It would've been easy for the Roots to sell out. Already one of the few groups whose fans extend beyond the typical alternative rap base, tacking on the acoustic-guitary pop-rap song "Birthday Girl" -- which leaked the month before Rising Down's release and features Patrick Stump crooning "What is it we want to do, now that I'm allowed to be alone with you?" -- could've been a natural, and maybe even excusable move. Excusable as a way to show that the Roots can be lighthearted, fun, and tongue-in-cheek (though anyone who's heard any of their interviews or has frequented ?uestlove's blog already knows this to be true); not excusable, however, as the crossover track the label wanted it to be (and in fact, in Japan and Europe, as well as on iTunes, it remains as such). Fortunately, the Roots were smart and thoughtful enough -- the very qualities of whose criticism led to the creation of "Birthday Girl" -- to realize that its inclusion, even as an afterthought, a bonus track, was detrimental to the effect of the entire album, dumbing down their thoughts on poverty and race and politics with poppy melodies and creepy (albeit ironic) jokes about statutory rape and predatory old men.
Because as it stands, Rising Down acts as a powerful statement on contemporary society, a society in which even though the specific issues may have changed (global warming, BET, new technologies), the problems remain the same. For this reason the album begins and ends with a discussion from 1994, where Black Thought and ?uestlove are arguing about then-label Geffen with their managers, and other bits of the past are also spread throughout -- the 1987 freestyle "@15," which complements "75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)," the reflection found in "Unwritten" and especially in the cover itself, which nods to the crude caricatures from early America, the black devil wreaking havoc on the white pilgrims below. But it is these very reminders that make the Roots and their message in 2008 so much more relevant: they give context. So when Black Thought says "It is what it is, because of what it was/I did what I did 'cause it does what it does" in "Criminal," he's not just looking as his character's current situation, he's drawing from history, and his conclusions are based upon lifetimes of "it being it" and "doing what it does," of struggling and fighting and trying to get by, to make it however he can.
These same thoughts are echoed by the Roots' MC and the myriad talented guests who add their own equally hard-hitting verses to the album's tracks. "My life is on a flight that's going down/My mother had an abortion for the wrong child/...I felt love, that's gone now" Porn rhymes in the disquieting "I Can't Help It" (the other rappers on the song tackle ideas of chemical and monetary addictions), while on "Singing Man," the dark, reticent production gurgles with the pain and anger heard and stated more overtly in the three MCs' voices (Porn, Black Thought, and Truck North) as they present the sympathetic -- but not condoning -- perspectives of suicide bombers and campus shooters and child soldiers. It's dark and serious and intense, but Rising Down does offer hope, too, mostly in the form of the closing track, "Rising Up," which features Def Jam backing vocals queen Chrisette Michele, D.C. upstart Wale, and a Jay-Z-friendly beat. "We 'bout to dominate the world like Oprah did it," Black Thought says to end the song, an optimism that's far more powerful than anything "Birthday Girl" can provide. Those words, confident but not cocky, are the final punctuation -- an ellipsis, though, leading to a yet-completed thought -- on an album that's both revelatory and full of questions, an album that understands its spot in the Roots' history and American history, and an album that continues to place the group as one of the country's most talented and relevant in any genre, no calculated crossover necessary.
The Roots April 9th, 2009 Paramount Theatre Seattle When I was growing up, it seemed as if only a few thing were always consistent. One of those was my love for music. Me and my brother would lock ourselves in our rooms for hours, going through albums from Jazz and Hip-Hop to Rock n' Roll and Punk. It didn't [...]
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I hate to admit it, but I am glad I didnt buy this album. I have a big dilema with this. I usually dont mind if I dont like a cd after buying it, because I am "supporting the cause." The charity so to speak being the music industry, and as someone who tells themself that one day someone will buy a disk of sorts that I am singing on.... I buy albums. Sometimes even twice.White people really like...
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This show opened up with the Roots since the headliner of the night was Erykah Badu. Unfortunately I didn't get to see her and I hope that doesn't taint this review. I was able to take a few snaps of the show even though I was warned many times that there were to be no photos allowed. Fortunately our seats weren't ridiculously out there in the theatre and I was able to get some decent photos....
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The Roots - Philly legends, Hip-Hop veterans, and one of my favorite musical outfits – have recently released their 10th LP, Rising Down. As is typical with a Roots release, and due in large part to their self-financed web community Okayplayer.com, there has been much internet buzz (and some snark) about the new record. And while the boards at Okayplayer are not always a reliable source, the al.
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The Roots - Rising Down(Def Jam, 2008)8 out of 10This band deals, as participant-observers, in turbulence. "The Pow Wow" opens the scene in 1994; we get a glimpse of a band conference call, discussing some shit that went down at a Geffen meeting, pre-major-debut, and quickly shit starts to go down at this meeting, at least one man screaming. Not a shocking consequence of a conversation featurin...
