Reviews (page 4 of 8)
Very good
Enjoyed this album
Really well produced and creative album, loved it.
When it's good, it's really good. The only problem is it's not always good. Water in particular is not something that I ever want to hear again. I'm still giving it a 4 but 3.5 would probably be more accurate.
Un très bon album mixant plusieurs genre. J ai été surpris ! 4.
One of the most creative hip hop albums I've had the pleasure of listening to. These guys didn't deserve the horrible fate of being known as "the Jimmy Fallon band". The last few songs drag on a bit, but the bangers outweigh the relatively boring tracks by a lot. Really enjoyed this. Strong 4/5.
Amazing
Great listen. Bought The Seed on single back in the day.
Pretty cool album that’s well built, progresses nicely although it could’ve been trimmed a bit. Questlove is a master in his compositions! 8 out of 10
Loved. Last track is a bit much for me, but that aside, it’s fire.
The best band in Hip Hop. I really like ?uestLove and the idea of a full, tight and talented hiphop band. Black thought is great too. Quality tone, flow and content. On paper this should be an easy 5, not sure what it is but it doesn’t quite hit for me. Maybe I need to listen to The Roots more.
Diggaan tosi paljon the Rootsista. Enemmän oon kuunnellut ekaa levyy, joka oli soitossa silloin kun edellisessä kämpässä oli vielä suihkussa stereot 4/5
Noni kyllähän Roots toimii. Miellyttävää räbää ja muutamia huikeita biittejä.
Kiinnostava levy! Kunnianhimo kuuluu. 4/5
I've got to say, I was pleasantly surprised by The Roots' album, Phrenology. I mean, I've mainly known these guys as Jimmy Fallon's house band, but let me tell you, they can really rock their own sound. This album goes hard, and it's clear that The Roots are true masters of their craft. From the funky grooves of "The Seed 2.0" to the introspective lyrics of "Water," Phrenology showcases the band's versatility and skill. I especially loved the track "Break You Off," which features some seriously smooth vocals from Musiq Soulchild. It's the perfect song for when you want to impress your crush with your taste in music (or just set the mood for a romantic evening). So, if you're like me and you've been sleeping on The Roots, do yourself a favor and give Phrenology a listen. You won't regret it, and who knows, maybe you'll even start seeing them as more than just Jimmy Fallon's backing band.
A very diverse with surprising experimental progressions. Enjoyed it a lot.
I thought it was imaginative and creative all the way through. Liked it. Too much of it,though
New to me, but impressive
Good stuff from modern funk masters.
This is a fantastic piece of hip-hop from top to bottom. Centered by two absolute bangers in the middle. It isn’t typical of the modern style but works nonetheless within the more lyrical stylings of the genre it’s in.
Another old skool rap album that loses its way in the back half. Some excellent rapping here though.
A very solid rap album.
Loved this. Can’t believe how wasted they are as Jimmy Gallon’s house band. Led me to their previous album which is also fantastic.
Sounds surprisingly modern for a 20 year old hip hop record. Enough variation to stay interesting for the most part, but it could have been a little shorter. I mean, 10:24 is very long for a song with basically 1 riff and some noise. Favorite song: In The Way Of Things.
Amazing Album!
I still need an interpreter for most of the lyrics on this album but the music was very good.
I don't have too much to say about this album. Nice mix of tunes - nice mix of styles. Good for when you're feeling like an angsty teenager and just want to shout at people, but realise you have no friends, so you listen to this in your room whilst picking fights with your teddy bears.
Tight as hell, an impressive array of genres across the album, the seee being my favourite of the bunch. Reckon I’ll explore their back catalogue a bit further
I like both the complexity and simplicity of the album. Sacrifice is extremely catchy!
Great hip hop album, love the roots
4.0
Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Sacrifice, Thought @ work, The seed, Break you off, Complexity
One of the best hip hop albums on this list so far. I liked the beats and flow on most of the songs and also couple tracks are really popular, even though I didn't know they were recorded by The Roots. First of all, we have "The Seed (2.0)", great beat, very fitting style of rapping, easy to follow, maybe best hip hop track on this list? Then we have other good to great songs, like "Sacrifice" or "Rock You". What's also a great feature of the album is the way the filler song sound. For example "!!!!!" Is actually a pretty metal bit, but it's still fitting the overall atmosphere of the record. Really nice album, will have a look again at it in the future!
An album that is a mix I would never ask for but only because I wouldn't think it possible.
okay
The "Ruts"
The Roots kende ik vooral van hun legendarische Tiny Desk en een paar nummers van dit album. Had eigenlijk nooit dit album in zijn volledigheid geluisterd, maar wat een album. Klinkt net zo tijdloos als dit album hiervoor maar in een totaal ander genre. Twijfelde erg tussen een 4 en een 5, maar ga het een 4plus geven
Echt een heeel leuk album, sick hoe ze zo veel stijlen door elkaar heen gebruiken en voelt super tijdloos
versátil
i dug it, so much going on here it’s almost schizo
According to Wikipedia, Phrenology was made in NYC during the early aughts (between 2001-2002). This album was a fun ride through 2000s hip hop, and I really enjoyed the diversity of sounds/influences they channeled here (especially the one or two short interludes between songs).
I need another listen but this was fun!
Genius of the roots sometimes ends up being a bit too much (Water with 8min of noise)
The Roots are an extremely musically literate band combining elements of rock, R&B, rap, and funk to make music that lives across and between genres. Black Thought is a phenomenal lyricist and rapper featuring socially conscious lyrics and a really smooth and engaging flow. While this isn’t my favorite hip hop album, it’s still pretty great.
Clearly inspirational
This was a pretty good time.
