The Roots
Lingua disponibile: ingleseOne of the most prolific rap groups, the Roots 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. 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 (Leonard 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. The Roots' first major-label album, Do You Want More?!!!??!, was released in January 1995. Forsaking the 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Leonard Hubbard, aka Hub, died on December 16, 2021 from multiple myeloma; he was 62 years old.
© John Bush & Andy Kellman /TiVo Continua a leggere
One of the most prolific rap groups, the Roots 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.
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 (Leonard 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.
The Roots' first major-label album, Do You Want More?!!!??!, was released in January 1995. Forsaking the 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.
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.
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.
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.
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. Leonard Hubbard, aka Hub, died on December 16, 2021 from multiple myeloma; he was 62 years old.
© John Bush & Andy Kellman /TiVo
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Do You Want More?!!!??! (Deluxe Version - Explicit) (Deluxe Version)
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da Geffen il 1 gen 1995
Pitchfork: Best New ReissueOriginal release October 24, 1994 (USA) and January 17, 1995 ...
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Things Fall Apart
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da Geffen il 23 feb 1999
One of the cornerstone albums of alternative rap's second wave, Things Fall Apart was the point where the Roots' tremendous potential finally coalesce ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Phrenology
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da Geffen il 26 nov 2002
The easy-flowing Things Fall Apart made the Roots one of the most popular artists of alternative rap's second wave. Anticipated nearly as much as it w ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Tipping Point
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da Geffen* il 13 lug 2004
The delivery of any new Roots album is rarely talked or written about without the words "highly" and "anticipated," and The Tipping Point is no except ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Illadelph Halflife
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da DGC il 24 set 1996
For the Roots' second major-label album, the band apparently recognized the weaknesses of the debut, since there are several songs which provide more ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Organix
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da Groove Distribution il 1 mag 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Things Fall Apart (Deluxe Edition)
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da Geffen il 23 feb 1999
The Roots, a group formed in Philadelphia by MC Black Thought and drummer Questlove, took their music to a whole new level in their fourth album. Reco ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Undun
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da Def Jam Recordings il 1 gen 2011
Sélection Les InrocksThe Roots' umpteenth album is titled after a Guess Who song mutilated by countless lounge bands since 1969. It incorporates a Sufjan Stevens recording ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Do You Want More?!!!??!
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da DGC il 1 gen 1994
La discografia ideale di QobuzBecause the Roots were pioneering a new style during the early '90s, the band was forced to draw its own blueprints for its major-label debut album. I ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
…And Then You Shoot Your Cousin
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da Def Jam Recordings il 19 mag 2014
Top du mois de JazznewsThe Roots album graced by a Romare Bearden collage is less than half the length of each studio set the group released from 1995 through 2002. It might ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
How I Got Over
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da Def Jam Recordings il 1 gen 2010
4F de TéléramaThe not-very-hip-hop Dirty Projectors, Monsters of Folk, Patty Crash, and Joanna Newsom contribute one way or another to How I Got Over. Rest assured, ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
My Shot (feat. Busta Rhymes, Joell Ortiz & Nate Ruess) [from The Hamilton Mixtape] (Rise Up Remix)
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da Atlantic Records il 4 nov 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pre-Game (Album Version (Explicit))
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da Def Jam Recordings il 1 gen 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best of The Roots
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da RBC Records il 22 nov 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Tipping Point
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da Geffen* il 1 gen 2004
The delivery of any new Roots album is rarely talked or written about without the words "highly" and "anticipated," and The Tipping Point is no except ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rising Down
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da Def Jam Recordings il 1 gen 2008
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 t ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Feel It (You Got It)
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da Passyunk Productions il 22 nov 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Don't Say Nuthin
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da Geffen il 19 giu 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Champion
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da Passyunk Productions il 27 mag 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Roots Come Alive
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da Geffen* il 1 gen 1999
Releasing an album recorded live in concert makes more sense for the Roots than any other hip-hop artist, considering they've always concentrated on l ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Game Theory
The Roots
Hip-Hop/Rap - Pubblicato da Def Jam Recordings il 1 gen 2006
Game Theory is the Roots' equivalent of a Funkadelic playlist containing "Wars of Armageddon," "Cosmic Slop," "Maggot Brain," "March to the Witch's Ca ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo