Reviews (page 5 of 8)
Decent rap album, but not much more
starts off okay, mid-way through turns rreally good, close to the end goes back to okay
I’m not really qualified to rate this as I’m not that keen on hip hop. Anyway I put it on in the car and track one had me hanging my arm out the window and nodding like a pimp on weed. Couldn’t hear the lyrics but overall it sounded ok. I will give it another listen cos I think it’s got more to offer
Surprisingly good rap record!
Unterhaltsam
3.2 - not bad, might listen again.
There was a lot of variety in the tracks here which added a lot of interest to the album. I liked the ones that contained soul or jazz best. Not so keen on the rap numbers. I added “Complexity” to my Generator playlist.
I did like most of the album. Complexity featuring Jill Scott was my overall favorite. I had to skip a few (Pussy Galore for one).
Alright but too long!
Always a delight
That was … an experience. Experimental conscious rap with a bit of too much rambling and ranting.
I'm a huge fan of The Roots' album Things Fall Apart. Honestly one of my favorite albums of all time, and if it were up to me, I would have put that album on the list instead of this one. Not to say Phrenology isn't good, it is. But it's not Things Fall Apart. Mostly, I'm just not feeling most of this album. A lot of the instrumentals are really repetitive and I'm missing the heavy jazz vibes of Things Fall Apart. That said, The Seed (2.0), Break You Off, and the beginning of Water is a great one-two-three punch on this record. Pussy Galore is also a really solid track, kinda feeling like they channeled an Eminem/Dre beat a little bit (While channeling it through The Roots' style), not something I was expecting from The Roots. But yeah. I've heard this album a few years back, and I'm kinda understanding why I playlisted The Seed (2.0) and Break You Off and didn't really go back to it. Just not hitting me like the previous album did.
A little overlong but thought most of it was an enjoyable listen
I did like the mixture of styles presented on here, but whilst some songs I enjoyed, a lot I wasn't all that bothered by
You can really feel how 2002 this album is. They mention anthrax and the matrix. Overall this album outshined expectations. I expected to give it a 2 but it earned a 3.
A little gangsta for me but the beats were phresh
Liked it
Pretty good, although my interest waxed and waned. Some songs are very thoughtful and profound; others, not so much. On the whole, a solid classic hip-hop album. Favorites: The Seed 2.0; Something In The Way Of Things 3.5
Might be a 4 even?
Hip hop album with a lot of R&B, some electronic, and other influences. Nice mix. Overall enjoyed most of the tracks. Notables include Rolling With Heat, The Seed, Break You Off, Complexity, Rhymes and Ammo.
Makes me wish it was still 2002 and I was just chilling and watching Toonami.
This started off chaotic for me. Then it all ended up sounding mostly the same. The Seed 2.0 is great. Actually all of the songs with the features were good.
Decent variety but not my jam for most parts
This album seemed like a very impressive and complex production. While the primary music style is obviously rap, there are lots of other styles woven throughout and sampled. It was also interesting to understand a bit more about The Roots as a band - I knew a tiny bit about them in a general pop culture context via late night tv. The pop culture context may be why they actually didn't click with me despite checking a lot of boxes. I get that they are in the niche of "conscious rap" and trying to portray a certain more refined style, but in doing this they almost comes off as somehow less genuine. Maybe if I gave this another shot of would change how I felt but after one listen this album did not draw me in the way I might have expected.
As someone who only knows the Roots as Jimmy Fallon's band, I am so confused right now. I always assumed all the late night talk show bands were just generic house bands put together for the show. Are all the late night talk show bands actually legitimately good groups? I feel like a broken record, but I was enjoying this album quite a bit despite it having a lot of the rap cliches that I can't stand (e.g. excessive use of the n-word, questionable views on women, etc.). The band, the smooth rapping, the composition of the backing tracks, and the experimentation makes up for a lot of the rap cliches. The Water and Something in the Way of Things (In Town) were the standout tracks for me. I was not expecting the almost ambient electronic sections in the Water, but I really enjoyed the whole track and the weird jazz-y, spoken word poetry on Something in the Way of Things (In Town) was phenomenal and I'll return to this track for sure. On the other end of the tracks-that-stand-out-to-me spectrum, what the fuck is up with the Seed 2.0? What a great song ruined by some truly awful lyrics. "I push my seed into her bush for life"? And this is considered one of the best songs on the album? Seriously, just what the fuck? This album would be a 5/5 for me if all the tracks were closer to the Water and Something in the Way of Things (In Town), and with a little more !!!!!!! thrown in too, but I feel like it's dragged down by rap cliches and a couple awful tracks like Seed 2.0, so I guess we'll average it out to a 3/5.
Some good moments
I am generally a fan of the genre. This particular record is unknown to me, and I didn't find it super compelling. It wasn't bad, just not memorable.
Rhymes and Ammo was my favorite track (this millennial loves a song that tells me what to do).
For a hip-hop/rap album this was pretty decent, with songs that had actual melodies (Sacrifice, Break You Off). Bonus for sampling Swing Out Sister’s “Breakout” on the track Quills.
Strange to have this one but not Things Fall Apart on the list.
This makes me think I haven’t actually ever listened to The Roots before… This was very good!