Very good, lots of genre blending Album Cover: Thematically on point 4/5
I've had this album at home since it came out, I don't remember how I got it exactly (a gift from someone?). Somehow, I've always found it well-crafted, and yet the whole thing never gelled for me the way other ambitious hip hop records from my collection have. Before 2022, you'd have east coast hip hop that sounded "fresh" and spontaneous with A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul or Mos Def, and after that you have other rap albums that are actually far more eccentric and daring in their experimental impulses than *Phrenology* was--as daring and experimental as the latter is itself. Heck, the early naughts also saw Outkast reach their creative apex, and they were already breaking a lot of rules in the genre--much more than the Roots did, actually, in spite of their good intentions. Compared to all those other references, it's as if this album was a little too stuck in its "transitory" sound. As if it was a little *tame*, somehow, awkwardly moving from the past without exactly pointing the way towards the future either. And this relatively lackluster aspect of the album is especially clear towards its end, clearly failing to inject some significant momentum to the proceedings (you don't have that sort of problem with the masterpieces made by Mos Def, Nas, The Goats or Kendrick Lamar)... Some tracks are quite memorable, though. "Rock You", "Rolling With Heat", "Thought @ Work", " The Seed (2.0)" and "Break You Off" are all great. "Water" is, too, even though its experimental coda is some weird, weird shit (and this comes from a fan of krautrock/komische music here). Oh, and obviously, Black Thought is an amazing lyricist and vocalist. I've had the luck to see The Roots onstage at a festival once to hear him live, and it was a great rap show--especially with all the live instruments around him. Yet as talented as this band is, and as nice as this record is generally speaking, I can't bring myself to give it the highest grade or even *instantly* include it in a list of essential listens. The Roots' hearts and brains were in the right place, they had all the right intentions, and, on paper at least, it seems I should love this record. Yet I only *like* it. So I'll give them a 4/5 grade, and for once I'm gonna break my sacrosanct rule that all 4+/5 records should be included in my own list. I know some very important rap albums have not been included in Dimery's book and I want to give them a chance to be a part of my own selection of 1001 albums. Call my picky if you want. At least it's just awesome that this app brought me back to this record. I have too many of them at home, and it's always nice to have sudden incentives to revisit stuff from those shelves. Number of albums left to review: 755 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 122 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 60 (including this one) Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): 64
YEEEEAAAAAH RAP ALBUM FINALLY THE ROOTS ARE AMAZING LOVE THEM Incredible variety in production, was not expecting “!!!!!!!!” So smooth, so good - think i slightly prefer the sound on Things Falk Apart over this Break You Off
Peak hip-hop album right here... Was a bit reluctant to the length of the album but some songs are so easy to listen to for so long that it is not a problem in the end.... Some vocal parts are a bit stretched sometimes but they still a good atmosphere to it all. 4/5
Rap progresivo. Está bien. Venga, un 4.
Cool but like 3.5 stars
Pretty strange but quite unique
this album was really cool. in part because it was quite unique. very impressed.
I really liked "Thew Roots Come Alive" which was my intro to The Roots and released just before Phrenology. What I like about their style of hip hop is that they aren't afraid to play actual instruments. Crazy kids! Phrenology doesn't welcome me in right away but by the time we get to Thought@Work and The Seed they return to the style that hooked me to ..Comes Alive. I give it +1 on the basis it's probably the only The Roots album that made it to the list. The album goes on a little too long to get an honest 4.
Low-key, listenable and rootsy (pardon the pun) hip-hop. I like the collaborations, especially with Jill Scott and Cody Chestnut. They stretch it out into some more adventurous free-jazz pieces near the end.
Really quite good.
The best rock rap I’ve ever heard
For me back in the day was like "damn this guys are gonna make it!" and then I found they had 4 records before this one lol. a nice roller coaster of sounds, they're legends for a reason. good album
When I say Rise Up
Fun listen.
Despite loving jazz rap, this wasn't my favourite thing. There's some amazing tracks here, The Seed (2.0), Sacrifice, Thought at Work, but then there's just too much weird and mismatched other stuff. I admire the eccentricity in jumping all over the place, but not everything lands.
VMP
Fantastic.
Funky fresh
Great grooves, beats, and poetry. Dig it.
Liked this one. Great musical variety with raw, soulful and energetic tracks
Excellent album. Haven't heard much of The Roots before but really enjoyed it.
I only know the Roots from the Tonight Show, but this is a raveup of hip hop with real instruments. Would be five stars if they edited it down from 70+ minutes.
Review #4 of 1001 Supremely talented group, pioneers of hip hop. This is not my favorite genre of music, but I can appreciate The Roots for the talent they possess and some of the experimentation they add in to this album. I enjoyed this. 4/5
Solid album, seems like it’s an important step along the path of conscious hip hop pointing towards TPAB. 8/10
I was pretty familiar with this album. The Seed is soo good.
Really good cover art. Really loved the first half and kinda lost interest
I can't believe I missed this album when it was released. Loved it, sits in the middle ground between NWA and De La Soul.
I enjoyed this and it made me curious.
Lindo
I dig it
Really cool hip hop album. I love the use of real instruments and the creative approach of blending genres. Definitely need to listen to these guys more. Favorite song: Something In The Way of Things
This was a great listen. I've been meaning to give The Roots a proper chance for a while. The rapping was excellent and I really loved how well they incorporated rock into their sound. The seed is a clear standout track, heard it in passing before but it really blew me away. Sadly the album drags a bit on the back end and loses focus, could definitely do with cutting a few tracks. Will definitely be digging further into their discography after this.
Have to admit I only really knew them as the Fallon house band so was very pleasantly surprised. Musically very diverse, quite jazzy even. And I think another listen to catch the lyrics would be a good idea.
Long time Roots fan, but this was an album I never really revisited frequently. When it was released it was seen as a departure - and rightly so, it is radically different from Thing Fall Apart. Looking back at it now, it’s kind of a blueprint for where the Roots would go in the 21st Century. Though The Roots hit higher high’s on subsequent records (like Game Theory and Undun), Phrenology gets a lot right. It’s a bit like a classic rock double album gone hip-hop. Stylistically varied, with the first half of the record focusing on more traditional songs/structures and an experimental (yet accessible) second half. Glad to revisit this one, it’s given me a new appreciation for a record that I overlooked/under-appreciated.
This has grown on me. Loved it by the end.
