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Game Theory is the Roots' equivalent of a Funkadelic playlist containing "Wars of Armageddon," "Cosmic Slop," "Maggot Brain," "March to the Witch's Castle," and "America Eats Its Young." It's a vivid reflector of the times, not an escape hatch (of which there are several readily available options). Spinning turbulence, paranoia, anger, and pain into some of the most exhilarating and startling music released in 2006, the group is audibly galvanized by the world's neverending tailspin and a sympathetic alignment with Def Jam. Batting around stray ideas and squeezing them into shape was clearly not part of the plan, and neither was getting on the radio. The songs flow into and out of one another to optimal effect, with an impossibly stern sense of peak-of-powers focus, as if the group and its collaborators instantly locked into place and simply knocked the thing out. With the exception of the elbow-throwing "Here I Come," nothing here is suitable for any kind of carefree activity. The extent of the album's caustic nature is tipped off early on, after glancing at the hangman on the cover and hearing Wadud Ahmad's penetrating voice run through lines like "Pilgrims, slaves, Indians, Mexicans/It looks real f*cked up for your next of kin." The point at which the album kicks into full gear, just a couple minutes later, arrives when tumbling bass drums and a Sly & the Family Stone sample ("This is a game/I'm your specimen") are suddenly overtaken by pure panic -- pulse-racing drums, anxious organ jabs, pent-up guitar snarls, and breathless rhyming from Black Thought and Malik B. "In the Music" exemplifies the deeply textured nature of the album's production work, with its rolling/roiling rhythm -- throbbing bass, clanging percussion, tight spirals of guitar -- made all the more claustrophobic by Porn's amorphous chorus and Black Thought's and Malik B.'s hunched-shoulder deliveries. Even "Baby," the closest thing to a breather in this patch of the album, arises from a sweltering jungle bog. After "Long Time," the ninth track, the levels of tension and volume decrease, yet the moods are no brighter, even if the surfaces leave a different impression. "Clock with No Hands" is introduced as a sweet slow jam with a light vocal hook from Mercedes Martinez, but it's as paranoid as anything else on the album. Jack Davey projects the chorus of the slower, Radiohead-sampling "Atonement" in a druggy haze while Black Thought speaks of "being faced with the weight of survival." The closer, an eight-minute suite titled "Can't Stop This," features a J Dilla production -- previewed on his Donuts, released the week he left this planet -- that opens and closes with testimonials to the musician's talent and humanity. Taken with or without this staggering finale, Game Theory is a heavy album, the Roots' sharpest work. It's destined to become one of Def Jam's proudest, if not most popular, moments.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
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Steve Mandell, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Not Applicable, ComposerLyricist - Ahmir Thompson, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The Roots, MainArtist
℗ 2006 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Carlton Ridenhour, ComposerLyricist - H. Shocklee, ComposerLyricist - J. Gray, ComposerLyricist - T. Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Eric Sadler, ComposerLyricist - Black Thought, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Kamal Gray, Producer - Karl Jenkins, ComposerLyricist - Robert Dorsey, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Mandell, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Poyser, ComposerLyricist - Russell Elevado, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - A. Thompson, ComposerLyricist - Jon Smeltz, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The Roots, MainArtist - The Randy Watson Experience, Producer - Wadud Ahmad, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 The Island Def Jam Music Group
S. Stewart, ComposerLyricist - J. Gray, ComposerLyricist - Malik Smart, ComposerLyricist - Black Thought, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Khari Mateen, Producer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Jason Goldstein, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Tariq Trotter, ComposerLyricist - A. Thompson, ComposerLyricist - Jon Smeltz, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - K. Douglas, ComposerLyricist - L. Hubbard, ComposerLyricist - The Roots, Producer, MainArtist - Malik B., Vocals, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Leroy Bonner, ComposerLyricist - Marshall Jones, ComposerLyricist - Ralph Middlebrooks, ComposerLyricist - Marvin Pierce, ComposerLyricist - Andrew Noland, ComposerLyricist - Dennis Thomas, ComposerLyricist - Robert Bell, ComposerLyricist - George Brown, ComposerLyricist - J. Gray, ComposerLyricist - Donald Boyce, ComposerLyricist - Black Thought, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Karl Jenkins, ComposerLyricist - Claydes Smith, ComposerLyricist - Richard Westfield, ComposerLyricist - Robert Dorsey, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jason Goldstein, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Mandell, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ronald Nathan Bell, ComposerLyricist - Tariq Trotter, ComposerLyricist - A. Thompson, ComposerLyricist - Jon Smeltz, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Gregory Webster, ComposerLyricist - The Roots, Producer, MainArtist - Robert Spike Mickens, ComposerLyricist - Juni Morrison, ComposerLyricist - Maimouna Youssef, FeaturedArtist - Tahir Jamal, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Norman Bruce Napier, ComposerLyricist - Maimouna Yousef, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 The Island Def Jam Music Group
