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The Roots is a rap group that has commanded respect. They’re style is far different and more original from most other hip-hop groups. Coming out of Philadelphia, forming in 1987, the members of The Roots include, Black Thought doing lead vocals, ?uestlove on the drums, Hub on bass, Knuckles, Kirk and Kamal on keyboards. It’s almost impossible to have never heard a Roots track or of Black Thought or Questlove if you’re a hip-hop fan. They are reputable for being one of the best groups live.

This group is different from others due to their serious lyrics and live band sound. Their beats aren’t sampled like most hip-hop you hear on the radio and it might be because of this that they didn’t get immediate commercial success, and it might be because of that they get complete respect.

I’ve only given this album two straight run throughs. Both today. I have to be honest. I’m quite impressed. I’ve always liked and respected The Roots, but The Roots other albums like Things Fall Apart that features “You Got Me” (with Erykah Badu), or their 2002 release Phrenology haven’t hit me as hard as this latest release. Their other albums, for me to listen to, I have to be in a certain, extremely chillin’ mood. But this album is different. The Roots always have a chillin’ vibe to them, but this album has alot more energy than their last. It’s better. Maybe it has to do with this album being the first on Def Jam. It says right on the CD, “Executive Producers: Richard Nicholas and The Carter Administration”, the Carter being S. Carter… Jay-Z. Various news from a couple years ago reported Jay-Z was seeking out The Roots for Def Jam, well looks like he succeeded. Maybe it paid off.

The Roots have always used their album art to show off their style and this one is no exception. It’s various, cool, and artistic city photography. I don’t know how else to explain it. I like it though. It’s got the lyrics in the notes too. It looks good.

Anyway, some tracks that are really good are False Media, In The Music, Livin’ In A New World and Can’t Stop This. Can’t stop this is an 8 minute tribute to J. Dilla. But you know what’s so good about this album, it’s that it doesn’t have any annoying songs and it doesn’t put you to sleep. The Roots have come through to release amazing material without giving up their roots, despite the giant commercial label.

It’s because of this I give The Roots - Game Theory 4 out of 5 Trashed Party Houses.

Easy.

Posted on Thursday, September 7th, 2006 at 5:28 pm by Nick and is filed under Blog.

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