This was pretty good. Not the albums fault but I had to keep stopping and starting all day, which was tiring. I would come back to this, score would probably increase.
Not my favorite Roots album, but still good
What a disaster of a decision to be on Fallon
The Roots are undeniably legends, which seems weird to say as someone who grew up only knowing them as the Tonight Show band. My college roommate turned me onto the Roots. This album is big and has a lot to say, Black Thought is one of the greates rappers of all time. This album has a big idea that works as a whole. Not much I would revisit outside the context of the album. With all the skits and seques and it being a little long I think I'm going to settle at 3/3.5 out of 5
It starts weak, then it hits it groove mid way through only to end weak again
Good listen
3.5, the second half is much more intriguing than the first.
I really like the combination of rock, hip hop, and some whacky electronic influences.
Rahzel! Sounded like highschool. Good tor a rainy morning.
Same ol same ol
Not bad, but not exactly for me.
Rap- hip hop
Day 61 Not sure I’d ever go back and listen to the full album again but some great tracks on here 7/10 Highlights Sacrifice Break you off Water
Hip Hop's not my thing, but this was a perfectly amiable album albeit a little long.
Enjoyed the variety and elements or rock, R&B and rap all on one album. Some of the musicianship on drums and bass is really cool.
Pretty solid rap / hip hop album. The Roots are a good band, and I like their music but when I do listen to them I'm never really blown away with memorable moments. For some reason the sound always comes across as much harder than I remember each time, like more heavy. Unfortunately it's usually a "that sounded cool" and then it's on to something else. "The Seed 2.0" is a great track. It feels like everything really comes together on this one.
quite decent beats, nice flows. never heard it before and I enjoyed it. have saved Rock You and Break You Off to my hip hop playlist
I saw Roots tour this album back in the day and they were awesome - one of best gigs I've been to. Saw them a few times following this and they never quite recaptured the magic. Have not listened to the album in years - and unfortunately time has not been so kind. A few bangers eg the seed / Rock you / Rolling with Heat - but overall a bit messy and unfocused.
It was alright. The music better than the rapping. Would have thought with the intelligent, diverse music they could be a bit more sophisticated with the rapping, more like Something in the Way of Things. N word needed in every song?
The Seed es una de mis favoritas, pero el resto del disco no está nada mal.
Decent, solid rap album Would have scored a 4 but too much random, unnecessary bullshit
Didn't get chance to listen to it all. But thought it was generally good.
Enjoyable
Preferred the soul-y ones more but not bad, just a bit too long I think
One of the most interesting album listens so far. There's plenty of depth to this album's sound, but I feel that there's a curve here. It begins just fine...but just fine. Then in the middle, it gets really experimental and good before falling back to the end. Suddenly I went from listening to an avant garde hip hop album to falling asleep as a man read me poetry. In addition to this, the random dives into punk, rave and musique-concrete baffled me. A respectable effort as a person that thrives on experimentation, but as a complete album, I leave confused (6/10, 3/5 on this scale)
Quite boring and also jarring in places. Hoped to like this more.
There were portions of this I really enjoyed and others I was pretty lukewarm about. Was expecting more from this one tbh since I enjoy other Roots albums.
Middle of the road listen for me Lots of different styles and sounds but was long and I got a bit bored of it about 2/3 through
The Seed is a very funny song. This album is ok.
Goed album! Stond vaak op bij mijn pa dus toch een dikke 3.4 wegens nostalgie.
"Phrenology" is a good album, neither bad nor great. There are some cool tracks on it. I really liked "Water", "Phrenology's own "Bohemian Rhapsody". However, I do have a headache, which affected my enjoyment of the album. The hardcore punk mini-song near the beginning was fun. 3 stars for "Phrenology".
Nice album! I’m not the biggest hip hop guy, but the first few songs were especially good! It lost the plot for me a bit later and the whole album was a bit overlong in general. But some great sounds!
I liked it, but I don’t think it had enough “whoa” to clearly mark it as an above average album.
Guter Hip Hop
I did enjoy parts of this but found it went on a bit long. I admire the production and execution but didn’t find too many of songs grabbed me.
I like that it wears its influences on its sleeve and isn’t apologetic about it (is that ‘Apache’?!). Found that I wanted to like it more than I did. For all I’d heard about ?uestlove and his links with the roots, a lot of the beats seemed a bit…lacking? Probably benefits from repeated listens as found some of the lyricism hard to make out or follow.
cool vibe
Oh great. Another highly acclaimed edgy Hippity-Hop Rap album. It passes the time in an acceptable way, but there's little to really mark out as different from dozens of others of its ilk. Samples, harmonies, outrage, swearing, "edge", ...yeah, all the usual elements are here. Sigh
I liked some of the songs but I didn't like some songs but could listen to this again
For the first two thirds of this record there are an overwhelming number of things going on. Several layers of intricate instrumentation vying for space against vocal performances that include what is often thoughtful rapping and soulful singing. It’s a more layered sonic palette than most rappers would choose to work with. A skilled producer has done their damndest to hold all of these parts together and has been about as successful as you could hope, given the strength and complexity of the various flavours. It’s not a smooth or easy listen and I can’t decide how I feel about that. Part of me wishes the more gentle songs were pared back to make the most of the soulful, delicate vocal performances. Another part of me is in awe of how skilfully overloaded it is. It’s exciting - your brain is not given a second to rest. In the last third everything settles down and you get a more focused product, without losing any of the variety and experimentation. (Thirsty is such a wild way to close this album.) It could have been cool to hear some of these songs shuffled into earlier parts of the album, or for this approach to have been employed a little more elsewhere.
