Amplified

Amplified is the debut studio album of American rapper Q-Tip, released November 30, 1999, on Arista Records. It became his first solo release after the disbandment of his former group A Tribe Called Quest in 1998. Production was primarily handled by Q-Tip and Jay Dee of The Ummah. The album spawned the Billboard Hot 100 hits "Vivrant Thing" and "Breathe and Stop". The album debuted at number 28 on the Billboard 200, and on January 5, 2000, it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States. As of July 2008, Amplified has sold 675,000 copies in the US. It received generally positive reviews from music critics. Background Recorded after the dissolution of Q-Tip's former group, A Tribe Called Quest, Amplified marked a stylistic departure for Q-Tip; writer Kembrew McLeod noted, "fans of Tribe's rootsy aesthetic were caught off guard" by Q-Tip's "transformation from abstract poet to libidinous, brand-conscious baller." The album was primarily produced by Q-Tip and Jay Dee of The Ummah, who had previously collaborated for production on A Tribe Called Quest's Beats, Rhymes and Life and The Love Movement albums. Music and lyrics Building on the jazzy R&B sound of The Love Movement, many of Amplifieds beats were initiated by Jay Dee, with Q-Tip adding some final touches to it; "When we would work together, he would have it, like, 75 percent there and I would add a kick or bass line". Jon Pareles of The New York Times noted Q-Tip's lyrics as typified by boasts and playful seduction raps, however, on some tracks, he maintained the philosophical abstract lyricism that he was previously known for. The hip hop community criticized the album as a "glitzy, commercial reach."