It seems pretty obvious to me that the Omar side projects were a way for Omar to continue being actively creative while Cedric was taking his time being passively creative, absorbing life experiences and writing, which takes more time than Omar takes to whip up a guitar riff and slap some keys on it.
So now they've found a way to get Cedric to write faster (less concern over trying to come up with "interesting," dense or difficult lyrics/vocal melodies) and for Omar to focus on multiple mainstay projects at the same time to rein in his compulsive creativity.
At least, it seems that way to me...