Detailed item info | Track listing | 1. Intro / There's Something Goin' On
2. Proceed
3. Distortion to Static
4. Mellow My Man
5. I Remain Calm
6. Datskat
7. Lazy Afternoon
8. ? Vs. Rahzel
9. Do You Want More?!!!??!
10. What Goes on Pt. 7
11. Essaywhuman?!!!??!
12. Swept Away
13. You Ain't Fly
14. Silent Treatment
15. Lesson Part 1, The
16. Unlocking, The
| | Details | | Contributing artists: | Cassandra Wilson, Rufus Harley, Steve Coleman | | Distributor: | Universal Distribution | | Recording type: | Mixed | | Recording mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | AAD |
| | Album notes | The Roots: Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter (vocals, bass); Malik B. (vocals); B.R.O.THER. ?. (vocals, Hammond B-3 organ, Rhodes, drums, kazoo, whistle); Leonard Hubbard (bass).
Additional personnel includes: Rahzel The Godfather Of Noise, Bun (vocals); Graham Haynes (trumpet); Joshua Roseman (trombone); Scott Storch (piano, Rhodes, synthesizer); Shorty No Mas (drums); Sista Urban, Rachel Graham (background vocals).
Producers include: B.R.O.THER. ?, Kelo, A.J. Shine Black Thought.
Engineers include: David Ivory, Otto Capobianco, David Ivory, Gordon Rice.
Recorded at Sigma Sound Studios and Nebula Sounds, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; live at The Trocedero, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 15, 1993; Battery Studios, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Major Jackson.
As the hip-hop nation grew, it was natural for jazz grooves to play an integral part of its evolution. From DJs spinning Sonny Rollins loops over beats, to rappers vocally challenging seasoned soloists (as Guru did with trumpeter Don Cherry), the initial burst of energy that a new-found jazz influence gave to hip-hop was like a blood transfusion, providing for a healthier long-term existence. With DO YOU WANT MORE?!!!??!, the Roots up the ante on all the jazz-tip outfits that have rolled out before them, fully integrating a live band with the rappers, and kicking a funky rhyme like it hasn't been kicked before...and at the Montreaux Jazz Festival, no less.
The Philadelphia quartet--MCs Black Thought and Malik B., bassist Hub, and drummer B.R.O. The R.?--treat the vocalists as simply two more instrumentalists, and thus as equal elements to the overall sound. The rappers carry the mic with a singular funky swing, comfortable in any flow setting but often mirroring the verbal interplay of A Tribe Called Quest (whom they also name-check); and the rhythm section drops its own share of bombs, when they're not busy laying down grooves for the likes of Steve Coleman and other additional players. The space heats up quickest when Black Thought and Malik use the band as a springboard for interactive flurries, and play directly off them (the live, freestyle grind, "Essay Whuman?!!??"). When such genuine moments of improvisation arise, the Roots seem like they're miles ahead of everybody else on hip-hop's jazz fusion highway.
| | Editorial reviews | 4 Mics - Slammin' - ...they create a mod funk energy that many artists approach but, until now, have yet to master. The Roots come through with some raw, even progressive material without forsaking hip-hop tradition...
The Source (11/01/1994)
8 - ...Unlike several inocuous attempts at jazzrapwhatever, the Roots' MCing does not suffer for the groovy, groovy, jazzy, jazzy MTV buzz bin....Forget that bad acid you took with those futile Hip-Hop/jazz hybrids--this is all natural.
Rap Pages (11/01/1994)
Highly Recommended - ...The Roots have beats like no one else because they grow their own...and will be in greater demand than an undiscovered Meters sample after this...
Spin (11/01/1994)
...combines all the spare stylishness of a Tribe Called Quest album with the fluid power of a loose funk band having fun. Importantly, the group's musical core--keyboard, bass and drums--is truly hip-hop informed, armed with grooves spacious enough for the rhymers to play in...
Musician (04/01/1995)
7 - Very Good - ...More astounding jazz rap, this time littered with bits where everyone raps over everyone else, like the mad sections of Steely & Clevie dubs....vocally assertive, rhythmically laid-back, brightly produced...
NME (11/12/1994)
...[The Roots] have elevated the fusion of rap and jazz into something more than a commercial hip-hop trend... - Rating: A
Entertainment Weekly (01/20/1995)
...Roots crank everything out themselves, in a jazzy style replete with...their own incredible live `samples'...
Option (05/01/1995)
...combines all the spare stylishness of a Tribe Called Quest album with the fluid power of a loose funk band having fun. Importantly, the group's musical core--keyboard, bass and drums--is truly hip-hop informed, armed with grooves spacious enough for the rhymers to play in...
Musician (04/01/1995)
A new sound with one foot in the past and the other in the future.
Spin
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