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Title: "Amplified" should be muted
Review: As a loyal Tribe fan, I was not pleased with Tip's first attempt at his own sound. It seemed that in his zeal for greatness he forgot what got him to this point. Tip compromises intelligent beats and thoughtful lyrics in order to go main stream and receive an abundance of radio play. Prior to this release, Q-Tip was my favorite emcee, but his latest album crushed all of my expectations and led me to the conclusion that Tip will never again reach a level of hip-hop like that in "The Low End Theory", or "Peoples' Instinctive Travels and Paths of Rhythm". I would have to say that Q-Tip has ended his dynasty as a leading underground hip-hop artist for the lights and glamour of television. I was reassured of my feelings when the better half of "A Tribe Called Quest", Phife Dogg, released his solo album which surpassed my expectations while remaining underground. "Amplified" might be abundant in popular sound, but as a hip-hop record, it falls short of the mark.
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