This is such a great album with probably the broadest range of influences displayed by a The Roots record. As conscious as ever and with some classic hip-hop beats but also the hard-core punk of '!!!!!!!', the chill soul of Complexity, the almost indie-rock sound of 'The Seed 2.0', and the beat-switching funk of 'Break You Off' Some of it doesn't quite work for me (the soundscape that makes up the second half of Water is quite indulgent for example), and I'm very surprised this is the Roots album that was chosen over Things Fall Apart or Game Theory, but it's a really impressive dive into a lot of different sounds
I liked this, but it was definitely overlong. I think I would have given this a 4 if it were shorter, but as it is, I'll give it a 3.5. 3.5/5
Never really checked out more from The Roots than the obvious hits but this is some good hip hop with a few curveballs thrown here and there. Definitely too long for my taste in this genre but very enjoyable.
I wouldn’t call this the best album by The Roots, but it does have the one song people know by them, so I know why it’s here. But it’s still quite good. Questlove knows how to write a spicy tune. B+
I like the diversity of the songs.
I bought this album in the mid-2000s on the strength of The Seed which is a cracking tune. There are some fresh beats on this album and it's somewhat more cultured hip-hop than most.
Easily one of the best live bands I've seen - saw the day ODB died and they did a medley of his stuff which I still think about 20 odd years later. Then in NYC on holiday with all kinds of special guests. Anyway, 1st half is borderline perfect, 2nd drags a bit.
Fallon may be a goober but he has good taste 4
I find this more interesting than great. They decided to stretch out a bit. There are jazzier elements than on the prior releases. Seed (2.0) is built on a riff that could be 70s era Stones. I am a big ?uestlove's fan and his playing here is superb. If anything it shows that hip-hop can co-exist with rap, funk, soul and rock - sometimes in the same song.
If you cut this down to it’s 45 best minutes this would be 5. Great rapping, good hooks, and lush instrumentation. Unfortunately there was also a decent amount of filler sounds, interludes, and spoken word that I did not enjoy. Talib Kweli was a nice surprise on both of the tracks he featured on. Again it says a lot about this list that none of the most important rap albums from 2011 are on here (take care, watch the throne) but this middle aged safe group is.
Mostly Masterful. Interspersed with some daft filler
This album was great. Some experimental stuff and good lyrics. The first half with songs like rock you were way better than the second half though
cool album, with many influences and a more developed musical background than many other rap groups
Banger of an album. So many dense, DENSE flows from Black Thought on this thing makes me excited to go back and listen to try and get all of it. It has a really nice mix of heavy hitters and soul inspired cuts, as well as a lot of rock influence. As an avid RTJ listener I can 100% see the inspiration from The Roots. 8/10
Brilliant hip hop album
I could lower my house on this album. Great energy most all the way through.
A big sprawling album, it could maybe be slightly tighter/more focused… but none of it seems like filler and it shows the breadth of the group’s talents and scale of their ambition. Perhaps shaving bits off here and there would defeat the purpose.
They went in a few directions in this. I like the funk/soul vibe to some of those. Hip hop is not my fav genre but I dig the Roots, maybe since I'm philly born.
crazy album, but it keeps you on your toes. very cool.
25th March 2022 Listened in the front room while working on CC Hub. Went to watch X in the evening with Gareth in Peckham. Enjoyed this, Questlove is a legend and this is definitely a cornerstone. Less a fan of the experimental end tracks but some bangers on here.
Hip hop/rap has generally been a bit of a blind spot for me. But I hear a record like this it definitely occurs that I’ve been missing something. Plus a hardcore punk song!!!!!!? I’ll be listening to this again.
I listened to this a lot when it came out. It holds up pretty well. There are still a few songs I always skip.
As my other reviews have shown, I’m not a big hip hop fan. But the Roots are able to make music that is good and dare I say, I enjoy? Maybe it’s the live band, maybe it’s that they’re from Philly, I don’t know. But they’re damn good.
Genre: East Coast Hip Hop 4/5 Phrenology, as a scientific term, is defined as measuring the skull to deduce intelligence and/or any other charaterisitics, all generally false or pseudo-scientific, and something that had been used against black men for years throughout the 1800s, during slavery, as well as post-slavery. The Roots take that term to title their album with, taking it for themselves and giving the term new life and new context. This album might not be a skull examination in the scientific sense, but it certainly is an exploration into Black Thought's world view, which is a trip worthy of taking. His rapping is some of the best so far throughout this exercise, although I have to admit there has been very little so far. While the album is full of highlights (Sacrifice, The Seed 2.0, Complexity), my personal favorite on this album is the 10+ minute long, experimental rap epic, Water. Complete with a jarring beat switch in the middle, this song does the best job of showcasing what makes The Roots so good, their biting social commentary, their tremendous live musical backdrops, and their willingness to experiment and try new things. This album sounds very close to To Pimp a Butterfly's older brother, and the influence is clear. While I don't think this quite reaches the heights TPaB reached, this is a tremendous hip hop effort. Still sounds as fresh and exciting as I'm sure it did in the aughts. Great shit.
Always salutes the Roots
This is one of those rap albums that better lyrically minded listeners can parse. The album goes a lot of musical directions with its orchestration and is definetly a kitchen sink style. Definetly worth a revisit. Break You Off is so smooth.
South Philly's finest. Black Thought is still one of the most underrated MCs in the game. The beats on this thing at certain points make me think of the best block party ever. A little long. Favorite tracks: "Thought @ Work", "The Seed"
// Yo I hold the mic that could be thrown as a pipe bomb, bring it just to sling it at your favorite icon //
This is really good - I always gave it a skip because it seemed like people who thought hip hop was childish liked it. But it's genuinely great. It has a great love of old school hip hop, evidenced on Thought @ Work, but also does great live instrumentation as on The Seed. No wonder ?uestlove is huge now!!! Really great, loved a lot, liked a lot. Feel like this might be a five star album in a few more listens.
I'm pretty happy with this album. I'd listen to it again. Admittedly, I didn't give every song my full attention since it was at some points more background then lyrically attended to.....
Love this album. Not much else to say besides it was fun.
I'm definitely a fan of full instrumentation hip-hop. Some very surprising songs on here, like Water where it goes into some weird krautrock-y kosmiche music at times, could have been a Can song halfway through. Songs like Rock You, The Seed (2.0), Rolling With Heat, are all super vibe-y. Some of it is a bit bloat-y but overall I'm a fan. 3.5 to 4.
