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Amplified [PA] [078221461924]

Q-Tip
1 disc

1. Wait Up
2. Higher
3. Do It
4. Moving With U
5. Let's Ride
6. Things U Do
7. All In
8. Go Hard
9. Breathe and Stop
10. Vivrant Thing
11. N.T. - (featuring Busta Rhymes)
12. End of Time - (featuring Korn)
Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 14619
Credits

Producer
Engineer
Personnel: Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes (rap vocals); Meda Leacock (background vocals); Korn.
Producers: Jay Dee, Q-Tip, DJ Scratch.
Engineers include: Steve Souder, Jason Groucott, Ken "Duro" Ifill.
Recorded at The Hit Factory, New York, New York.
A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip has played a very important role in hip-hop. And though loyal Quest fans dreaded the day that the members of the threesome (sometimes foursome) would go their separate ways, everyone longed and waited patiently for the highly anticipated Q-Tip solo joint. With that in mind and a mic in hand, Q-Tip comes correct on his debut album, AMPLIFIED.
With this album, the Abstract One makes it clear why his music has been so influential. The always-original Q-Tip is the type of rapper who makes his own trends. He also possesses nearly peerless skills as an MC and producer. The club-ready "Breathe and Stop" makes it hard for anyone to stay off the dance floor, and along with the album's other tracks, helps carry out a more mature hip-hop sound. Throughout AMPLIFIED, collaborations are kept to a minimum, allowing Q-Tip to show off his versatility. Two exceptions, however, are "End of Time," which features rock stars Korn, and "N.T.," a track on which Q-Tip shares the mic with longtime friend Busta Rhymes.
Critic Reviews

Rolling Stone (1/20/00, p.57) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...stew-pot hip-hop - traditional blunts, broads and braggadocio filtered through Tip's abstract lens....represents laid-back hip-hop 2 minutes into the future....it's gonna make you dance like you're on a bed of hot coals."
Entertainment Weekly (12/3/99, p.102) - "...you'd be hard pressed to find more creativity on a rap album, from scrambling-for-a-dictionary lyrical flow and jazzbo guitars to Princely studio tricks....confirms that he can still kick it..." - Rating: A-
Q (1/01, p.93) - Included in Q's "50 Best Albums of 2000".
Q (2/00, p.91) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...laid-back, jazzy, ambient hip-hop....[His] focused positivity, lightness of touch and deft improvisations are a welcome antidote to the heavy-handed self-aggrandising of many gangsta rappers..."
Alternative Press (3/00, pp.91-2) - 4 out of 5 - "...strkies an adroit balance between pop and experimental mixes....Every track is at once relentlessly slamming and melodically graceful..."
Muzik (2/00, p.68) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...a gold-standard hip hop album that makes a perfect match between [Q-Tip's] rap skills and The Ummah's super-sharp production....[It] shows Q-Tip on form and roaring into the future..."
CMJ (12/27/99, p.5) - "...Tip brings much-needed wit and intelligence to the art of getting jiggy with it....club-ready booty cuts...are balanced out by classes in the traditional Tip science you've come to know and love..."
NME (Magazine) (12/30/00, p.79) - Ranked #48 in NME's "Top 50 Albums Of The Year".
NME (Magazine) (1/15/00, p.29) - "Dope rhymes and, particularly, dope beats from the Tip here....his lyrics retain their former classic blend of the laid-back and the diamond sharp..."