Standout Songs: Rock You Sacrifice Thought @ Work The Seed (2.0) Complexity
It was pretty good but not my favorite
sound set from tight band
Too many unnecessarily long songs and then a couple throwaway tracks. Questlove is great on drums. 3 but could’ve been a 4
Decent enough. Not particularly stand out for us - it's very rare hip hop is to us - but we enjoyed it well enough.
Favorite songs: Thought @ Work, Thirsty!, Rock You, Rolling With Heat, Quills Least favorite songs: WAOK (Ay) Rollcall (fuck skits), Sacrifice, Water, Pussy Galore, Something in the Way of Things (In Town) 3/5
The seed (2.0)
Alright
One banger
!!!!!!! is a hardcore song? Lots of fluid Roots beats. Black Thought's flow is also fluid. Not a band that I ever seek out to listen to, but nothing to ever turn off. Rhymes and Ammo is a great one and favorited
Fed rap. Det er angiveligt virkelig godt men jeg kan ikke særlig godt lide det umiddelbart.
Hit and miss for me. I enjoyed the production but some of the specific melodies were not so great. Standout Track: Rock You
good album. Nothing really stands out about it
Before listening, looking at album cover: Black face, black panther, Rosa Parks, a lynching, KKK, raised fists, etc. Oh boy, a socially conscious rap album. Can't wait. Well, the music didn’t match the cover art very much at all. That was a relief. There was quite a decent variety here — not all of it was good, but I actually enjoyed some of it.
Hit and miss. Big drop off from Seed 2.0 to the next tier of songs
not bad, i'd give it a 3/5
- war ganz moody insgesamt, aber es ist nicht wirklich was hängen geblieben 3 – War okay / Interessant 👌 Solides Album, einige gute Momente oder Ideen. Vielleicht nichts, was ich nochmal hören würde, aber spannend zu kennen.
Due to give this one another listen. I liked what I was hearing but didn't give it enough attention.
I'm not a big hip-hop fan. All the nigga and hoe stuff is outdated, jarring and tedious. And whilst this album does have its fair share of that, I found it to be varied and surprisingly listenable. it may even stay in my library as my nod to hip-hop (you gotta have one I guess, just to be polite) 3
Reminds me of Black Eyed Peas
Overall strong album!! 6.3/10
This wasn't too bad, switching it up between genres kept it interesting. Top track: The Seed (2.0)
Trots hiphop/rap en intressant platta. De spelar en massa skönt sväng istället för loopar. Duktiga sångare gästar. Det är RnB, soul och EDM. Cool! Trea plus
I appreciate a live band playing hip hop and the different genres they weave through this album, but I just find the music average.
Enjoyed this new-to-me album.
3/5
I really respect some of the more experimental parts.
Need a 3.5 for this one! Fun to listen to but put off a bit by "easy" rhymes in some places.
A hip hop album with soul, but not great im afraid. The Seed 2.0 is a certified smoker, but the rest sort of passes by? Average I would say, I just can’t imagine too many people having this in their top ten albums to be fair.
Nice blend of hip hop and rock, middle of the park for me
Pretty cool. I think it will grow on me too with repeat listens.
I enjoyed it, but it took a bit for that. Beginning was not impressive.
eh, I don't love the Roots and this is definitely the least exciting thing I've heard from them band/production-wise, especially in the back half. Break You Off-Water is just, so insanely long. Black Thought is GOATed as always, though
Not my usual, but nice.
this is the band from that music! great beat, very fun but oh god why so long
Listened to this while boppin' around Chicago this weekend, a day after The Roots were in town. Way more fun than I anticipated. Thought I was in for some backpack rap homework, but turns out these guys had other plans. There’s experimentation, but it’s not pretentious. It’s jazzy and intellectual but also pretty hook-friendly. Like a more refined version of what The Fugees were going for, maybe. I didn’t fall in love, but it was good. Spins: 3 Playlist Additions: - The Seed (2.0) - Break You Off - Complexity
Solid sounds here. The highlight was “The Seed (2.0).” I liked this overall more than I expected. I wish there were half stars to rate things because I would give a solid 3.5, but it’s not quite a 4 for me.
I definitely enjoyed this album. I didn’t love all of it. I lost interest at moments here and there. I thought a lot of the stuff I didn’t like felt like filler. But I will say the thing I liked the most about the album is that it had a good variety of sounds on it. There’s legitimate hard left hand turns and those were my favorite songs usually. I just didn’t feel like it really stood out much overall and I’m afraid I’ll forget about this album pretty soon.
