Angelo (if not quite as soulful). The beats are pointed and clipped, to be expected on a Q-Tip record, but he allows plenty of space for the arrangements to speak, like the trim trumpet lines pacing "Even if It Is So" or allowing plenty of room for extended blowing from a flute on the warm, pastoral "Do You Dig You." The former is one of the best tracks here, Q-Tip introducing his story song with a fluid, ten-second speed-rap that says more about the plight of the single mother he adores than any other rapper could with an entire album. This wasn't the kind of record that lights up the charts -- which could account for the reason it didn't appear on the shelves in late April 2002, as expected, and only earned an official release in 2009 -- but in many ways it's superior to the released Amplified. [The 2009 release via Jive included a bonus track, "Make It Work."]...full text |
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| Billboard |
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Q-Tip Originally set for an April 23, 2002, street date, A Tribe Called Quest leader Q-Tip's second solo album is a stark contrast to the polished swagger of his underrated 1999 debut, "Amplified." Soulful and organic, with roots in jazz and funk, "Kamaal the Abstract" finds Q-Tip not only rhyming in his trademark nasal cadence, but also singing—and surprisingly well to boot. But his label shelved the album after dubbing it "too uncommercial." Eight years later, "Kamaal the Abstract" finally gets an official release, thanks to Sony subsidiary Battery Records—and even after the long delay, the set seems ahead of its time. In addition to the original nine tracks—including the Prince-meets-Yusef Lateef slow burner "Do U Dig U?" and the airtight collaboration with sax great Kenny Garrett on "Abstractionisms"—this expanded edition contains two tracks left off the original release.—Ronald Hart...full text |
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| Blender |
| A Tribe Called Quest were always a favorite with those who prefer their hip-hop intelligent and innovative; and Q-Tip, a founding member in 1988 and effectively the group’s leader, seemed like he might have held the keys to hip-hop’s full potential.He appeared on fellow Native Tongues Posse rappers De La Soul’s innovative 3 Feet High and Rising (1989), and made four progressive albums with A Tribe Called Quest before the group disbanded in 1998. Although his first solo project, Amplified, went gold, it wasn’t the giant step forward it could have been.Fortunately, Kamaal the Abstract is. Q-Tip (or Kamaal, as he now wishes to be known) still raps, but he devotes more energy to acting as vocalist, musical director and producer on this new and heady genre fusion. Jazz — the last word in class and sophistication in progressive rap and soul circles — is more pronounced than ever before, provided here by Gary Thomas and Kenny Garrett (both former Miles Davis sidemen). Thomas plays flute over the lovely, loping, start-stop groove of “Do U Dig U?” and gets pretty abstract himself. Garrett — Davis’s last great find and possibly the most exciting alto saxophonist in the world — blows through “Abstractionisms,” otherwise one of the closest tracks to orthodox rap found on the album.Everything here is soft and loose. A long organ solo files down the rough edges on “Feelin’, ” turning it into smooth, comfortable soul jazz. Funky electric piano does a similar trick with “A Million Times,” and the soulful “Blue Girl” ends with an acoustic piano solo.There are few high or low moments — which might put some listeners off — but texture and content, rather than pulse-raising histrionics, have always been Q-Tip specialties....full text |
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