Q-Tip Doesn't Chart As High As Anticipated

12/10/1999 5:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Craig Rosen

(12/10/99, 5 p.m. ET) - Amplified, the much-hyped debut solo album by former A Tribe Called Quest frontman Q-Tip, born Jonathan Davis, didn't fare as well as some expected in its first week of official release. The 12-track set, which features collaborations with Busta Rhymes and Korn, sold a little more than 89,000 copies, placing it at No. 28 on the Billboard 200 Album chart. Amplified was bested by Unleash The Dragon, the debut solo album from Dru Hill frontman Sisqo, which sold more than 125,000 copies.

Sources tell LAUNCH that the album sales could've been dwarfed by the increasing growth of Q-Tip's breakout first single, "Vivrant Thing," which appeared on two other albums and boosted their sales months before Amplified bowed. The set's second single, "Breathe And Stop," is now heating up even though Q-Tip is maintaining a discreet media profile outside of mainstream outlets. He has been featured in cover stories in The Source magazine and Russell Simmons's One World, and select appearances on MTV and BET, but Q-Tip's critics believe the album could've been pushed more by the artist himself. Adding to the confusion is the fact that it was at Q-Tip's exclusive party at New York's Kit Kat Klub that music mogul Lance "Un" Rivera was stabbed, allegedly by hip-hop icon Jay-Z (LAUNCH, 12/3).

-- Karu F. Daniels, New YorkGot news tips, comments, or questions? Send them to newstips@launch.com.