Q-Tip’s Kamaal the Abstract LP is undoubtedly one of the best unreleased hip-hop albums ever. Fortunately, Kamaal the Abstract will finally see the light of day this fall. The album was originally slated to drop in 2002, but label politics got in the way. Tip kept the original artwork and tracklist, but the album has now been remixed and remastered for the new release.

If you’ve never heard Kamaal the Abstract, you know what to do after the jump.
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Consequence - “Whatever You Want” (Ft. Kanye and Consequence)
Here’s Consequence’s new single from his eternally delayed album. It’s not the most embarassing single out of the G.O.O.D. Music camp, but it’s pretty damn close.

[H/T: Soulbrotha]

Cage - “Look at What You Did”

While we’re still pretending that Cage’s Depart From Me hasn’t already leaked, here’s another joint from the album. Courtesy of the kind folks at Def Jux.

Depart From Me arrives July 7th, 2009, but you can go ahead and preorder it now, if you’re so inclined.

Happy Poppa’s Day to all the dads out there holding it down for their kidlets. From one dad to another. In the words of Charles Wadworth, “By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.” Be a father to your child.

• Top 10 Hip-Hop Songs for Dads

Slaughterhouse - “Woodstock”

Slaughterhouse set the streets ablaze with their “D.O.A.” freestyle just a few days ago. If that freestyle session taught us anything, it’s that the quartet of Royce, Joell, Budden, and Crooked are efficient in an unrestrained setting. Just give these fellas a beat and a mic and they’ll make miracle with words.

However, freestyles don’t put food on the table. Freestyles don’t necessarily make great MCs. I’ve been skeptical about this “supergroup” because I’m curious to see how much of their lyricism would translate onto an album of 3 or 4-minute songs. Their most notable track thus far, “Move On,” was 8 minutes long. That one worked, mostly because of the beat. “Fight Club” (runtime: 4:33) is another highlight in their young catalog.

Those two songs allowed them to do what the do best — rap. Though “Woodstock” meets industry standard at 3:39, it comes with a hefty price. It may be the first time we’ve seen the fellas struggling to compress all that firepower into a 3-minute song. *Yawn* Wake me up when they drop another freestyle.

Yak Ballz - Gas Galaxy

Behold your daily dose of nerd-rap, courtesy of Yak Ballz, who’s becoming a regular fixture here on the TRU. It’ll probably stay that way until he blows up and becomes an impalpable ghost like some mediocre rookie rappers that will remain nameless. Anyhoo, here’s the first leak from Yak’s upcoming Def Jux album, Gas Galaxy. Enjoy.

Two-Five - “D.O.A.” (Death of Old Rappers)

Remember Two-Five? If not, here’s a refresher: Two-Five is 50’s cousin. End of story.

He’s touting this here “D.O.A.” (Death of Old Rappers) as the song that would bring New York back. Maybe he should first bring back his English teacher for a lesson in acronyms and initialisms.

The Ecstatic has been stuck in my system for a week now, so when I caught wind of this freestyle I was eager to check it out. I’ve never heard much from this kid, but he holds his own over a classic Madlib beat.

Slim Thug - “Welcome to Houston” (Feat. Chamillionaire, Z-Ro, Lil Keke, & UGK)
If H-town is ever going to regain its hegemony on hip-hop it’ll require a collective effort. This is a good start.

One of my gripes with “Death of Auto-Tune” was that it needed more energy to contrast the beat’s melancholic vibe. Problem solved. And did I mention that it’s a live cover?