Cool stuff going on but wanted this to be better than it is
No complaints. The Seed (2.0) is a great tune
J'me répète pas mal, mais le hip-hop gangster rap c'est pas mon truc, déso, ça sonne juste correcte, ça ne me génère aucune joie. Au contraire, l'album Junior par le band Corridor était pas mal top notch, drette dans ma ligne de mire
Continuación de su arrollador things fall apart, pero como cualquier disco suyo es de una calidad superior,
Pretty good, I liked it.
Some of this was awful, some pretty good. I find it hard to enjoy much rap of since the mid 90s because it’s almost exclusively profanity laden, misogynistic, hyper-sexualized chest thumping. At least what I’ve managed to listen to. And if this list includes the best examples, that’s what I’ve heard. This album definitely has its share of profanity (I don’t really care to hear the “n word,” regardless of who’s saying it. It’s derogatory, reinforces negative attitudes, and people should have more self respect). But at least it didn’t seem too far in the other categories. Plus I rather like ?uestlove. Seems like a good dude and a fine drummer. I appreciate their dedication to playing their own instruments as well. There are a few really cool grooves.
BEST SONGS: - Sacrifice - Thought @ Work - Water
Bizar album, wat een laatste track zeg hahahaha
It wasn't bad, it's just not the type of music I derive a lot of enjoyment from.
やはり2000年代のヒップホップの色が強く出たアルバム。 やはりグループが故に、ビート、バイブスは統一感あり。 初めて聞いたアーティストだったのでとりあえず出会えて良かった。 古着屋でかかってそうな曲が詰まってる。 自分の好みとは違かったけれど、雰囲気はあるし、カッコいい。
87) Phrentrow - / 88) Rock You - 7,0 89) !!!!!!! - / 90) Sacrifice - 7,5 91) Rolling with Heat - 6,5 92) WAOK (Ay) Rollcall - 3,0 93) Thought @ Work - 6,5 94) The Seed (2.0) - 10,0 95) Break You Off - 8,0 96) Water - 7,0 97) Quills - 6,5 98) Pussy Galore - 7,0 99) Complexity - 7,0 100) Something in the Way of Things (In Town) - 5,5 101) Rhymes and Ammo - 6,5 102) Thirsty! - 6,5 TOTAL: 6,75 (68/100)
Enjoyed the samples and interludes, but the flow itself did not do much for me. Liked it, didn't love it ...
Honestly surprised to learn this is an album from 2002 - this has such a mid 90’s style to it. Tho saying that, going off that era, this wasn’t special for the time so yeah. Enjoyable experience tho
Early 2000s, getting a little miracle lyrical spiritual Too long, yeah this is meh
had to do a double check to see if they're the same roots that play on Fallon, for some reason thought they'd be more jazz but a pleasant surprise!
not bad
I don't really know what to think of this album. It's fine enough and it's distinctive enough from a lot of other hip hop (though I know they don't use that label exclusively) albums to not just fall away beyond everyone else doing this, but I don't think it's particularly boundary pushing or really exceptional. The live drumming and instruments are cool but there are plenty of programmed (or digitally enhanced) beats on here that it's only really obvious when they live mic the drums or use the full band on the big hit "The Seed (2.0)". The rapping is pretty good; Black Thought has a great flow though he sometimes falls back on rap cliches, occasionally for a whole song ("Pussy Galore"). The features are fine, nothing really exceptional and I think Nelly Furtado in particular is wasted on the track she's on, despite being a good song. The artsy interludes and tracks are pretty shit. For a few minutes I thought "Water" would actually be a great use of ambient/environmental/experimental noise if it actually divided the album in to two halves, but it didn't at all, unless it was between the good half and the not good half. I liked "Sacrifice", "Thought@Work" and "Water" the most. The rest, meh.
To think quest love would be reduced to the drummer for Fallon.
Mid rap, too abrasive for me nothing worth listening to again
Good album. Not my style but appreciate the musicality.
Phrenology is one of those albums that feels like it should hit harder than it does, especially coming from a group as talented and respected as The Roots. But truthfully, it’s just... okay. The standout track is undeniably “The Seed 2.0” it’s the one moment where the energy, creativity, and production come together to make something memorable. Beyond that, the rest of the album struggles to leave an impression. Even the beats and rhythms, which are usually The Roots' bread and butter, feel oddly uninspired here. It’s not a bad listen, but for me this one doesn’t quite measure up.
Some songs are fun. Feels like I’m listening to the radio in GTA.
It’s interesting .. and I like interesting,weird things.. but not sure I’d listen again. Can 100% appreciate it as artistic though and they’re talented.
Not terrible but I didn’t listen to all of it.
This is my first time hearing this and I thought it was pretty decent. I don’t anticipate putting it on again but it didn’t make my day any worse.
I like the neo-soul and jazz elements, and I have a lot of respect for the musicianship, but as a whole album, I really didn't get into it.
I like The Roots, but this record really is all over the place. The best tracks are excellent, attempting to be The Prodigy, not so much.
It was dense and never boring.
3 - Bland
When I was hazy/ tired in the morning both the name the roots and this album cover made me think it would be the 1000th boring nameless early 00’s indie rock album… boy I was very obviously wrong. Really it’s a hip hop album that is mostly quite experimental but some bits are a bit boring 3/5
First listen for me, and as an old white guy, I mostly dug it.