Good times
Thinking about why you would pick this album out of all their albums for this made me really that you could justify picking most any of their albums. Great band, great album
Not bad.
Love the Roots. Great album.
Absolute banger of a hip hop record.
water went a bit wild but most of tunes were v listenable - shame they support Jimmy fucking Fallon now
Solid and engaging.
Good, raw hiphop.
Great ones but also some duds
Never heard the Roots before - love it! Very exciting to listen to, you never know when a bit of metal might be snuck into one of the tracks somewhere. So many inventive and creative ways of making sounds throughout. Not exactly easy listening but it's eye-opening and raw. Pure poetry. Sometimes it was tiring trying to pick up all the lyrics, I wanted to hear them though!
Great R&B beats with some solid rap over the top, great stuff
Very sick, need to finish
Loved the seed 2.0. Great all around
The only thing not making this a 5 is the rampant homophobia.
2002. Thought @ Work, The Seed (2.0)
Awesome LP. Very well produced, great variety.
Like this album way more than expected. Wild mixture of musical elements and experimentation across the album, some which I absolutely hated but most of it was great or at the very least interesting.
Yeah, awesome stuff, though a bit weird that it's the only album by The Roots on the list. Being a bit contrary, I like the more genre bending experimental tracks that a lot of people seem to be complaining about, heh. Gonna go for 4 stars, but I suspect it could bump to 5 with more listens... Fave track - "The Seed (2.0)" is a fantastic tune.
Need to spend more time with this album, but I have really enjoyed it.
Super eclectic. Know the Roots as hip hop, which this is, but it delves into so much more.
Bumpin'
Great hip hop album, lots of "featuring" artists on each song. There's some consistency in the quick flow of the rappers, but otherwise the songs themselves have a lot of variation and the band goes into a few different musical styles. Tapers off towards the end, some more experimental tunes that kind of drag down the energy.
Classic album but not my favorite by them.
Hard to not love The Roots
Altbacken und dadurch seltsam zeitlos. Einfach extrem kohärent. Macht Spass ohne Flach zu sein und die politische Haltung enthält 100% weniger Zeigefinger als Prediger gen Himmel pointen. Ausgestreckte 4.4
Let down by a couple of dud tracks but the majority of the album massively makes up for it. Seed 2.0 being an obvious highlight
My flatmate at uni was a big fan of this, but I have only a vague recollection of it. Enjoyable, though, very raw and aggressive in places, in a good way.
Fantastic Rap & Hip Hop album
4.2 - I love this record both for its contributions to a conscious hip hop sound, as well as for its sonic explorations of noise, ambience and jazz. At times I hear the precursors for artists like Flying Lotus, especially in track like "Something in the Way..." and "Water." Other tracks ground this record with strong MC'ing and creative beats - "Pussy Galore", "Complexity", Break You Off"... Add neo soul into the mix and you get something sprawling and ambitious that digests and reinterprets sounds of the early-aughts.
Really good album but a weird choice to be the sole Roots inclusion. It's one of their weaker offerings, which just shows how impressive of a discography they have.
Awesome hip hop
A great classic that has been a pleasure to sink my teeth into. There were a few songs that have been on high rotation for many years so, again, to go back and here those singles in the context of a whole album has been a real joy. 4 stars as there are a few songs that are a bit "grating" and it's hard for me to place those songs as neccessary additions to an otherwise well considered and highly influence album.
Wow - so many styles all expertly mixed together and excellent flow for the rap.
The Roots are masters of their craft, and they don't pull their punches in this funky and in-your-face record. Black Thought is an absolute poet in his cadence and word choice while he raps, and ?uestlove continues to drop great sounding rhythms that break the mold of the typical "thump and bass." This album has more studs than duds almost 20 years later, but sits in the middle of The Roots great discography. Favorite Songs: Thought @ Work, The Seed (2.0), Complexity Least Favorite Song: Something In The Way of Things (In Town)
Un d'aquells discos que sobrepassen el génere. Hip hop de llibre, però també temes de pur r&b/soul com 'The Seed 2.0', 'Complexity' o 'Break You Off', flirtejos amb el pop a 'Sacrifice' o apropament a la experimentació a 'The Water'. O, simplement, temes tan bons com 'Pussy Galore'. Molt a prop de les 5*
definitely ahead of its time. as for non-native English speaker worth reading lyrics and relistening to all of it. imho see a lot of innovative ideas and actually the album feels like there's been a lot of work put into it. some instrumentals are very very cool and fun to listen to.
What a punchy album. This record bangs from top to bottom, with smart raps and hooky beats. Lots of cool messaging and visceral rhymes.
Dope
Different from what I thought it'd be
some bops some weird ones
First off, Black Thought is a wizard on the mic. The Seed (2.0) is one of my favorite songs, super nostalgic, but I had never listened to the entire album. Didnt know how different !!! and Thirsty! were from the rest of the album.
Pretty damn good Peaks right in the middle at seed 2.0
Good start to the thing. This is perfect for like a hangout and just having a chill vibe but keeping the mood up.
Interesting album with dope lyrics from black thought
This is pretty fresh even after 20 years.
Prvo da kažem, pjesme koje sam mislio da će mi biti najslabije na albumu je ispalo da su definitivno najbolje (Sacrifice i Complexity). Album koji je malo više okrenut rnb žanru za razliku od prijašnjih albuma. Album ne bi preporučio onima kojima nikad nisu slušali The Roots da im bude upoznavanje s njima. Naravno svi znaju The Seed (2.0.) klasika od pjesme. Većina albuma je super, neke pjesme bi maknuo poput Something In the Way of Things (In Town) i skratio pjesmu Break You Off, i ne znam, Thirsty! nisam očekivao da će tak zvučati, i to još na kraj albuma. Al ugl dosta dobar album, nisam očekivao da će mi se tak svidit. 3.9/5
Listened to this immediately after Straight Outta Compton, and I’ve gotta say this is more up my street. Last track was the perfect way to end the album!
This was a lovely album. Very powerful and indicative of the times.
