The Roots: Your Favorite Rapper’s Favorite Rapper

A post by "Blake the Megalomaniac" To see more posts click here

Steady, hardworking, artistic, and consistent are words that are often used to describe the machine known as The Roots. But persistence through 14 yrs (20yrs. since Black Thought and Questlove met) of record label turmoil, an unrelenting tour schedule, and numerous individual artistic endeavors has kept The Roots forging along.  Understanding the evolution of the Roots is a tough task for someone who has not followed them from the start and is now playing catch-up.  The Roots epitomize what true artists should be.  One can quickly can pick up on how anal they are about their craft.  Albums are never rushed and no stone is ever left unturned.  They’ve had lineup changes at almost every turn which makes for a non-linear road of albums that are completely unique from one another.  Each record highlights a different instrument, a different thought process, and/or a motive for continuing their grind.   Their latest release, Rising Down, is just another pitstop on the journey and if the title is any indication, this group will continue to garnish heavy praise from critics and peers while remaining a afterthought on the minds of the modern hip-hop generation.
Since becoming a fan of the Roots following their fourth album Things Fall Apart, there hasn’t been one album that I did not completely know about beforehand.  Okayplayer.com is an open forum, and with members of the Roots posting on there regularly, I knew somewhat of where they were coming from before they arrived at their finished product.  However, over the last few months I have been out of touch with chatter about this album because I’ve had computer issues.

Although my computer was out of service, I must admit that I was sort of down on the Roots.  I can’t say bored but down because, unlike many of my peers, I strongly felt that their previous release, Game Theory, was their best effort to date.  The cards seemed to be lined up for a mainstream breakthrough but it never took shape.  Critics loved the album as did I and I would bet that if simple marketing startegies were adjusted the album would have been much more successful.  So I approached Rising Down as a clean slate for the first time sinced my ear discovered them.  For the first listen it seemed a little redundant.  Black Thoughts rhymes seemed a little recycled, although I could notice a switch in musical direction as there is with any Roots album.  Then one night I listened to the album start to finish and tried to gather as much as I could about their concepts, because one thing the Roots do is put out complete albums.  The term “filler” is not used when discussing their catalogue even if it means working two years to release an album with 12 songs on it.  While listening I got a taste of the new members and guest appearences and the overall message of the album.  One thing you must understand is that the Roots will never put out empty music.  It may been not be your flavor or your direction but it is always well thought out, decisive, and packed full of content.  They have worked with over 80% of the artists you can think of.  They are praised and sought after for their abilities and continuously earn high marks with critics.  There is not a bad word to be said about them in terms musicianship in the eyes of people that do it everyday and know the ins and outs of creating music better than you or I do.

One of the reasons I feel qualified and drawn to critiquing lyrics is because I used to write lyrics pretty seriously.  Looking back now, my lyrical musings couldn’t have gone anywhere because they had zero structure. But, I experienced the thought process of molding metaphors and creating interesting combinations of words firsthand.  Now my standard for what I think is hot is based on me thinking “could I have done that?”.  Or could I have written that?”

A lot of times I genuinely answer yes and change the station or take out the CD.

For the most part, I shouldn’t ever feel as if I’m on the same level as people on the radio and making a living performing this craft.  Artists must be seasoned and the listener should feel that they are listening to talent that could not be matched by anyone they know.  I believe that one of the hardest things to argue about is what is good and what is bad music.  Explaining why I find certain lines so good and others that I find easy or corny is hard to put into words.  Arguing music is like arguing between ice cream flavors.  Some have a different tastes than others, but we must all agree that a popcorn flavored ice cream would taste like shit.  There must be a universal standard for shitty music but it  seems most acts have have a market somewhere.

My point is that when an artist is praised as the next big thing you must figure out why they are being so hyped up and by whom.  Weeding your way through hype and excitement is a hard thing to do for our mile-a-minute society.  I find myself listening to some songs that have been out for about 3 months and are already on the “played out” list of some listeners, but I found the right time to appreciate it after the initial bombardment of “first single promotion” which is translated to “flood the airwaves.”  To get back on topic, the Roots have been around for way too long and worked with way too many people from too many different musical backgrounds to simply be placed aside.   Their artistic value is unmatched in the game.

So why is it so hard for pure talent and musical dedication to go almost completely unnoticed by the pop demographic.  Well the Roots aren’t considered marketable by the energy that is showed in their interviews and their apparent dullness.  However, anyone that has seen a Roots show knows their strength and knows that dullness is misinterpreted as simply being quiet or reserved.  And it is at these live shows that I can seem to place a weakness in the Roots approach.  As hard as they work and as meticulously as the approach everything, I still think that they hold back or overcomplicate things.  When they are in their ‘jam’ mode during shows and are just improving and freestyling is when they are at their best.  Come to find out on okayplayer.com that these are mainly songs that are in their infant stages that they test out and rehearse them while they perform.   I have never seen these moments come to form on an album.  It seems every album they put out,  ?uestlove states his inspirations and they are usually an ode to an old Al Green album or some old-school hip-hop dedication.  This is not to say that the Roots are not being themselves, but I would be willing to bet that if they recording one these sessions in a studio setting, cleaned it up a bit and released it, it would be better than a lot of material on the airwaves and be just as much, if not a more, legitimate while also achieving  more mainstream success than their other albums.  Granted they have released a live album but even that seemed a little confined compared to their usual live appearances.  I have long stated that “Black Thought is the single most underrated emcee in the game,” and his struggles are a miniature version of the groups.  His gift is recognized and spoke off among his peers but when it comes time for a guest appearance, his phone is rarely ringing.
I am only left with the belief that well into the future after many more albums, and thousands of shows, that they Roots might earn a little bit of the respect and recognition that has seemed to elude them.  Commercial success probably will never happen.  But this group has contributed too much and have survived too long in an everchanging line of work to not be looked back upon as a monster.  They are the Grateful Dead of hip-hop doing between 250-300 shows a year for 15 plus years!  Meanwhile a rapper comes on at the BET awards to perform one song and is out of breath by the second verse barely rapping over the recording.
As far as Rising Down, is concerned go pick it up.  I can’t give it a rating because this just one score in the movie.  This album shows you the direction that they are headed and the new talent they are bringing with them, but without an honest listen and a sincere attempt to examine how they arrived at Rising Down, you be doing a crime to yourself, The Roots, and the fate of the music industry.  I am not saying jump on the bandwagon but ride along next to it and follow it for awhile they might not take you where you want to go, but you’ll be in safe place and probably right where you need to be though you may not know it yet.

Another Perspective?

- Phil

udothedishes…