Q Tip’s Kamaal The Abstract was a concept album that served a mish-mash of jazz, soul, rock and rap across eleven tracks. It was shelved in 2001 while he was signed under Arista. Then the LP hit the internet a couple of years ago and you know how that goes; it got bootlegged to oblivion. Anyway, I’m not eligible to cast the first stone as it’s been sitting on my hard drive for a minute.

So when I heard that Tip was releasing the album in stores next week, I tried to figure out what good could come from it. Selling an album that got widely distributed for free online is beyond a hard sell. On top of that, album sales can’t do anything but decline these days. At that point I realized that there had to be some other incentive behind this move that preceded financial gain.

This video shows, in Q-Tip’s words, how quick support vanished for his experiment when it was supposed to be released. It fell under the usual trappings that other albums of a similar caliber face. It didn’t have a radio single and it sounded too different. So LA Reid decided to pull the plug.

My best guess is Tip was a strong proponent for his work and just wanted it’s final chapter to close in the form of a release. Therefore when he got the chance, he opted to give the LP a fair shake. Additionally, I’m gonna go out on a limb and suggest he figures he’ll tap the faithful indie crowd too as it’s not coming out on a major label. Tip seems more concerned about finally putting the album out and letting people hear it rather than first week sales.

So now I’ll pose this question to you all. Would you do the same thing if you were in the Abstract Poetic’s shoes?

As a bonus, XXL speaks with the Abstract about giving beats to Biggie and Jay-Z.

Kamaal The Abstract drops tomorrow, 9.15. If you haven’t heard it after all this time & want to keep it clear conscious, it’s available for preview @ Q-Tip’s Myspace.