Search - Roots :: Things Fall Apart

The best! and still getting better

Jess Kroll | an island in the middle of the Pacific | 05/24/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Roots have improved by leaps and bounds with every successive release. Organix and Do You Want More contained that original "organic hip hop jazz" sound for which they were first noticed. However, the jam session feel to them, while being great on it's own, eventually grew tiresome. Illadelph Halflife brought in a more aggressive feel to the mix, while still maintaining a bit of the improv qualities of the first two releases. However, it made them sound more like any other rap group and less like the progressive hip hoppers that they are. Yet Illadelph also began the experiment quality that cares us into this release. On Things Fall Apart, The Roots add a new level to their music, a whole new type of refinement and sophistication. Yet while the over-all feel of the album is more polished, there are still moments that shoot back to their previous work. The jam session/bassment feel is still present, the hard edged agressiveness is still there, but both have been somewhat developed and reflect that greatly. The newest element, and the one that makes this album stand out the most among Roots releases, is the increase in knowledge of the studio and composition. These developments are reflected in the two of the earliest songs on the album, "Table of Contents" (where the instruments play in different meters much like some jazz musicians) and "Step Into the Realm" (with the drum beat fading in and out in perfect time with breaks in the lyrics, perfectly fitted and layered together). The Roots have not lost anything in their music, they have just added more (including the presence of a DJ on "The Next Movement"). Even the guests on the album are well suited for the sound. Common ("Love of my Life") and Mos Def ("Double Trouble") fit so well to The Roots mentality and style. Even Eve, who never seems to acknowledge what The Roots did for her and who's recent work wouldn't suggest it, fits beautifully into the part of Black Thought's girlfriend in "You Got Me". While it may be one of their most commercial songs ever, "You Got Me" also embodies everything The Roots do so well and hopefully with its airplay and win at the Grammys will work as a summation of their sound and get more people interested in their music. No Roots album would be complete without the Ursula Rucker track, and here she offers what I think is her most powerful and chilling piece to date, with brilliant background music. And of course Black Thought and Malik B. are still two of the best there are, while Dice Raw continues to improve with every verse. The Roots are to hip hop what Bird, Dizzy and Monk are to jazz, the intellectualization of the artform, focusing more on theory and execution than on making people want to dance. Safe to say that ?uestlove alone has more talent in the first four inches of his 'fro than Fluff Daddy and Master Pee have in their entire record labels. The best thing about this album however is that it's their fourth and they still continue to grow, experiment, improve, and expand."

If hip hop was perfect ...

chowda all over ya | boston | 09/26/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Roots are the most bad ass combination of logical listiening and undergroud rap I have ever heard. If you have ever had a bias against hip hop artist, I recommend you purchase this record. A spectacular album which is an odyssey (epic) of current themes ever human feels strongly upon.



Track 1 highlights the major theme of the record, the movement of hip hop into urban america which was solidified at the time of the realease of this album. There is an undertone of the simplicty Americans apriciate in music, they are trying to say that whenever someone does something spectcular in this nation they are scrutinized instead of celebrated.



The album culminzes with a unique statement of a mother who is trapped in a never ending cirle of self destruction with her husband and her son. A well thought out, piece that focuses upon the use of meter, with a melody that is built to sustain attention this is a great interlude into conversation about the record.



Like most great artist/groups/albums you probably won't appreciate it at first, it takes a couple of listenings to perfect your understanding of "Black Thought", "Common Sense", "?uestLove (QuestLove)", but I assure after the you experience thrice you will never forget it."

Second Best Hip-Hop Album

chowda all over ya | 11/21/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I just joined the Roots ban-wagon as Black Thought said in The Roots Come Alive, but I truly believe this album is the second best CD of all time to Tribe Called Quest's Midnight Marauders. They pick up and slow down the tempo so well it's amazing. Next Movement and You Got Me are great singles, but 100% Dundee, Adrenaline, Dynamite, Table of Contents (pt. 1), and Step Into the Realm hold more than their own. Their unique sound is what makes the album so great. Also, the stories members of the group tell about each song (I think it's mainly ?uestlove) add a special dimension."