Why are "break you off" and "water" so gosh darn long
lyrical
A typically strong neo-soul outing from this consistently rock solid hip hop band. There's some really nice jazzy and even prog. rock touches throughout this record, but a couple of weaker moments (e.g. "Pussy Galore"). Like maybe 80-90 per cent of albums that run longer than 45 minutes, I can't help but feel this would have been a better album with a little editing. Favourite tracks: "Sacrifice", "Rolling With Heat", "The Seed (2.0)", and "Break You Off"
Love the flow of everything. Nice beats.
Awesome album. A lot of soul, a lot of intelligent hip-hop. Very nice soulful, jazzy vibe.
surprisingly fun. i listened twice.
Al blijft dit niet echt mijn genre, heeft dit album heel wat invloeden uit rock, jazz en soul. Deze interessante mix maakt dit wel een leuk album
One of the best rap albums from this century, surely.
Meant to use the Tribe Called Quest review for this one as I was playing catch up but they both stand about the same for me. Suprisingly enjoyable compared to what my typical taste is, wouldnt seek out but could enjoy when it comes on
Good
Enjoying this a great deal. 7/10 (4*)
this album gives me memories of college
This album was all over the place and I loved that. Songs as short as 30 seconds or as long as ten minutes. very easy to listen to as the beats and other ambient sounds carried through most of the songs, especially on Break You Off and Water. The songs felt so short but were super long. Love this album art as well. Surprised this came out in 2011!
I hadn’t listened to this album before this project. I really enjoyed all the grooves and different song flows.
Rock you y toughts @ work muy bien Water es una joya.
I enjoyed this album very much.
Really enjoyed this one! The rhythm and groove especially. I didn’t pick up much on lyrics but loved the vibe and the drive this record had throughout. Definitely something I’ll be playing again.
The Roots are a group that, despite my persistent journey into hip hop, I still haven't heard much from--I've heard more solo work from Black Thought. On first listen, I'm not much for picking up lyrics (and given the title and the Roots themselves, I know there's heavy lyrical content on here), but the music itself is really strong. It's an album that I'm sure would reward repeat listens, but based on the strength of the sound and the rapping, I can already say it's a great album. Excellent energy and a lot of cool styles explored. Favorite tracks: Quills, Rhymes and Ammo, The Seed 2.0, Thought @ Work. Album art: I'd say this is iconic as far as hip hop albums go. I've seen this countless times. Phrenology itself is a disturbing concept, and this art style throws back to an era when it was unfortunately a real thing. The intricacy of the art in the regions of the head/mind is incredible. 4/5
De los grupos más originales en hip-hop y de pocos que pueden hacer que suene bien la combinación con instrumentos en vivo. Es como una clase de un experto para entender cómo puedes mezclar chingos de ritmos con hip hop y hacerlo bien... no como la mayoría.
Another from my collection. It aged well. I’d give it 5, but it’s not entirely consistent. Still will add it to my rotation again though. Loved it.
First song is so dope! Really solid album I thoroughly enjoyed it
No sabía que ellos tocaban the seed 2.0 ni que se llamaba así jajaja. Buen hippity hoppity de ese que ya no hacen y muy buena mezcla de diferentes ritmos. The Seed, Pussy Galore, Rhymes and Ammo y Thirsty! mis favoritas
El rap y hippity hoppity no son lo mío, pero eso no quita que este disco es muy bueno y demuestra que el rap no es solo beat y rimas. Me gustó mucho The Seed (2.0)
Nice. 4 stars.
Some of these flows were too insane to give anything else. Admittedly lots of it was like fuckin woah. But this kept me awake when I was fucking near death.
Roots duh
This album is weird but awesome, it has such a wide scope, from garage to the feeling that you're actively drowning it has everything
I enjoyed this album. A couple tracks went a little long for me. I think overall, it sounded really cool and I liked a lot of the lyrics, features, etc. I wish I had more to say here.
Hip-hop-band, alsidigt, støvet, featurepræget
This is a great album. Ashamed to say I didn’t know much about it… I’ll be exploring further!
Beats are right, raps are tight. A bit too long and conceptual. Strong overall, but not a revisit for me.
Not really my thing
Its a bit all over the place but any album with a track as good as The Seed on it can't score low
This album sounded very out there. The things that were put together on this album were something else- At times it felt disjointed but at other times it felt like a masterpiece, I was never quite sure which way I actually fully felt about the album. The interludes flowed into the tracks well and the little earworms that bounced all over the album I can’t decide if they irritated me or whether I loved them! ‘Thought at work’ interlude especially I found genius. Best track- ‘rolling with heat’ is the one that stands out! Worst track- ‘!!!!!!’ I’m still undecided on if I liked or not but right now I’m edging towards like. So a 7.5/10 for me!
These beats are so good. The rhythms are fun and the production is great. Sometimes the songs kinda go on and on and don't go anywhere and sound repetitive, but overall this was fun! Liked Songs: "Rock You" , "Sacrifice" , "Thought @ Work" , "The Seed (2.0)" , "Break You Off" , "Rhymes & Ammo" , "Thirsty"
There are a couple of 4-5 songs on here, but only a couple. And if you put 'Things Fall Apart' on *right* after listening to this, it's just so weak by comparison. Maybe a high 3/low 4 kind of situation, but grading down because they have such better representations of their work.
Would I listen again: nah Not my style but I didn’t think it was objectively bad!
The production on this album is really, really bad. The delay on "Rock You" is offensive and not in a way that hip hop artists want to be offensive. The harsh cut off between every song is brutal and gives whiplash. The bright side of this album is the rapping though. It's really tight. Thankfully that is what takes center stage on the album, and it saves it quite a bit for me. I think the back half of the album is also better than the beginning. Yeah, the back half is definitely better, or at least more consistent in quality. I wish the album started out better, because I ended up actually enjoying it a bit. It does fall into the trappings of 2000s rap, which is to say, it's misogynistic. Like, if I was a woman, I wouldn't want to listen to this. so that paired with the rough start, and the fact that the production really doesn't actually get all the better, it ends up with a middling rating, when I do think it could have been much better. Favorite Song(s): !!!!!!!, WAOK (Ay) Rollcall, Water
Bien, mais trop long.
