I was by far more annoyed that wack ass KORN had a feature on the album.
ultimately, yes the album was a big departure from the 'Tribe Called Quest' feel -- BUT GUESS WHAT? IT WASN'T TRIBES ALBUM.
he'd done the Tribe sound for years & seemed ready to move on, I wasnt at all surprised that when he finally broke out for himself that he switched the style up.
Seeing how cohesive the whole album is (pretty much ALL J.Dilla production -- clean, crispy, head nodding) I think it's safe to assume that's exactly what he actually wanted to express at that time -- which is kinda the opposite of "sellin out". it's not like he jumped on Timbaland beats, -- him & Dilla developed their own next sound.
Content-wise it was less "abstract" & that's probably the bigger disappointment than the production -- but lets not act like he hadn't previously beeen on that mackin shyt a good amount the time anyways. & the album still has shyt like:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8rUtYrV7kM]Q-Tip - Do It, Be It, See It (The Ummah Production) (1999) [HQ] - YouTube[/ame]
if it had a few more deeper tracks (& no KORN) it'd probably catch a lot higher regard. As is, I'd term it more "meh" than "sellout".
Phife's wackass solo proved he followed his intincts well