RhoDeo 2116 Grooves The Roots

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Today's Artists One of the most prolific rap groups, were also among the most progressive acts in contemporary music, from their 1993 debut through their conceptual 2010s releases. Despite the seemingly archaic practice of functioning as a rap band with several instrumentalists -- from 2007 onward, their lineup even featured a sousaphonist -- they were ceaselessly creative, whether with their own material or through their varied assortment of collaborations. They went platinum and gold with successive studio releases and won a handful of Grammy Awards. After they gained a nightly nationwide audience through a close partnership with television host Jimmy Fallon, they continued to challenge listeners with works free of genre restrictions..  N Joy

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Members
Black Thought (vocals), ?uestlove (drums), Malik B (vocals, 1987-99), Joshua Abrams (bass, 1988-90), Leonard Hubbard (bass, 1992-2007), Kid Crumbs (vocals, 1993), Scott Storch (keyboards, 1995), Kamal Gray (keyboards, 1995-present), Dice Raw (vocals, 1995-2000), Rahzel (human beatbox, 1995-99), Scratch (human beatbox, 1998-2003), Ben Kenney (guitar, 2000-03), Frank Walker (percussion, 2002-present), Martin Luther (vocals, 2003-04), Kirk Douglas (guitar, 2003-present), Damon Bryson (sousaphone, 2007-present), Owen Biddle (bass, 2007-11), Mark Kelley (bass, 2011-present), Stro Elliot (producer, sampling, 2017-present)

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Organix The Roots' focus on live music began back in 1987, when rapper Black Thought (Tariq Trotter) and drummer ?uestlove (Ahmir Khalib Thompson) became friends at the Philadelphia High School for Creative Performing Arts. Playing around school, on the sidewalk, and later at talent shows (with ?uestlove's drum kit backing Black Thought's rhymes), the pair began to earn money and hooked up with bassist Hub (Leon Hubbard) and rapper Malik B. Moving from the street to local clubs, the Roots became a highly tipped underground act around Philadelphia and New York. When they were invited to represent stateside hip-hop at a concert in Germany, the Roots recorded an album to sell at shows; the result, Organix, was released in May 1993 on Remedy Records. With a music industry buzz surrounding their activities, the Roots entertained offers from several labels before signing with DGC that same year.

Do You Want More?!!!??! The Roots' first major-label album, Do You Want More?!!!??!, was released in January 1995. Forsaking usual hip-hop protocol, the record was produced without any samples or previously recorded material. It peaked just outside the Top 100 of the Billboard 200 and made more tracks in alternative circles, partly due to the Roots playing the second stage at Lollapalooza that summer. The band also journeyed to the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Two of the guests on the album who had toured around with the band, human beatbox Rahzel the Godfather of Noyze -- previously a performer with Grandmaster Flash and LL Cool J -- and Scott Storch (later replaced by Kamal Gray), became permanent members of the group.

Illadelph Halflife Early in 1996, the Roots released "Clones," the trailer single for their second album. It hit the rap Top Five, and created a good buzz. That September, Illadelph Halflife appeared and made number 21 on the Billboard 200. Much like its predecessor, though, the Roots' second LP was a difficult listen. It made several very small concessions to mainstream rap -- the bandmembers sampled material that they had recorded earlier at jam sessions -- but failed to make a hit of their unique sound. Their third album, February 1999's Things Fall Apart, was easily their biggest critical and commercial success. Released on MCA, it went platinum, and "You Got Me" -- a collaboration with Erykah Badu -- peaked within the Top 40 and subsequently won a Grammy in the category of Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.

Phrenology The long-awaited Phrenology was released in November 2002 amid rumors of the Roots losing interest in their label arrangements with MCA. In 2004, the band remedied the situation by creating the Okayplayer company. Named after their website, Okayplayer included a record label and a production/promotion company. The same year, the band held a series of jam sessions to give their next album a looser feel. The results were edited down to ten tracks and released in July 2004 as The Tipping Point, supported by Geffen. A 2004 concert from Manhattan's Webster Hall with special guests like Mobb Deep, Young Gunz, and Jean Grae was issued in February 2005 as The Roots Present in both CD and DVD formats. Two volumes of the rarities-collecting Home Grown! The Beginner's Guide to Understanding the Roots appeared at the end of the year.

