Because 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. It's not surprising...
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The Roots' low-profile debut set out many of the themes they would employ over the course of their successful career. An intro, "The Roots Is Comin'," is barely over a...
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Spare jazz chords, coaxing voices--murmuring, commenting, and venting into the air. "If you give the people what they want, the people will come." The clamor dies...
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One of the cornerstone albums of alternative rap's second wave, Things Fall Apart was the point where the Roots' tremendous potential finally coalesced into a structured...
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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 live prowess over their...
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Figuring out what makes a hip-hop record good is a highly subjective process. There's the production, the rapper's flow, the intricacy of the wordplay, the way the phrases...
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For the Roots' second major-label album, the band apparently recognized the weaknesses of the debut, since there are several songs which provide more structure than previous...
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One of the cornerstone albums of alternative rap's second wave, Things Fall Apart was the point where the Roots' tremendous potential finally coalesced into a structured...
more >
Because 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. It's not surprising...
more >
When you open your first live record with an in-concert snippet of Grandmaster Flash, there's more than just a give-props-to-the-old-school mentality at work. Such a move...
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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 live prowess over their...
more >
It hasn't always been audible, amid the gloss, floss and Murder (Inc.) ballads, but the hip-hop sound of the year has been the clanging and banging of adventurous artists...
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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 was delayed, the proper...
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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 exception. Besides the usual...
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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 was delayed, the proper...
more >
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 exception. Besides the usual...
more >
