Special girl, real good girl, biggest thing in my itty-bitty world...

I get a chuckle at the "I listen to everything....but rap" cliche I read online soooo many times. It's understandable, given the violent, misogynist, homophonic, and basically puerile crap that is spoonfed to the masses on "pop" radio. Between the series of penis-extension braggadocio and indecipherable grunts, the poetry of the streets has become it's worst nightmare at times because of its own success. However, the hip-hop story doesnt start and end with 50 Cent, Master P, and Lil' Jon. Throughout the last 25 years or so of the evolution of the genre, there was been an underground to the underground, a niche of alternative hip-hop music which not only emphasizes the poetry and beat structure so vital to rap, but infusing influences from different musical styles to create more of an eclectic musical experience than most of anything seen before. A Tribe Called Quest were essential artists in this aspect, bringing jazz and free-flow poetry inspirations to the street grit of rap. After five classic albums, the three-piece split, with highest-profile member Q-Tip released just one album so far since, the funky beyond all funky Amplified.

The music on this disc is a natural progression from the beats of ATCQ, jazz-influenced drum times and old-school samples put together without relying on nostalgic coolness that goes with a lot of jazz-rap hybrids (read: Digible Planets). Though as compared to the preachiness of a lot of ATCQ's work, Amplified drops all the pretense and goes for the party. "Wait Up" starts it off with a skittish riff that carries its conversational call-out. Next comes "Higher", a soulful groove chugging along while Q-Tip brags his game. The club fave "Breathe and Stop" is made for dancin', with it's stop-start chorus and smoothly bitchy rhymes. The CD continues with track after track of interesting time signatures and funky guitar samples. Of note is the Kraftwerk-like "Go Hard" and the suave but anthemic "Vivrant Thing". The production is so futuristic though, that the whole album sounds fresh even seven years later. Closing the CD is two cool collaboration tracks, the retro-rap cut N.T. with Busta Rhymes and the experimental cut "End Of Time" with rap-metal pioneers Korn. All and all Amplified is a rich experience that you can groove to at a cocktail party with your beatnik friends but still be cool.

Grade: B
Best Cuts: "Breathe & Stop", "Vivrant Thing", "Go Hard"

Amplified hit #28 on the Pop Albums and #4 on the R&B Albums chart.
"Vivrant Thing" made #26 Pop, #7 R&B, and #39 in the UK.
"Breathe & Stop" hit #71 Pop, #21 R&B, and #12 in the UK.

To buy Amplified, you can check out here and here.

To listen to the "club mix" of "Vivrant Thing" you can click here.

And here's the video for "Breathe & Stop" though it does fit the stereotypical rapper'n'hoes pattern...