Eeeeeh. This was fine I guess. I don't think it's the classic that people have told me it is all these years.
Do you want to listen to some music that has a lot of guitar? Well in The Seed (2.0) you can! I rate this song a ⭐⭐⭐. I kind of recommend this song. Do you want to listen to some music that has a lot of percussion? Well in Water you can! I rate this song a ⭐⭐⭐. I kind of recommend this song. Do you want to listen to some music that has a lot of drums? Well in Break You Off you can! I rate this song a ⭐⭐⭐⭐. I recommend this song.
i kinda like thus ablum the hip hop sounds kinda cool i like that its fast
Pretty good. One banger!
The Roots are always kind of a conundrum for me. The idea of a band backed hip hop group is great, but sometimes I feel like they fall flat on albums. This is still good, but it’s just missing something to make it truly great. 3.5/5 Might listen again
It's fine but not very interesting to me.
Not a fan.
flowy. bops. jazzy. Fav Songs: Sacrifice Rolling the heat Quills Pussy Galore
Not my usual style but I liked Rolling With Heat the most.
Okay, this one is tricky. Objectively, yes, this is a good album. But, good lord does it drone on and on, and when you realize, "Oh man, Thought is gonna rap for the entire duration of a bunch of 3 to 4 minutes songs." You start to dread the albums over an hour runtime. I love Black Thought, but good lord can he rap for a long time.
I love it when hip hop is performed with live music backing it and I really like Questlove, but I wasn't into this so much. I guess I didn't connect with it.
The Roots go off, tight as all hell while still reeling off multiple 6 to 10 minute long jams, and scoring a monster single in "The Seed (2.0)" along the way. But don't sleep on the rest of the album, you got a hot Talib Kweli collaboration here in "Rolling With Heat", and Black Thought shows off and out on "Thought @ Work", and an interpolation of a Swing Out Sister song on the excellent "Quills", this has everything!
Rhythmically intricate
3.5
It’s alright
Not the best Roots album, its okay. Brings in elements of other genres (Soul, techno, rock) into hip-hop, with mixed results. Standouts: The Seed 2.0, Sacrifice
I want to give this more stars - but the second half drags and is up and down. On a whole this is musically all over the place - and I mean that in the best possible way. These guys are doing it all and mainly successful. But as I said the back half is a drag beyond a couple of songs and the last track is painful.
Det giver mening at det er det her album, der er med (det er den med hittet!), men synes den er et godt stykke for lang og rodet. De skulle have sat Things Fall Apart på i stedet!
Super fedt hvis jeg sammenligner med andre hiphop plader på listen fra den tid, varierede beats, lød godt. Alt for lang, obvsly
The Roots' "Phrenology" is a bold exploration into the size and shape of music, featuring an eclectic mix primarily rooted in hip hop, while also incorporating elements of rock, jazz, neo-soul, and even touches of EDM and shoegaze. The album's standout feature is the band's exceptional musical talent and their ability to play various styles and genres. Notably, all percussion and beats are performed live, while avoiding excessive sampling. The tracks I enjoyed most are "The Seed 2.0," "Sacrifice," and "Rolling With Heat." While the album's musical exploration is largely successful, there are moments when it seems to hinder creating a fully cohesive listening experience.
s'alright.
I thought it was ok
Need to read more on this one! I love the seed.
Alright
I wasn't aware they are such a straightforward hip-hop group. Highlight(s): Rolling With Heat/Thought @ Work Lowlight(s): The Seed/Water
Not bad Not what I expected
Lovin the energy.
I got into The Roots back in the late 90's, they were and still are ridiculously tight musicians. I've seen them twice and they do not disappoint. This album was cutting edge at the time but they have better ones. They incorporate hip-hop and rock to create an aggressive sound. "The Seed 2.0" with Cody Chesnutt is one of my all time favorite beats & I heard it in an ad the other day. "Break You Off" & "Sacrifice" were minor hits and I dig "Rolling With Heat" and "Thought @ Work". There are a few real stinkers with "Pussy Galore", "Water", & "Something In The Way...", not catchy - not fun. Top 1001, maybe for influence & message but not for hits or staying power but it did put them on the map way before they were added as the houseband for Jimmy Fallon. 3 Stars
I should really love The Roots as on paper their skills both from a performance and production standpoint are of the highest calibre, but there’s something about them I find just a bit too polished and sterile, and so whilst I enjoyed this album, I couldn’t remember a single song from it an hour later; I prefer my hip hop with a bit more grit.
Very long Content is decent But man, some editing on these albums wouldn't go a miss. Why are we making a 42min album into a 70+ min album. It's unnecessary and doesn't add to the experience. It makes it harder for a first time listener Fussy Galore is a good tune Album closer sucks
Not bad so far as rap goes, each track has different elements
This was way, way too long. First half of the album is great, but it completely loses steam at the 50% mark.
I was disappointed about about how typical this album seems. To my novice ears, very little differentiates this album from its contemporary hiphop peers.
