a-bun-dance n. – 1. a more than plentiful quantity of something     2. a lifestyle with more than adequate provisions     3. a fullness of spirit that overflows

The founders of PPP want to thank you for your abundance by returning the favor.

Detroit-born duo Saadiq and Waajeed take the stage, decked in white—a lustrous pink bouncing off them from the lighting overhead. Saadiq wears a creamy trench coat with a fat bass slung over his shoulder, and Waajeed’s crisp suit gives an air of divine authority from behind his turntables.

They bring out nearly all of the featured artists from their first album, Triple P. Sa-Ra and Georgia—also sporting white—sing their souls out at the front. Tiombe and Invincible blow their life into the mic. Saadiq changes from thumping on his bass to pounding out the keyboards, and Waajeed drops beat after beat that makes the crowd go “OOOOHHH!”

The popularity of 2005’s Triple P afforded the group the chance to tour the country with their engaging live act. But an onslaught of internet bootlegging raised doubt for a sophomore release and deeply affected Waajeed and Saadiq.

“My initial reaction was ‘I want to fuck someone up.’ I’m a cool dude, but once I get started, it’s a wrap,” he said. “I understand that the internet is very important to an artist like me, but buzz don’t equate to sales. Buzz don’t equate to food on my plate. My landlord don’t take buzz.”

They eventually accepted that downloading wasn’t a personal slight and went back to work on their next project. Their forthcoming album, Abundance, is set to drop in October and will highlight the vocal stylings of St. Louis’ soulful throwback Coultrain, Los Angeles’ power singer Karma and Brooklyn’s ethereal Jamila Reagan. PPP will release a series of short documentaries to accompany each track off the new record, with footage that follows the group’s creative process. The videos will be launched on the Internet—that bittersweet place of bootleg and buzz.

“Where I’m from, if a man takes something from you, there’s a price to be paid,” Waajeed said of the rampant file-sharing that almost deaded Abundance before its inception. “[But] I had to focus on the positive, on the abundance of people who showed up to support us, who blog about us, the people who come out to the shows and buy our CDs. It’s such an abundance of people that supported us. This album is a dedication to those people.”