Game Theory A subsequent deal with Def Jam fostered a series of riveting, often grim sets, beginning with Game Theory (August 2006) and Rising Down (April 2008). In 2009, the group expanded their reach as the exceptionally versatile house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The new gig didn't slow their recording schedule; in 2010 alone, they released the sharp How I Got Over (June), as well as Wake Up! (September), where they backed John Legend on covers of socially relevant soul classics like Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' "Wake Up Everybody" and Donny Hathaway's "Little Ghetto Boy." It earned Grammy Awards for Best R&B Album and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. As they remained with Fallon, the Roots worked with Miami soul legend Betty Wright on November 2011's Betty Wright: The Movie, and followed it the next month with their 13th studio long-player, Undun, an ambitious concept album whose main character dies in the first track and then follows his life backward.

Wise Up Ghost and Other Songs Work on the group's next studio LP was postponed as an unexpected duet album with Elvis Costello took priority for the group in 2013. Originally planned as a reinterpretation of Costello's songbook, the record Wise Up Ghost turned into a full-fledged collaboration and was greeted by positive reviews upon its September 2013 release on Blue Note. Within six months, the band joined Jimmy Fallon in his new late-night slot, the high-profile Tonight Show program. Another concept album, the brief but deep ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin, was released in May 2014. Rapper Malik B., a fixture on the Roots' early albums, died on July 29, 2020, at the age of 47.

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The Roots' low-profile debut set out many of the themes they would employ over the course of their successful career. An intro, "The Roots Is Comin'," is barely over a minute long, yet long enough to exemplify the band's funky bassline (here played by Leonard Hubbard), their dreamy and emotional organ chords (thanks to Scott Storch), and their ferociously swift yet clear rhymes from the group's focal MC Black Thought. The song that follows, "Pass the Popcorn" would have been called a "posse cut" in 1993. Everyone could've used a little more practice before stepping up to the mic on this song, but the spirit of the song are not lost in the amateurishness. The creative venture "Writers Block" is an example of just the opposite, as Black Thought flows with spoken word, comically and creatively expressing the experience of a day in the life of a Philadelphian using mass transit. The instrumentation is appropriately frantic and punctuated by [cymbal] crashes (like any mass transit system). Fans of Do You Want More, the Roots album released immediately following Organix, will recognize the music of "I'm Out Deah," "Leonard I-V," and "Essawhamah?" Another track to note is "The Session (Longest Posse Cut in History)," -- no false claim at 12 minutes and 43 seconds. This album should be a part of any Roots fan's collection -- not so much because it is an example of their artistry at its best, but because it allows you to see where they came from and how fruitful of a journey it's been.




<a href="https://bayfiles.com/pcebLcsfu8/Th_Rts_Orgnx_zip">   The Roots - Organix </a> 355mb (flac   93)

01 The Roots Is Comin' 1:17
02Pass the Popcorn 5:32
03 The Anti-Circle 3:48
04 Writer's Block 1:45
05 Good Music (Prelude) 1:00
06 Good Music 4:32
07 Grits 6:36
08 Leonard I-V 4:06
09 I'm Out Deah 4:11
10 ESSAWAMAH? (Live at the Soulshack) 4:21
11 There's a RIOT Goin' On 0:13
12 Popcorn Revisited 4:06
13 Peace 1:16
14 Common Dust 5:04
15 The Session (Longest Posse Cut in History 12:43) 12:45
16 Syreeta's Having My Baby 0:42
17 Carryin' On 1:26

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The Roots do best. If ya don't know by now, you really need to. Because this album here is a fine display of jazzy, concious hip hop.

There be two main fellas on the mic here. Black Thought and Malik B. Now, both these dudes can kick it on the microphone. They've got this energy that isn't equaled often... you know, when they lay down a rhyme, you really wanna listen to it. I wouldn't call them the end-all be-all of emcees. But the energy sure makes them sound tighter than otherwise. They'll be braggin' and battlin' but also laying down some thought-worthy shit (though not as much here as later). It's this kinda versatility that you wanna find in hip hop. Black Thought especially kicks the shit out of the album here. His style is totally unique and all to his own, and he does the sweet beats justice with his styles. Don't get me wrong, Malik is sweet, too, but it's kinda like Monch and Po.