Really strong start, but it ended on a real low note
Ambitious but overly long. A case where a studio exec should lve stepped in and said ok that's enough
Heard this album before a long long time ago - was not my thing but I do understand the strong drum melodies with message rap / Camino thing
Jimmy
I thought I rated this already. I guess not. it was fine
It’s fine. I’m pretty sure the roots are Jimmy fallons live band which makes it hard for me to take them seriously as real artists. But also this album just wasn’t that good
Good rapping over strange beats; will have to revisit. Initial listen: 7/10 or 3.5/10.
читаки друг от друга не отличаются, этот момент мне не нравится
I was surprised it was rap given the amount of rock records on here. First time listening to the roots
Not their best work but still good. A bit unorganized though.
I like the Roots quite a bit but this album has never really impressed me that much. There are plenty of solid tracks here but overall its nothing special when compared to many of their albums that came before and after this one. "Undun" deserved this spot on the list. Favorite track: Sacrifice
Zaskakująco dobry album. Mięsisty, muzyczny, instrumentalny. Ale też jest coś narcystycznego w nagrywaniu kawałków, które mają więcej niż 10 minut. Pod koniec byłam już zmęczona. 6/10
Good classic funky hip hop
Wait. The Roots? The funny band on Jimmy Fallon's talk show? They make serious music? That was my initial reaction to seeing the name Questlove and the Roots in the album description on Apple Music. I did enjoy the album, but considering my only experience with the Roots is thanks to Jimmy Fallon, rap was not in the least bit what I was expecting. This absolutely goes hard from the get go. That being said....its too much. 3/5
Really skilled but occasionally too much all at once
No idea these Jimmy Fallon fools have such a long history.. they manage to somehow sound very white, but the album is not too bad. Interesting musical bits with some varied rapping styles.
I know a lot about Questlove the drummer but not much about The Roots, so an enjoyable listen….
Very good album with just few too many filler tracks.
Some bangers... an awful lot of just absolute noise. Sacrifice is great Water starts well - doesn't need to be 10 mins - middle of it sounded like the old ainsley.exe videos. Erykh Buda never fails to impress. 'You Got Me' is great, largely thanks to her. Unfortunately averages out to being middle of the road at best. Which is a shame considering some of the good stuff.
This is fine.
6/10 pretty good 11-29-2024
Did anyone else catch the Beastie Boy references throughout? The beginning of Thought @Work #2 was the same opening beat as Looking Down the Barrel of A Gun, and !!!!!!! sounded a lot like Time for Living off Check Your Head. I am conflicted with a lot of this album honestly. The rhyme and flow was on-point. ?Love proves why is one of the best drummers of all time throughout, but then the continuous racial references made it feel like I don’t belong to this album nor it to me. Maybe it’s just my “woke” socialization. The Seed (2.0) was a smooth jam that got a few listens. Complexity was pretty good too and I liked how Black Thought’s vocals were a jazz solo in themselves, especially paired with Jill Scott’s smooth vocals. There is no mistaking the talent here.Thirsty should have felt more displaced but somehow fits. The production was an emotional rollercoaster not right for every occasion but worked. If I believed in Napster style downloads I would turn this into a well edited set of mixtapes. But that would be illegal and I would never…anymore.
This one was way more varied and interesting than I assumed going in. I liked Rock On, Sacrifice, and The Seed as the best tracks. Was surprised by the outbursts of punk a few times. And even a bit of noise rock too. The ability to morph and adapt on this album shows why they are a great late night band now with Fallon. We should have seen it coming. The last track was so wacky and weird. Did someone lose a bet and had to let it be on the album?
I used to listen to this quite a bit, but with listening yesterday, I remembered how 100% straight through was a bit much. Rock You is a perfect opener, energizing and bringing the listener to attention. The Seed (2.0) is what I've always gone back to. The beat is incredible, the flow is great, and Cody Chestnutt wraps it all up nicely. The beats on this, at first you think they're minimal but then you pick up on everything going on. Very cool in that sense. Break You Off is where it starts to lose me. I think compared to the tempos before that, it's just a downer. Complexity would've been a great closer, but then it kept going for 13 minutes.
This album gets really going with "Sacrifice" and gets better and better from there. Great songs to check out: Sacrifice Break You Off Quills (nice sample of Swing Out Sister's Breakout)
Didn't expect to like this but it's quite relaxed and smooth despite the cutting rapping.
This one was interesting, there's a lot of different things going on, but it was also a bit chaotic and not super cohesive due to all the different styles. I might enjoy this more if I listened to it more, but not a ton stood out to me on the first go-around so I probably won't get around to picking it up and listening to it again Standouts Rock You 3/5
Fine. A lot of random parts thrown in here. The 2nd half is really good. Rhymes and Ammo is the best song. Ez 3.5
Not bad
Like the word play and use of internal rhymes across lines and within the same lines. Some nice mix of hip-hop, funky and R&B sounding beats.
The parts that are less hip hop and more soul/rock n’ roll are the parts I prefer.
Everything besides 'The Seed (2.0)' felt like musical homework I didn’t sign up for.
3.4988 stars. Can't bring myself to round up.
This album did prompt me having to explain to somebody what phrenology was and why that's a cleverly ironic title for a hip hop album, so I got a free pass to be a know it all.
