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Rising Down (2008) will by far reach the top of the billboard charts faster than any of The Roots previous albums. Why? Because the beats are more gritty/bouncy, there is more popular-emcee collaborations, and the hooks hit on a pop tip. That’s not to say that this is a sell-out album , its simply to say that this album has more pop appeal. And more power to any group and band that can make a solid lyrical and musical album but still keep a commercial appeal. That is what is needed in this music industry because we can’t have wack emcees running this game!
The one thing I have to state real clear about Rising Down is that the music is Philly. Not just the tone and music production, but the artists and their lyrics. The Roots have always been true to Philly in their past albums, but this albums seems to speak it. The beats and tone remind you of listening to old school Beanie Sigel, Freeway, and Peedi Crakk. And the collabo emcee roster is majority Philadelphia based: Peedi Peedi, Dice Raw, Porn, Truck North, Malik B., and the list continues ….
A very clear insight from this album is that Black Thought has and is growing to become one of the best emcees of our generation. I have to put him up there with and sometimes above Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, etc. Though he gets overlooked because he belongs to a full band, his skill set with words and flow is unmatched. In a track entitled 75 Bars, he literally spits a verse that is a full 75 bars with a breath in between. And its good! Not some Papoose time of lengthy wack lyrics, it’s all solid and lyrical. In this album, he goes to say things like:
Between the greenhouse gases and earth spinnin off its axis
got mother nature doin back flips the natural disasters
its like 80 degrees in Alaska you in trouble if u not an Onasis
it aint hard to tell that the conditions is drastic
With the way music is changing, I think The Roots made the right decision with the way they made this album. Its nothing like their past albums in terms of composition or theme. The whole album is filled with collaborations with different artists. And they’ve managed to include some drum beats that don’t come only from ?uestlove’s huge drum set (from what I can tell). Its different and it sounds more produced. With other groups, that equals bad. With The Roots, I think that equals creativity and innovation because they used it in a way to enhance their sound and music vs. trying to be different.
Without going overboard on my love for The Roots, I want to leave you with a taste of what this album has to offer. This single blew my mind when I first heard it. Guaranteed to be a national hit. How do I know? Cuz I know quality hip hop and I’m that obnoxious!
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