R. NICHOLS, ComposerLyricist - T. Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Pedro Martínez, Producer - P. Martinez, ComposerLyricist - Black Thought, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - K. Hansen, ComposerLyricist - Kevin Hansen, Producer - Owen Biddle, Producer - Richard Nichols, Producer - Karl Jenkins, ComposerLyricist - Robert Dorsey, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Russell Elevado, Additional Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - M. Smart, ComposerLyricist - A. Thompson, ComposerLyricist - Jon Smeltz, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - K. Douglas, ComposerLyricist - L. Hubbard, ComposerLyricist - The Roots, Producer, MainArtist - Malik B., Vocals, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - K. Gray, ComposerLyricist - O. Biddle, ComposerLyricist - Porn, Additional Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 The Island Def Jam Music Group
D. ROBINSON, ComposerLyricist - T. Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Pedro Martínez, Producer - P. Martinez, ComposerLyricist - Black Thought, Vocals, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Adam Blackstone, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Kevin Hansen, Producer - Richard Nichols, Producer - Jason Goldstein, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Russell Elevado, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - A. Thompson, ComposerLyricist - Jon Smeltz, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - RAHZEL, Unknown, Other - Ahmir Thompson, Producer - K. Douglas, ComposerLyricist - L. Hubbard, ComposerLyricist - The Roots, Producer, MainArtist - F. WALKER, ComposerLyricist - Dice Raw, Additional Vocals, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - K. Gray, ComposerLyricist - Mercedes Martinez, Unknown, Other - K. Bard Hansen, ComposerLyricist - Wadud Ahmad, Spoken Word, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 The Island Def Jam Music Group
T. Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Black Thought, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Karl Jenkins, ComposerLyricist - John John, Additional Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Dorsey, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Mandell, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Russell Elevado, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - A. Thompson, ComposerLyricist - K. Douglas, ComposerLyricist - L. Hubbard, ComposerLyricist - The Roots, Producer, MainArtist - Dice Raw, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - K. Gray, ComposerLyricist - John McGlinchey, Producer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - J. McGlinchey, ComposerLyricist - ?uesto, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Michael Heinzer, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Malik Smart, ComposerLyricist - T. Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Pedro Martínez, Producer, Additional Producer - Black Thought, Vocals, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Owen Biddle, Producer, Additional Producer - Richard Nichols, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Karl Jenkins, ComposerLyricist - Robert Dorsey, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jason Goldstein, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Russell Elevado, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - M. Smart, ComposerLyricist - Jon Smeltz, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ahmir Thompson, ComposerLyricist - K. Douglas, ComposerLyricist - L. Hubbard, ComposerLyricist - The Roots, Producer, MainArtist - F. WALKER, ComposerLyricist - Dice Raw, Vocals, Additional Vocals, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Malik B., Vocals, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - K. Gray, ComposerLyricist - Brook D'Leau, Producer, Additional Producer
℗ 2006 The Island Def Jam Music Group
B. SIGLER, ComposerLyricist - Bunny Sigler, Additional Vocals, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Black Thought, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Kevin Hansen, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Owen Biddle, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Richard Nichols, Producer - Karl Jenkins, ComposerLyricist - Robert Dorsey, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Russell Elevado, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tariq Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Jon Smeltz, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ahmir Thompson, ComposerLyricist - K. Douglas, ComposerLyricist - Omar Edwards, Producer, Additional Producer - L. Hubbard, ComposerLyricist - The Roots, Producer, MainArtist - Peedi Peedi, Vocals, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Dice Raw, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - K. Gray, ComposerLyricist - Pedro Zayas, ComposerLyricist - Darryl Robinson, Producer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2006 The Island Def Jam Music Group
T. Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Black Thought, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Khari Mateen, Producer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Karl Jenkins, ComposerLyricist - John John, Additional Vocals, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jason Goldstein, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - A. Thompson, ComposerLyricist - Jon Smeltz, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - K. Douglas, ComposerLyricist - L. Hubbard, ComposerLyricist - The Roots, Producer, MainArtist - Mercedes Martinez, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - K. Mateen, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2006 The Island Def Jam Music Group
