"Rising Down is the tenth album from the Hip Hop group from Philadelphia, The Roots. The group are unconventional as they are in fact a Hip Hop band, consisting of Owen Biddle (bass guitarist), Captain Kirk Douglas (guitarist), Kamal Gray (on the electronic keyboard), F. Knuckles (percussionist), (Black Thought (the MC) and of course ?uestlove (drummer). The line-up has seen many changes over the yearswith the inclusion of now-producer Scott Storch and beatboxer Rahzel, amongst others, but the current squad have been together for a couple of years.
As conscious Hip Hop becomes more popular, with Common, Lupe Fiasco and Talib Kweli being more mainstream, I expect this group to really breakthrough as these did because they have been around for ages. If you do enjoy music from the aforementioned MCs, then you will probbaly not know of the depth that this sub-genre of Hip Hop goes to and The Roots are just another act that will excite you without shoving their money, girls and cars in your face.
A song called "Birthday Girl" was removed from this album for some reason and it featured the lead singer of Fall out Boy, Patrick Stump, it is a shame that many won't be able to hear this unexpected collaboration, but it can be found on YouTube. I didn't like it though, so I'm not too concerned.
1. "The Pow Wow (Intro)"2. "Rising Down" (feat. Mos Def, Styles P & Dice Raw)
This track has a grimey feel to it, and if your itno Dubstep, you may get taken over by the power of the bass in it. It is extremely dark and features some of the best Hip Hop talent from the East Coast which includes BK's Mos Def, Yonkers' Styles P and Dice Raw, who performs during the chorus.
This is a response by the Hip hop community on the state of the world,
which is "Rising Down", as it develops itself into a worse situation with the oncoming threat of Gloal Warming and warfare. This theme has become a part of a few Mcs' rrhymes recently and it' good to see people across the spectrum taking an interest in this subject.
We are brought up following the last track this a stronger beat which allows you to bounce to. The production of ?uest Love is backed up by the new Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff as Jeff does some of his excellent scratching, and his new protoge, Peedi Crakk shows some of his Philly fire on the beat.
**Four Stars**
4. "@ 15"
This is a freestyle from Black Thought at the age of 15. It's amazing because when you here young MCs today, they sound nothing like this, they're all about beefing and showing love for their region, but Though is exactly as today, showiung amazin lyrical talent which sounds like poetry put to a beat, (how Hip Hop music should be). I believe that you here ?uest Love providing percussion with claps throughout this, showing a contrast from back then to what he has become today.
**Five Stars**
5. "75 Bars" (feat. Tuba Gooding Jr.)
This track is all about Black Thought showing us what he is capable of once ?uest Love has started him off with show strong percussion, which progresses up to the point where the lyrics begin, on the drums to ease a steady flow on.
Black Thought clearly makes a point of showing where he is in all the N-word controversy recently as he uses the word to end just about every line, putting him on the side of Nas in this argument. This is a great display of the MC's lyrical talent, being able to put a point across using epiphora and not actually talking about the subject.
**Four Stars**
6. "Becoming Unwritten"
This is a strange inteval which uses a backtracking technique throughout it, I don't really see the point in it.
7. "Criminal" (feat. Truck North & Saigon)
This track highlights something I hadn't completely realised before with Black Thought, he is able to say half a line andnd then completely abandon it without making it seem unfinished, as you can predict the rest of the line, and it's clever as he knows when it is that obviuous that he doens't need to contiue, so he may as well continue with expressing his point iin a way he hasn't already.
Apart from the amazing display of audinece awareness, there isn't much else to this track. I wouldn't consider it to be one of the best tracks on the album, but it's something I need to hear a few more times to get a grasp of, Thought's rhymes almost always have to be slept on to fully understand.
8. "I Will Not Apologize" (feat. Porn, Dice Raw, & Talib Kweli)
The best in Conscious Hip Hop appears on this track with Black Thought alongside Talib Kweli and they bring exactly what is expected of them, so there's no way that you can complain. The theme is about not selling out to commercialise the music and just keeping it true, for this, they will not apologize for.
The echoing sound of "I Will Not Apologize" reinforces the message of the track, so it seems that ?uest love, and whoever aided in production here took this into consideration to make the song completre in every way by exaggerating some features of it.
**Three Stars**
9. "I Can't Help It" (feat. Malik B, Mercedes Martinez, & Porn)
It's interesting that the most you listen to these tracks, thje more you get into them, so don't just listen to any track on this album once, because everytime I heard this, and other tracks on the album, I have had to re-rate them because some lyrics only hit you after taking another try, just as poetry.
A hypnotic sound comes from the rhymthm of this track which throws you off slightly, but I found the sound of Malik B and Blakc Thought's rhymes to be reassuring (quite strange, but certainly has this feel)
I felt that the production in this track was done very well as it sounded as if it had a great deal of elements included in it to make it work, and I felt that it created a fitting atmosphere for the track which was quite ominous so there was a lot of dark bass to keep yout in the right frame of mind to listen to this track.
The featured guest, who appear in a fair few tracks on this LP appear to just be beginning to get into their best, but once Black Thought reappears, you relaise that they require a lot to get up to his legendary standard.
**Two Stars**
11. "Unwritten" (feat. Mercedes Martinez)
This is a shorttrack which I beleive to be the second part of "Becoming Unwritten", but this is more of an actual music track as there is a big beat and a nice hook with a few lines from Thought.
**Three Stars**
12. "Lost Desire" (feat. Malik B & Talib Kweli)
The beat of this seems to be a combination of what you hear in "75 Bars" and "Rising Up", which I felt had the best ones in the whoel of the album, but tis one isn't as hard as the others, I don't feel it takes too much potential from the track as Black Thought with the featured rtists manage to keep it working well.
**Three Stars**
13. "The Show" (feat. Common)
This track features anyother one of my favourite conscious MCs, probbaly the first I came across back in 2000, Common. With himself as well as Mos Def, and Talib Kweli, I feel that the people who tend to go for this 'backpack' rap, will be likely to be drawn to this album with appearnaces from these musicians.
There is reference to Slick Rick & Doug E. Fresh's "The Show" during this track and although this doesn't have such a hyped feel as that clasic Hip Hop track, a more modern way of this has been given as the beatboxing has been transferred into a big bassline, which reminds me a lot of "Hip Hop" by dead prez.
**Three Stars**
14. "Rising Up" (feat. Wale & Chrisette Michelle)
This, without a doubt is the best song I have ever heard by The Roots and strangely it starts in a way that almost puts you off listenign to it, but after Chrisette Michelle has sang the chorus, setting us up by saying that all music onm the radio today is the same, The Roots get busy.
The breakdown is amazing and ?uest Love's work on the drums just makes you flow with the beat, this must have giving Though so much motivation to just ride on the beat, because he does it so well during the verses. It's hard to explain it, but the track is put together so well.
**Five Stars**
On the whole I felt that this was a very good album by The Roots, and it features some of the best work from the group. Although most won't be able to get into this 'backpack' Hip Hop album, you may be able to relate with the music much more than the gangsta rap which dominates this genre of music.
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I prefer the socially conscious style of rap over the generally kinda annoying mindless stuff that 50 Cent always puts out. People like Common and De La Soul seem to have more to offer - and now I guess I'll have to go out and listen to this album, cos it sounds like it's cut from the same cloth. Great review.
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