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. The 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".
Amplified (Q-Tip album)
Kamaal Ibn John Fareed, better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American rapper, record producer, singer, and DJ. Nicknamed the Abstract, he is noted for his innovative jazz-influenced style of hip hop production and his philosophical, esoteric and introspective lyrical themes. He embarked on his music career in the late 1980s, as an MC and main producer of the influential alternative hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. In the mid-1990s, he co-founded the production team The Ummah, followed by the release of his gold-certified solo debut Amplified in 1999. In the following decade, he released the Grammy Award-nominated album The Renaissance (2008) and the experimental album Kamaal the Abstract (2009).
Q-Tip in Washington, D.C.; 2008
Q-Tip performing with A Tribe Called Quest
Q-Tip at Fat Beats NYC 1999
Q-Tip and Amanda Diva at the "Manwomanboogie" video shoot in 2008