Sounds pretty nice, however I did not enjoy Rock You and Water much
An ok hip hop album by the Jimmy Fallon band.
I liked the variety - just too long. 3/5
I've known the group's name for years (decades, I suppose), but as far as I know I've never listened to any of their albums, and I doubt I've heard much of their work on the radio (or at least the radio stations I've listened to). It's an impressively wide-ranging album, and the album is tight and well-produced, albeit too long, and I'm not sure I can really agree with "The Rolling Stone Album Guide" highlight of "Water" as an amazing track. I was also impressed at how the early small intermission-like tracks have some of the more interesting range of styles in this album ("!!!!" has some Fishbone-inspired guitar licks/sounds, and I enjoyed the spoken word "WAOK (Ay) rollcall"). I particularly enjoyed the track/video "The seed (2.0)", definitely a highlight of the album; and also the semi-Public-Enemy-style "Thought @ work", and the pounding "Quill", and I largely enjoyed the jazz-poetry-experiment of "Something in the way of things (in town)". It's not really my taste musically, so I'm not sure I can really judge whether this was as ground-breaking as the Wikipedia entry seems to suggest, and it does seem weird that the project didn't have The Roots' previous album ("Things Fall Apart") given that album's breakthrough success (and more well-known status), but I *do* like the title and the album cover, dripping with irony.
Een album met behoorlijk wat afwisseling. Dit moet zelfs één van de grotere anti-hiphop trolls op deze site toch positief stemmen. Ik vind het wel jammer dat er wat geluiden op staan die ik als irritant ervaar, maar verder is dit wel een oke album. Hoogtepunt voor mij is toch de hit 'The Seed (2.0)'. 'Sacrifice' kwam me ook bekend voor, maar dat is denk ik omdat de baslijn klinkt als 'Give It To Me' van Timbaland en 'Whats Luv' van Fat Joe. Verder kende ik hier niks van, maar ik heb ook na het luisteren geen nieuwe tracks aan m'n playlists toegevoegd. Het zit een beetje in dezelfde hoek als OutKast voor mij. Ik weet dat het goed is, maar het is niet helemaal m'n ding. Iets te random soms. Ik hou het op 3 sterren.
maybe cool it with the seed talk
It is what it is, I have no real thoughts on it as it’s not really my type of music. Some nice vibes but equally lengthy and uninspiring in places. Probably a 2.64 so rounded up to a 3
Not sure what to say other than 1) I like it, 2) I like that it's more like '80s rap than '20s rap. But still, 7 out of 10, and I'm rounding down. 3 stars
A good vibe to this with a few duds thrown in, but overall a good listen.
I don't think any of the songs are particulary good, but the record is so crazy that you use all your energy on trying to figure out what tf you're listening to instead of caring about quality of it.
yes
Bumpy.
Too much of too many good things
Fire
Yeah s’alright this, not gangsta, had a nice variation of styles (although maybe a bit too much). Preferred the more funk based tracks, and a good but random track to end on. Can’t think of anything interesting to say. Well, not related to this album anyway. But I did see Monster Magnet last night, and Dave Wyndorf has still got it, absolute legend that man. 10 min version of Spine of God was epic!
Something for everyone. A good antidote after enduring the musical shart of throbbing gristle. The gristle could learn a lot on how to be experimental and tuneful from these guys. God I hated the gristle
i enjoyed it, but no real standouts.
this was an interesting album and though I'm normally a fan of the mixed-genre forays, this one felt a bit more scattershot and unfocused than most. i listened to the album all the way through, then revisited a few tracks in the middle, but they didn't really grab me the second time either. also i don't get why we needed a weird 10 1/2 minute soundscape dropped into the middle of the album (and right after another long song). not my favorite. also had no idea this was the same "the roots" that's jimmy fallon's tonight show house band???? wild. favorites: rock you, the seed (2.0)
Started off pretty strong; thought I was listening to a 4 or even 5, but it did start to slow down quality-wise as it went on. I'll probably listen to it again and see where I'm at then, but as of my first listen I'm sitting at a 3.5/5
Not sure how to rate this one. There are nice moments (e.g., I like the closer) but regularly I get lost.
Man this is produced so well. I think it should be on this list for that alone. It feels so intimate, but the style evolves depending on what the song's vibe calls for. But it is too long and gets a little tedious. There are some wild creative things going on here, but some of the songs get overly repetitive. generally I like the vibe. It would be good to have in a background of a hip dinner as long as some of the offensive lyrics aren't understood..
El rap no es uno de mis estilo favoritos, y menos en una lengua que apenas controlo. The Roots tienen la fama de ser uno de los grupos con más exito de la segunda ola de rap alternativo y seguramente tiene una razón de ser. Su música es brillante en lo experimental y en este disco suena además contundente. Me gusta algo la guitarra de "The Seed (2.0)" y el arranque del tema "Water", una extensa canción de algo más de diez minutos en la que hablan sin tapujos de los problemas del ex MC Malik B. con las drogas. También el sencillo "Break You Off", un dueto con Musiq.
