| Hip-hop with brains, heart, passion |
| Post on 09-09-2006. |
Whenever the Roots put out one new album, we are reminded yet again of everything that's wrong with hip-hop. The main problem being that almost none of it is even remotely in the same league as the Roots.
For the latest evidence, look no further than the title of their eighth excellent album. Game Theory takes its name from one branch of higher mathematics that analyzes strategy and decision-making in relation to conflict -- and can be applied to everything from sports to economics to warfare (or even ghetto hustling, in the case of this disc's title track). But one brainiac handle is hardly the only entry in their playbook. You've also got their stellar musicianship and funky grooves, anchored by the head-nodding backbeats of MVP ?uestlove. You've got trippy production. You've got razor-sharp, topical rhymes such as "Send our troops to get my paper/ Tell 'em to stay away from them skyscrapers." You've got frontman Black Thought delivering the rhymes. You've got dynamic cameos from impressive up-and-comers such as Porn and Dice Raw. You've got samples that range from Jungle Boogie to Radiohead's You and Whose Army? You've got killer choruses on cuts such as Here I Come and In the Music. You've even got an eight-minute homage to the late, great producer J Dilla. Basically, you've got music with brains, heart, soul and passion. And you've got hip-hop treated as the art form it could be instead of the moneymaking tool it's become. If you want to be reminded of what's right about hip-hop for one change, get your head into the Roots' game. ... |
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