Dem beats, man. You gots ta like 'dem beats. Who could deny this shit? You can't find a better hybrid than this, honestly. One of the only hip hop groups that's actually... well, a group and not a crew. Black Thought and Malik B. are backed up by a tight group here playing live instruments. ?uestlove's drumming is particularly awesome here. There's a reason he's so well known and respected amongs the community. They kick the jazz here and let it flow and go, as it should be. The energy equals those two emcees, and energy in jazz is super-important. If they ain't giving their all, I'm not gonna wanna hear it. Well guess what? Every one of these musicians put in all they got and the result is a damn fine effort. Not to mention that each song sounds like it's own effort and not so much a continuous jam. Again, VERSATILITY!!! It's key.

Now, there's not much to call weak here. Nope. BUT, there are a couple of things that bothered me. Particularly the last four or five tracks. I wouldn't call most of 'em weak, but they don't live up to the first half of the album. Maybe it's just me, but my mind started wandering after Swept Away, only to be recaptured by Silent Treatment, and then wander again. Oh, and that last track... whoa. The first time you hear it, you won't know what to make of it. The Unlocking is a spoken-word with guest Ursula Rucker. Hmmmm... I'll let you figure this one out for yourself, because it's almost impossible to describe it. Just know you'll probably either love it or hate it.

The ending result? A classic east-coast jazz-rap album with enough energy to power Manhattan. I don't mean Manhatten, Kansas either. I'm talking the big one. Seriously, check 'dis shit out.

<a href="https://www.imagenetz.de/6Gnng "> The Roots - Do You Want More + From The Ground Up (EP) </a> (flac   416mb)

01 Intro / There's Something Goin' On 1:17
02 Proceed 4:35
03 Distortion to Static 4:18
04 Mellow My Man 4:41
05 I Remain Calm 4:08
06 Datskat 3:40
07 Lazy Afternoon 5:06
08 ? vs. Rahzel 3:18
09 Do You Want More?!!!??! 3:22
10 What Goes On Pt. 7 5:33
11 Essaywhuman?!!!??! 5:00
12 Swept Away 3:50
13 You Ain't Fly 4:43
14 Silent Treatment 6:53
15 The Lesson Pt.1 5:12
16 The Unlocking
- The Unlocking 5:05
- [silence] 2:45
- [hidden track] 0:22
From The Ground Up (EP) (195 mb)
Second project released by the Roots after the independent debut the year before. Composed of six long tracks (four later included in the second studio album, released in 1995), for a total of almost 33 minutes of listening, the record features the rapping of Black Thought supported by the band and some scattered vocal contributions performed by the other members of the group, including Malik B, MC Ni and B.R.O.THER.?, one of the first names of Questlove. The tape boasts excellent jazzy rhythms, boom bap, slow and solid drums and a generally simple soundscape in order to highlight the slow, smooth, syncopated and calm delivery of the major performer, at times dope. To note the contributions of guests Steve Coleman, Graham Haynes, Josh Roseman and Rusuf Harley, who respectively provide sax, trumpet, trombone and bagpipes, while the sax in "Worldwide (London Groove)" is that of Steve Williamson. Some cuts are better than others, however, it's not an essential release. Recommended for jazz rap fans.

01 It's Comin' 6:31
02 Distortion to Static 4:26
03 Mellow My Man 4:49
04 Dat Scat 5:19
05 Worldwide (London Groove) 8:16
06 Do You Want More?! 3:29

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Black Thought and Malik B were always good rappers, but on Illadelph Halflife...holy shit. I would say that they improved, but that wouldn't seem right. There's no way that two rappers could improve their rapping skills that much in one year. Maybe they were always that talented, but they were holding out on us. Anyway, if you couldn't tell, these lyrics are great. Actually, great would be an understatement. Lyrically, Illadelph Halflife is on the level of Illmatic and Soul On Ice. You can hardly compare the lyrical content of this album to that of Illmatic and Soul On Ice, but I'm basically saying that Illadelph Halflife is the third best hip hop album, lyrically, of all time in my opinion. On this album, Black Thought and Malik B remind me of Pharoahe Monch and Prince Po of Organized Konfusion. Black Thought is like Pharoahe because he's the better rapper, and he almost always outshines Malik B. Malik is like Prince Po because he's also a great rapper, but he isn't given enough credit because Black Thought is better. That's basically the way it goes for this album. Malik can have a sick verse, but it either doesn't live up to Black Thought's verse earlier in the song, or Black Thought delivers a much better verse right afterwards.