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Game time!http://mog.com/Hello_Mimi/blog/230581Here are the instructions from Mimi's post:Step 1: Put your music player on random.Step 2: Post the first line (or so, some are hard) from the first 21 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song.Step 3: Post and let everyone guess what SONG AND ARTIST the lines come from.Step 4: Strike out the songs when someone guesses correctly (No lyri...
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The Roots - Rising Down(Def Jam, 2008)8 out of 10This band deals, as participant-observers, in turbulence. "The Pow Wow" opens the scene in 1994; we get a glimpse of a band conference call, discussing some shit that went down at a Geffen meeting, pre-major-debut, and quickly shit starts to go down at this meeting, at least one man screaming. Not a shocking consequence of a conversation featurin...
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I don't know what took me so long but I finally had a listen to The Roots. I guess perhaps it was that I've been so preoccupied with so many other artists that I just didn't get around to checking them out. Maybe it was also that none of my trusteds were into them. Then again The Roots have been around long before I joined Mog, in fact they began back in '87! Their first album came out in '93 w...
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Info about the tenth album from The Roots has trickled out in small pieces, reminding us that it's being recorded without divulging too much. The latest morsel available about Rising Down is a string of artists who collaborated on tracks with The Roots. According to a post on OkayPlayer today, the album is brimming with all-star guests including Mos Def, Common, Kweli, Peedi Peedi, Styles P, ...
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This show opened up with the Roots since the headliner of the night was Erykah Badu. Unfortunately I didn't get to see her and I hope that doesn't taint this review. I was able to take a few snaps of the show even though I was warned many times that there were to be no photos allowed. Fortunately our seats weren't ridiculously out there in the theatre and I was able to get some decent photos....
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The Legendary Roots crew [and then some... 3 extra drummers, etc] performed with special guests Wale & Chrisette Michelle on Letterman... as Dave himself says at the end there's "a lot going on there..."Rising Up LiveUploaded by yardie4lifever2P.S. just listened to Rising Down in full and naturally am loving it...
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The Roots sat down with Shade 45’s Angela Yee on the Shade 45 Morning Show. In part one they talk about being Fallon’s House Band. Part Two the guys talk about the music industry never really had their backs, and in the final part of the interview the guys talk about Black Thought and Questlove’s [...]
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The Roots are preparing to release their 10th album, currently being called Rising Down. ?uestlove took some time out to discuss the upcoming release with Aqua at AllHipHop.com and says that this release is going to be just as exciting as previous albums, with some songs coming across real strong. For example:“Malik B is on this album more than he was on Game Theory,” divulged ?uestlove. “
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As if I needed to pimp these artists any more than I already do...But there are 5 video performances on VH1.com that are definitely worth a watch. Why VH1 doesn't allow for embedding on other sites is beyond me (it's called "exposure" people), so you'll have to check them out at the site:The Seed/I Can't Understand It/The Next MovementRising Up/Be OK (with Wale & Chrisette Michele)You Got MeRi...
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Surely they'll add more dates, right? So far, the only shows announced by The Roots are: Dec 2 - Manchester AcademyDec 3 - Bristol Academy (NME.com has ticket details for these shows.)Also no hint of what the Philly natives will perform at these shows. It seems safe to guess they might play tunes off their newest album, Rising Down.Like "Get Busy"? Or "75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)"? (Both...
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Check out this cool bonus track from the new album by The Roots, "Rising Down." The song features Wale & Chrisette Michele.
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The Roots have launched a new blog (doesn't Mr. Ahmir Thompson already have his own MOG???) on Okayplayer.com in anticipation of their new album Rising Down, due out next month. Check it out at: http://blogs.okayplayer.com/theroots/Be sure to check out the video below as well, which features a jam session of NWA's "Express Yourself," ?uestlove channeling Stevie Wonder, and what appears to be a...
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I hate to admit it, but I am glad I didnt buy this album. I have a big dilema with this. I usually dont mind if I dont like a cd after buying it, because I am "supporting the cause." The charity so to speak being the music industry, and as someone who tells themself that one day someone will buy a disk of sorts that I am singing on.... I buy albums. Sometimes even twice.White people really like...
More >
The rumors are put to an end as Jimmy Fallon officially introduces his new house band The Roots for "The Late Night Show"
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ok folks, im from the 215th, aka Philadelphia, im probably one of the biggest roots fans ever, im still undecided on that roots new cd but im really diggin this trackheres the vid, tell me what you thinkpeaceknowledge
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 The Pow Wow |
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| 2 Rising Down |
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| 3 Get Busy |
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| 4 @15 |
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| 5 75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction) |
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| 6 Becoming Unwritten |
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| 7 Criminal |
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| 8 I Will Not Apologize |
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| 9 I Can't Help It |
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| 10 Singing Man |
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| 11 Unwritten |
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| 12 Lost Desire |
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| 13 The Show |
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| 14 Rising Up |
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| 15 [Untitled] |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Rising Down")