I'm obviously not the target audience, but even I can hear it's well made. A bit long tho , isn't it?
Decent. 3/5
Some good stuff.
I like how the songs in this album sound. I like the different sounds they use too so I would give it a 3.5 if I could.
Not sure if it's just the mood I'm in but this just sounded kinda messy
Au risque de me répéter.... 1h c'est beaucoup trop long pour un album rap. Je suis arrivé à embarquer au début, j'aime bien le côté 'vrai band' et j'aime beaucoup Questlove mais... je perds le focus quand c'est long comme ça. Et j'ai détesté la dernière toune qui m'a fait penser à du Prodigy.
mja
Groovy baby. Another reminder of how nuanced hip-hop can be when you actually take the time to listen to it.
Bringing old school.back for the new millennium - and late night shows!
Knew the Roots from Fallon and the cultural relevancy of Quest Love and Black Thought but unaware of any songs. I enjoyed this for a few tracks and then its harder to stay engaged. The album is loonnggg and the songs are similar for the most part. I enjoyed the vocal collaborations but it only makes it so interesting.
3 stars
It’s good but seemed to be performative at points. Didn’t really stick with me but i respect the talents
In what world is this the one The Roots album that you choose to put on this list?
There were parts of this that I really enjoyed, the rock and soul of the seed or the mad hard house of closer thirsty. These show the ambition of the group and the genres they will operate in… however there’s also parts of the album that are baggy or fairly blunt… yes I’m looking at you pussy galore. An interesting take on where hip hop went at the start of the century
Some smart, good rhymes, if some occasional silliness. The vocal collaborations help keep the album going.
🙂
Not the Roots album I was expecting from the list (Things Fall Apart). This album follows that strength as an ambitious, mature project. But for me this album suffers from a bit of the same issues I have with later Roots albums...almost too much scope, leaving it feeling fractured and lacking cohesion. Black Thought's lyrical skills combined with their expert instrumentation at times feels like drinking from a sonic firehose. But nonetheless, for 2002 this was such a genre-busting effort. 3.5⭐️
рэперы не поняты
I really struggled to stay engaged with this. The extent of my black thought fandom is his freestyle on funkflex which is one of the wildest musical performances you'll every see. This project, however, will not get a second listen by me and sits somewhere between a 2-3. Rhymes and Ammo is boppy enough to raise it to a 3. I'm sure that would rise if I spent more time with the lyrics.
Solid rap album. The Seed is a good song, but weird lyrics
Experimenteller Sound, für mich hat der rote Faden gefehlt
Water hat bisschen den Vibe gestört. The Seed, Pussy Galore, und das erste Lied waren gut.
Cool listening album. I think The Roots sadly got me on an off day. Two listens but I didn't find more than a 3 in either. Big asterisk that this one could be better and it may have been me.
I have only been a fan of the odd Roots song here and there in the past. I think after 3 listens the same goes here. It did grow on me, and I'm sure it would continue to. I'm not sure I personally need a full album of The Roots. Some good classic beats. Nice flow. Fan of Talib Kweli popping in for a track.
When to listen: certain songs for hype, like The Seed 2.0... but mostly just a historically important album that is in a genre I don't normally vibe with
6/10
Gear: Hifiman HE6se v2 SE Artwork: 🧩🧠🩻 Production: 🎧🙂↕️👌 Music: 🥁🎤🌪️ Rating: 🫚🫚🫚(🫚)/5
Nice yo have something I hadn’t heard before
Oli ihan Hyviä mutta sitten taas ei niin hyviä.
It’s been a while since I’ve gotten a hip-hop album, and I’ve never listened to the Roots before. I’ve probably heard some of their songs, but I haven’t sat down and actually made a point to listen to them. I have heard them play on The Tonight Show a bunch back in the day. I know they’re from Philadelphia, Questlove is the drummer, and Black Thought, or Tariq Trotter, is the main rapper and lyricist. But otherwise, I’m going in blind, and I never really know how to rate or review hip-hop other than if it sounds good. And, as I’m used to these albums lasting just over half an hour, I’m sure this one will last like an hour and a half. Ugh. There are 16 tracks, and it’s over an hour long. This one may not be track-by-track. Track 1 is, of course, a skit or interstitial. I wonder who started this and why? Was it because there wasn't enough material, so they had to pad the album with hacky comedy? Anyway. Track 2 is Rock You and the beat automatically reminds me of the Wu-Tang Clan. I have no doubt the music will sound good, and Tariq will rap great. I like the Roots. They are at least musicians and not just loops and samples. This was their fifth album, and it came out in 2002 in time for Thanksgiving. I was not into rap at that time, at least any rap that wasn’t on MTV. I don’t think the Roots were ever really an MTV act. I remember a ton of Diddy, if I can still make reference to him. I’ll say, I never really trusted the guy. He always seemed to be a manipulator to me. He was the business guy, then he’s rapping? Now he’s acting? It just seemed like he used others to get himself over. Of course, now, I think we know that for sure, amongst other things. Digression in 3…2…1…I wonder what the producer of Get Him To The Greek feels like these days? I mean, that movie starred Diddy, Russell Brand, and Jonah Hill. Hill is another that just seems to be fake. I don’t think it’s because he's necessarily a bad guy. I think he’s one of those people who has never really been comfortable in his own skin. He seems to be searching for a persona. Plus, of the three Greek stars, he’s the least likely to end up in jail, at least at this point. By the way, I loved Get Him to the Greek. I thought it was brilliant and was the best use of Brand’s nonsense there ever was. But now, a dark cloud rests over it. Digression over. Track 3 is a punk track called !!!!!!. Unfortunately, it’s only 25 seconds long. It’s really good. Track 4 is Sacrifice featuring Nelly Furtado. Nelly Furtado? I thought she’d disappeared. Oh, of course, in 2002, Furtado was at her height. Who knew we wouldn’t really hear from her again, like, ever? This song isn’t so bad. Nothing special. This song is equivalent to the metal band needing a