Arista Records thought this record, which should have been released in 2001, was not commercial and therefore not good enough. As an artist it is of course very frustrating when the record company does not appreciate your work and rapper Q-Tip also had to deal with opposition. Fortunately, he was smart enough to get the rights back to the Kamaal The Abstract album and then release it via Jive /
… Battery. Still it is a pity that a record company does not know what to do with a CD like this. We hear a Q-Tip experimenting with vocals and jazz and it is not only exciting that he is doing something new, but it also sounds very good. Without losing his identity, Kamaal ventures into jazzy sounds and is supported in this by the jazz saxophonists Kenny Garrett and Gary Thomas, among others. Some highlights are: Barely In Love, Heels and Abstractionisms. (GL)more