April 1, 1999
The Roots get a lot of press for being a "real" hip-hop band. Somehow it's thought that because they play their own instruments, that makes them inherently better than other hip-hop outfits. Musically, that makes no sense. Sure, ?uestlove is a phenomenally funky drummer, Hub a deadly bassist and Scott Storch an innovative keyboardist, but they could theoretically get the same thing from a Sly & the Family Stone track. I can't necessarily tell if I'm listening to something live or sampled. Maybe knowing it's live makes it easier to appreciate on an intellectual level, but emotionally? As Eddie Van Halen has shown time and again, just because you can play the hell out of your instrument doesn't mean you have anything to say when you pick it up.
Luckily, The Roots are not only a fantastic band in their own right with a dirty, gritty groove whose live feel is infinitely more compelling than pre-packaged mainstream hip-hop, but they have a cohesive vision. How many modern artists - not just hip-hop, but any musical artists - can you say that about? This album, their third, delivers on the promise of their early efforts with amazing old-school beatbox techniques from Rahzel, memorable melodies and smart, skillful rapping. Black Thought brags that he's got "Olympic lyricism you can't compete with." Indeed.
The slick jazzbo flow of "Dynamite" boasts a chorus that lodges in your brain like a tumor, "Double Trouble" has dizzying verbal twists, and "You Got Me", with a sublime icy vocal cameo from Erykah Badu, is the first hip-hop song that can accurately be called beautiful. That a song like "You Got Me" can co-exist with hardcore breakdowns like "100% Dundee" and "Without A Doubt" is testament to their ambition. The Roots sound like nothing else in the genre, heavy with a sense of reality and commitment that makes other hip-hop groups seem laughably lightweight by comparison.
This is a supremely confident, innovative record made by artists at the top of their game, bucking the status quo and delivering rich goods. This isn't the future of hip-hop: it's firmly grounded in the here and now, it's happening as we speak. You're missing out in a big way - go get a late pass.
- Jared O'Connor
hip-hop as Art