slow song for the chicks in the late 1980s. Track 5 is Rolling with Heat featuring Talib Kweli. I’ve heard the name Talib Kweli for years, but I’m not sure I’ve ever heard or seen him. This song is really good. It’s one of those hip-hop songs that has a weird sound throughout that you don’t really know what it is. Is that an oboe? Is it a bassoon? I had this way too loud, but it’s a banger, as the kids say in the streets. Track 7 is Thought @ Work, and it sounds like an old school 80s hip-hop song that was built with samples. That’s the beauty of the Roots, they can build songs out of samples, but when it comes to playing live, the band is good enough to recreate the music, and it probably sounds better live. While I’d say this album is most definitely a hip-hop album, there were critics at the time who classified the album as a neo-soul album. I get that. It’s got an Erykah Badu and D’Angelo vibe. Questlove played a part in the movement as well. Track 8 is The Seed (2.0) featuring Cody Chestnutt, and I know I’ve heard that guitar riff somewhere before. I guess it was this song, but I just don’t remember. Damn you, old brain! Whatever the case, the song is really good. It’s a mix of hip-hop and rock and roll. Some compared the music on this album to Prince, but to me, Prince sounds like the 80s. This song sounds timeless. I definitely remember these lyrics because they are badarse. “If Mary dropped my baby girl tonight I would name her Rock'N'Roll” I guess this is the song, and I just never knew it. Track 9 is Break You Off with Musiq, another name I’ve seen before, but not sure I’ve ever heard. This definitely sounds like a slow jam to try to woo a girl. I hate it already. But I’m sure it drives the ladies wild. Moving on. Track 10 is Water, and it’s 10 minutes long. That seems excessive. The song appears to end around four minutes in. The song wasn’t bad, but meh. I don’t know if I’m hearing a babbling brook or a bong being hit. Okay, I see Questlove is a fan of Frank Zappa. This music makes me think I’m still listening to the Mothers of Invention. Moving on. Track 11 is Quills, and it features Tracey Moore, whoever that is. Is Snoop Dogg the biggest success story to go on from being a nobody featuring to a superstar in a matter of, seemingly, months? This song is fine. Track 12 is Pussy Galore, and I’d expect wordplay like this on most hip-hop albums. The song seems to be about how everybody is motivated by the vagina and other superficial types of things like money and fame. It’s a cool-sounding song. I’m ready for this ride to be over, though. That's what she said? Did I do that right? Tracks 13 and 14 are a couple of hip-hop ballads that don’t appeal to me. Track 15 is Rhymes and Ammo, and the song opens sounding like the beginning of Primal Scream’s Jailbird Pie. That’s a great song. Rhymes and Ammo is alright. I must say, I’m just not a hip-hop guy. It just doesn’t do it for me. I need something more. If I were more of a lyric guy, then I’m sure I would feel differently. I do think rap and hip-hop fans should listen to the album. It probably is an all-timer. It’s just not for me.
Phrentrow - na Rock you - 4 !!!!!!! - na Sacrifice - 3 Rolling with heat - 4 Waok (ay) rollcall - na Thought @ work - 4 The seed (2.0) - 5 Break you off - 3 Water - 2 Quills - 4 Pussy galore - 4 Complexity - 3 Something in the way of things (in town) - 2 Rhymes and ammo - 4 Thirsty! - 2
Arrancamos nueva semana con otro clásico de éste reto: discos de hip hop. Nuevamente, se trata de una banda que no ubico. Me gustó. Me pareció una propuesta interesante. Sin más para agregar, me despido.
Giving these guys some due because they're a South Philly band. But I can't say I enjoyed this much. I liked the blend of rap, rock, soul, and punk and some of the experimental songs like "Water" and "Something in the Way of Things," but the more rap-centric songs left me cold. It sounds like a lot of other misogynistic rap with the requisite swagger and that just gets tiring. But they are a tight band and they get credit for creating their own style and the mash-up of genres.
Insists upon itself. Some pretty good songs, some pretty bad songs. Production and instrumentation is experimental, groovy, and interesting. Overall an interesting listen, but not the greatest.
I like the music more than for most albums of this genre, that I have heard, but I still don't like the album much. 3 stars or C-.
Better than expected.
Interesting. More than I expected, but a little too much. Not my listen.
Cuando vi el género y escuché las primeras canciones solo le pedía a Dios que por favor se terminara, pero poco a poco el género de las canciones, e incluso el estilo de canto, cambiaron y a veces no parecía tanto un álbum de hip hop. Me sorprendió para bien.
Just not my genre
3,1 Highlights: The Seed (2.0), Complexity
00’s Hip Hop ⭐️The Seed (2.0)
Some solid songs, enjoyed some of the more bluesy influences.
Up and down on this one. Some are good fun, but some just take you out. Only 2 really caught my attention with their respective lyrics and style. Rest was meh
3/5
Pretty average. Not bad but again I query its inclusion.
Cool rap album but I am all ready for whatever pseudo-Chemical Brothers LP the last track was raring to lead into Also ready for a full album dedicated to continuing the stylings of the last half of "Water" although I think people wouldn't rate that very well
Favorite track was Break You Off
I don’t know. They do a lot of different genres here (including a psychedelic freakout) pretty well and are clearly adept musicians and performers, but it’s also as a whole too broad and sprawling for me. I enjoyed my listen and am glad I’ve heard it, but I don’t plan on revisiting in full.
It's pretty good, but a little chaotic.
Long, kinda boring, a few good grooves
Pretty danged good ear-candy! This will require a re-listen to get more of the lyrics.
The Seed (2.0) kuullosti tosi tutulta, mutta silti vähän vieraalta. En tiiä onko sitä samplea käytetty jossain toisessa kappaleessa minkä tiiän, mutta en löytänyt. Muuten ihan jees hiphoppia vaikka suurin osa kappaleista ei sillein kauheasti iskenyt. Parhaat: The Seed (2.0), Quills
That was kinda cool, although again like most hip-hop albums it's too long. Some of the tracks were solid and made you want to pay attention to the lyrics, others made me wish the song would end immediately. Overall not a terrible experience, didn't really blow me away or love it.