J. Gray, ComposerLyricist - Black Thought, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Khari Mateen, Producer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Karl Jenkins, ComposerLyricist - Jason Goldstein, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Tariq Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Jon Smeltz, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ahmir Thompson, ComposerLyricist - L. Hubbard, ComposerLyricist - The Roots, Producer, MainArtist - Mercedes Martinez, Background Vocalist, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - K. Mateen, ComposerLyricist - Brook D'Leau, Producer, Additional Producer
℗ 2006 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Philip Selway, ComposerLyricist - Edward O'Brien, ComposerLyricist - Colin Greenwood, ComposerLyricist - T. Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Black Thought, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Karl Jenkins, ComposerLyricist - Thom Yorke, ComposerLyricist - Jason Goldstein, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Mandell, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Poyser, ComposerLyricist - Jonny Greenwood, ComposerLyricist - A. Thompson, ComposerLyricist - Jon Smeltz, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jack Davey, Background Vocalist, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - The Roots, Producer, MainArtist - The Randy Watson Experience, Producer
℗ 2006 The Island Def Jam Music Group
T. Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Black Thought, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Karl Jenkins, ComposerLyricist - Robert Dorsey, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Brian Holland, ComposerLyricist - Jason Goldstein, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Mandell, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - James Poyser, ComposerLyricist - Russell Elevado, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - A. Thompson, ComposerLyricist - Jon Smeltz, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - J Dilla, Producer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The Roots, Producer, Co-Producer, MainArtist - The Randy Watson Experience, Producer, Co-Producer - J. Yancy, ComposerLyricist - M. Lovesmith, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2006 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Khari Mateen, Producer, Recording Engineer, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Karl Jenkins, ComposerLyricist - Jason Goldstein, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tariq Trotter, ComposerLyricist - Jon Smeltz, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - The Roots, MainArtist - Jamal Miller, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2006 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Album review
Game Theory is the Roots' equivalent of a Funkadelic playlist containing "Wars of Armageddon," "Cosmic Slop," "Maggot Brain," "March to the Witch's Castle," and "America Eats Its Young." It's a vivid reflector of the times, not an escape hatch (of which there are several readily available options). Spinning turbulence, paranoia, anger, and pain into some of the most exhilarating and startling music released in 2006, the group is audibly galvanized by the world's neverending tailspin and a sympathetic alignment with Def Jam. Batting around stray ideas and squeezing them into shape was clearly not part of the plan, and neither was getting on the radio. The songs flow into and out of one another to optimal effect, with an impossibly stern sense of peak-of-powers focus, as if the group and its collaborators instantly locked into place and simply knocked the thing out. With the exception of the elbow-throwing "Here I Come," nothing here is suitable for any kind of carefree activity. The extent of the album's caustic nature is tipped off early on, after glancing at the hangman on the cover and hearing Wadud Ahmad's penetrating voice run through lines like "Pilgrims, slaves, Indians, Mexicans/It looks real f*cked up for your next of kin." The point at which the album kicks into full gear, just a couple minutes later, arrives when tumbling bass drums and a Sly & the Family Stone sample ("This is a game/I'm your specimen") are suddenly overtaken by pure panic -- pulse-racing drums, anxious organ jabs, pent-up guitar snarls, and breathless rhyming from Black Thought and Malik B. "In the Music" exemplifies the deeply textured nature of the album's production work, with its rolling/roiling rhythm -- throbbing bass, clanging percussion, tight spirals of guitar -- made all the more claustrophobic by Porn's amorphous chorus and Black Thought's and Malik B.'s hunched-shoulder deliveries. Even "Baby," the closest thing to a breather in this patch of the album, arises from a sweltering jungle bog. After "Long Time," the ninth track, the levels of tension and volume decrease, yet the moods are no brighter, even if the surfaces leave a different impression. "Clock with No Hands" is introduced as a sweet slow jam with a light vocal hook from Mercedes Martinez, but it's as paranoid as anything else on the album. Jack Davey projects the chorus of the slower, Radiohead-sampling "Atonement" in a druggy haze while Black Thought speaks of "being faced with the weight of survival." The closer, an eight-minute suite titled "Can't Stop This," features a J Dilla production -- previewed on his Donuts, released the week he left this planet -- that opens and closes with testimonials to the musician's talent and humanity. Taken with or without this staggering finale, Game Theory is a heavy album, the Roots' sharpest work. It's destined to become one of Def Jam's proudest, if not most popular, moments.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 14 track(s)
- Total length: 00:50:39
- Main artists: The Roots
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Def Jam Recordings
- Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
© 2006 Def Jam Recordings, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc. ℗ 2006 Def Jam Recordings, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
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