Earlier in the review, I mentioned this album as a "transformation." The reason for that is that The Roots aren't all fun and games any more. Prior to Illadelph Halflife, The Roots' lyrics had more to do with having fun. This album is a little bit darker. Don't worry. They didn't go completely "thug" or anything like that. There's more rapping about street life, there's more conscious hip hop, and during all of it, they're lyrically killing it. It doesn't matter what they're rapping about. On THIS album, they're gonna kill it.

As if the lyrics weren't enough, the beats on Illadelph Halflife are classic smooth, jazzy boom bap. Boom bap is already my favorite type of hip hop production, so when it's combined with jazz, it's irresistable. This album is jazzy, but it's also darker than their first two albums, which fits with the lyrics. Another thing that's different about the production is that it doesn't sound as much like a band is playing the beats. It sounds more like a typical east coast album would in 1996. I think that Illadelph Halflife is the best produced album by The Roots.


                                           
<a href="https://multiup.org/15a33224ae64c85ce17bc17e115f171e "> The Roots - Illadelph Halflife </a> (flac min 473mb)

01 Intro 0:36
02 Respond / React 5:09
03 Section 4:11
04 Panic!!!!! 1:26
05 It Just Don't Stop 4:35
06 Episodes 5:58
07 Push Up Ya Lighter 4:38
08 What They Do 5:58
09 ? vs. Scratch (The Token DJ Cut) 1:49
10 Concerto of the Desperado 3:40
11 Clones 4:56
12 UNIverse at War 4:57
13 No Alibi 5:13
14 Dave vs. US 0:52
15 No Great Pretender 4:27
16 The Hypnotic 5:20
17 Ital (The Universal Side) 4:55
18 One Shine 5:42
19 The Adventures in Wonderland 4:36
20 Outro 0:15
   

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One of the cornerstone albums of alternative rap's second wave, Things Fall Apart was the point where the Roots' tremendous potential finally coalesced into a structured album that maintained its focus from top to bottom. If the group sacrifices a little of the unpredictability of its jam sessions, the resulting consistency more than makes up for it, since the record flows from track to track so effortlessly. Taking its title from the Chinua Achebe novel credited with revitalizing African fiction, Things Fall Apart announces its ambition right upfront, and reinforces it in the opening sound collage. Dialogue sampled from Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues implies a comparison to abstract modern jazz that lost its audience, and there's another quote about hip-hop records being treated as disposable, that they aren't maximized as product or as art. That's the framework in which the album operates, and while there's a definite unity counteracting the second observation, the artistic ambition actually helped gain the Roots a whole new audience ("coffeehouse chicks and white dudes," as Common puts it in the liner notes). The backing tracks are jazzy and reflective, filled with subtly unpredictable instrumental lines, and the band also shows a strong affinity for the neo-soul movement, which they actually had a hand in kick-starting via their supporting work on Erykah Badu's Baduizm. Badu returns the favor by guesting on the album's breakthrough single, "You Got Me," an involved love story that also features a rap from Eve, co-writing from Jill Scott, and an unexpected drum'n'bass breakbeat in the outro. Other notables include Mos Def on the playful old-school rhymefest "Double Trouble," Slum Village superproducer Jay Dee on "Dynamite!," and Philly native DJ Jazzy Jeff on "The Next Movement." But the real stars are Black Thought and Malik B, who drop such consistently nimble rhymes throughout the record that picking highlights is extremely difficult. Along with works by Lauryn Hill, Common, and Black Star, Things Fall Apart is essential listening for anyone interested in the new breed of mainstream conscious rap.



<a href="https://mir.cr/MCLDHWDS"> The Roots - Things Fall Apart </a> (flac   419mb)

01 Act Won (Things Fall Apart) 0:56
02 Table of Contents (Parts 1 & 2) 3:39
03 The Next Movement 4:12
04 Step Into the Relm 2:51
05 The Spark 3:54
06 Dynamite! 4:47
07 Without a Doubt 4:16
08 Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New 4:36
09 Double Trouble 5:52
10 Act Too (The Love of My Life) 4:56
11 100% Dundee 3:55
12 Diedre vs. Dice 0:49
13 Adrenaline! 4:29
14 3rd Acts: ? vs. Scratch 2... Electric Boogaloo 0:53
15 You Got Me 4:21
16 Don't See Us 4:32
17 The Return to Innocence Lost 11:55
    - [silence] 1:30
 18 Act Fore (...) 0:05
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