Jimmy Fallon
It's fine
Well this was a journey. I hated the first four songs of this with a fairly rigorous passion, and then ended up pretty much loving it. Overall, it still skews slightly towards 'noise that I'd rather not have to deal with', but the last few songs really rescued it - probably thanks to Jill Scott's arrival. It might actually be that I listened to the end of it in the car, and there is quite a lot to be said for hip hop in the car, pretending to be cruisin' through the streets of Harlem, rather than Broughton. Also, more albums should end with a totally incongruous bit of deep house.
Some recurring themes are starting to show up in my listening - East coast and gangsta rap, not so much my thing, but I can find elements that I enjoy, especially when there is something interesting going on musically, as is the case here.
It was alright beats and flow. Didn't hate it, but didn't really connect with it. Nothing I can pinpoint to critique
Felt like a lot could’ve been cut
even if i hate it "pussy galore" is stuck in my head
The Seed 2.0 is a song that immediately caught my attention years ago and put The Roots on my radar. The rest of the album kept my rating lower than I expected. Some songs were irritants. If not for Seed, this would have edged close to a 2.
What a way to end. *3
it's fine. too long and did not hold my interest throughout
When it's good, it's quite good. But there's too much filler and nonsense. Albums don't need to be over an hour long. This could have been tightened up and it would have been more enjoyable. 3/5
The Seed отличная песня. Остальное не понравилось
2.9 It's quite an interesting album. I think if rap was my cup of tea I'd be quite into this. Slightly experimental, slightly rocky, slightly genre hopping. As it is I only saved two songs down, but it's a lot better than some of there 1* dross that's appears on here.
Great record. Not my favorite Roots album but really solid and unique.
Not my thing, but not bad.
Cool beats but I have no idea what they’re talking about.
Honestly, I didn't see listen to the whole thing. LONG LIVE KOBE
beats are hard but not enjoyable for me, love the art tho
Gefällt mir, aber zu lang. Werde mir mal andere Alben der Band geben, da scheint es einige Klassiker zu geben.
A confusing listen. I really like the ambition. There is some good rhythmic rapping and some cool beats. I feel like there are some elements here that could occur in my absolute favourite records. But I am much less interested in the soul pop parts and in the kind of of key references to a few social issues. The narrative is very cool in parts and almost right on in other parts but badly missing the point in others (for me - that's super subjective)
I like the noise painting on "Water" I like the spoken word poetry on "Something In the Way of Things" About half of the tracks are just mediocre, some with pretty boring beats. Maybe it's a historically, culturally significant album? Otherwise it seems average
I already had heard The Seed 2.0 and Im surprised because most of the other tracks on here are more enjoyable. Conpared to other hip hop of the time this is fairly standard
Hip-hop with great musicianship. What's not to like?
rock you chorus was a flop... sacrifice chorus a flop ??? what the hell rolling with heat great beat and lyrics but what's with the go girl give us nothing chorusessssssss in these tracks .... thoughts at work same the seed 2.0 love it break it off is very justin timberlakeey water greàt
Sounds good. Did not have the hour seven to go through it but will put this on soon.
Rolling with heat's got a sick beat. Some of these are good jams. But this kind of genre was always background music for me. Deserves more of my time.
I like Seeds track
The Seed is an awesome song.
It was ok.
seems to noisy but i was also not in the right state of mind for this one
I liked this a decent amount too, although it dragged a little in the second half; perhaps 15 minutes shaved off would make this a better album. The Seed (2.0) was the standout track for me. Solid three.
It’s a decent hip hop album with some very high highs. But it’s not my favourite Roots album.
For making this album, they get the amazing reward of being Jimmy Fallon's band for all eternity
Never heard of The Roots and didn’t think it was for me after the first few tracks .. but it started to get interesting around track 10. Kind of liked it by the end.
I was slightly wary of this one, noticing that every track was marked with the E for Explicit warning, but ended up being pleasantly surprised. OK, so I’m still not 100% on board with the lyrical content or the relentless nature of the vocal delivery, but the music behind it was varied and interesting with some cheeky and well chosen samples, even including Swing Out Sister. A cautious 3 stars from me.
A lot of this was really good but it was too big and sprawling to keep the quality up. Should be about half the run time. Rock you, rolling with heat , thought @ work were good, basically all the songs where the rapping went hard. This was mixed in with more r and b leaning stuff and some ambient outros that brought everything to a halt and had me checking the runtime. Would much rather have an album with some quality and some rubbish than everything be band average but as an album it still averages out to okay. 3.5.
The Seed (2.0) was solid. One of those bands that I wasn't really interested in, and this album hasn't done much to change that. Glad to have listened. Far too long though.
Don't think I've ever listened to the roots before, but was aware of them. This was pretty good but maybe a little too rnb in parts for me, but still largely enjoyed it. Good flow. Recognised "the seed". Quills was good too. I gave it a second listen and didn't enjoy it as much, bit there is some interesting stuff going on I think 3.5 but maybe closer to 3. It's a shame because there's some good bits in there
Didn't know about the Roots before this, including that they were the house band for Jimmy Fallon? Interesting again to listen to even when it's so far out of what I'd normally listen to
06 fev às 23:23
mi sembra un po’ troppo lunghino ma la vibe non è per niente male
Pretty cool. Felt like a Sgt Pepper type album
Listens: 2 Standout Tracks: Water, Pussy Galore I listened to this album twice, but it left almost no impression on me. Well that's not entirely true. I usually listen to the album for my first listen during the bedtime routine. If its a longer album, it usually ends up being something I fall asleep to. While I was falling asleep, Water was on and it got to the section where there's a heartbeat underpinning the track, and I just remember hearing it half-asleep and wondering if it was my heart beat, or if my heart beat was somehow synchronized to the beating sound on the track. It was strangely tranquil. I suppose, beyond this, there seemed to be this theme of the album being DJ'd by... well... a DJ, complete with radio transmissions, static, changing stations, the whole schtick. I have mixed feelings about this style of presentation. It can be novel or played out, depending on the context. I do not have any especially negative things to say about this album. I perhaps wish it was a bit tighter on the deliver. It could have been 45 minutes and been more effective. Considering the Roots have at least four other albums, I would be interested to hear more of them.
My rating 3.2
(3.5)
Experimental, groovy and unexpectedly heavier in parts Fave tracks: the seed 2.0 & rhymes and ammo