3.5☆/5 09.11.2024
More focus woulda make this a much stronger record. Throw out all the nu-metal stuff and get no more experimental than "The Seed" and "Break You Off" and "Complexity" of which are first-rate. Otherwise this is overstuffed – too many guests, too many ideas, too much genre-mashing/imitating. The overall effect is uneven, largely because what's not too loud is too long or incongruous with the adjacent vibes and flows. Aside: any song named "Pussy Galore" should be much better. And what a shame to end with a Prodigy soundalike.
Generally liked but do not foresee myself putting this on again
Cool
I’m not sure about this one, it’s longer than I like albums to be, and while I think the quality of the beats and the lyrics are both high, there’s also not anything that stands out as excellent to me. I listened to it on a speaker while cooking dinner, moving around a bit and maybe not paying attention as much as I should. But I’ve done that before, and there are albums that I ended up really loving using this method of listening. Ahh, who cares?
used to love this album but it does not hold up. very dry.
Pretty good. 2.5
Sacrifice // The Seed //
listened to this in 3 hits, and although it needed a bit of breaking up for me, I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.
Great
It's a cool combination of rap, rock and electronic, but nothing special really.
Nothing stood out to me, but the flow and sound was quite nice. Maybe one I'd come back to in the future, but not a must.
This probably needs a deeper dive. There’s a lot going on in this album. A lot a like and some that’s just too dense. As someone who has seen The Roots live and loved them, this record doesn’t sound like that performance. It’s an ambitious work that’s near impossible to give a quick review after one listen. I respect it and could potentially love it on a relisten. 3.5/5
Strong starting and closing tracks, but the middle was a letdown. Overproduced and overcomplicated, it felt like they were trying to demonstrate everything they could do instead of just creating good, straightforward tracks. "Water" almost unlistenable - why was it 10 minutes long? Still an interesting album, at least.
I'm normally a fan of hip hop, but couldn't get into this one as much.
La verdad que muy bueno, y eso que no soy tan amante del rap
I liked the techno/rock elements of the album! It was interesting. That being said, I don’t think i’d listen to again.
I liked a good portion of this. Some good flow, interesting beats, and once this got going I really felt it. Then I got to “Water”, and all that came to a screeching halt. Avant-garde does NOT fit here. That song sucked so hard it brings my entire score down one star. It should have been left off entirely.
Far from cohesive Skills lost in exploration Pushed a bit too far
Haven't heard of these guys, but I'm a big fan of this style of Hip-Hop. The backing was great, and a nice diverse array of songs that didn't make this album feel long at all. 3.4
First time listening to them besides the odd song here and there. I haven’t listened to their bigger album right before this one which I’m sure would give me a better appreciation for this. The album didn’t do much for me. It was alright with some fun beats but didn’t feel that game changing to me. Rating: 3.0
Some good tracks but end got more than a little eh. verdict 5.5/10
"The Seed" is a great track, but the labum falls flat towards the end.
Respect the experimentation but not my kind of thing
Highly creative and full of surprises. Thought provoking and challenging in all the right ways. Fave Songs: Water, Something in the Way of Things (In Town), Thought @ Work, Rolling with Heat, Rock You, !!!!!!!
3/5
Songs sounded great but never really went anywhere and went on too long
I have a healthy respect for The Roots as the pre-eminent live-band hip-hop act, but I have generally found their music to be hit or miss for me. Rock You starts us out with some boom-bap punchy aggressive energy -- quickly backed up by !!!!!!! a Beastie Boys esq hardcore interlude. Sacrifice bleeds naturally out of the previous track, but sheds all of the aggression in favor of an 808 and snare lead jam with Nelly Furtado featuring. This song is a jam. Beautiful production on display here. Rolling With Heat has a solid groove to it. Weird that Kwali isn't credited on Spotify given his prominent feature at the front end. Thought @ Work makes me think of early Wale and Go-go music with the rhythms at work. Water is an unexpectedly spacious song weighing in at over 10 minutes. Rhymes and Ammo is a late album standout. Love the flow and energy on this one. I've listened to this about 3 times now trying to figure out where it falls... On one hand it is enjoyable and varied enough to listen to 3 times. On the other, a lot of this kind of falls into a serviceable middle area, where the songs are solid, but don't fully elevate. I tend to prefer the jammier/crustier Roots songs (Essawhamah?, Pass the Popcorn) but this had some really solid points. All in, I'm a high 3 leaning 4 here.
Some of these songs were jams. I Liked Though @ work and the seed 2.0. Pussy Galore was an interesting song lol. Wasn't a bad album to listen 3 stars for me.
Couple of good songs on here, but no real duds. The beats early on were pretty dry, but they seemed to get better as the album went on. I liked that there seemed to be a few high profile features and you can really hear the influence on each song form the features. Not really my jam, but it was fine.
Sacrifice is the first song I'm really liking on here. Something about the production is getting me. I absolutely LOVE the Seed. Was a favorite of mine growing up it just scratches some type of itch. Had to make sure I was listening to the same album during Water. This album was all over the place but really got really into it at different points. Production is on point for this one. High 3
It's alright. Interesting moments for me but never really moved the needle either way.
The Roots are always a group I’ve had my eye on. But with my seemingly endless backlog of albums I want to hear, that only continues to grow because of this list, there has been very little time for me to ever sit down with their catalog. I figured it would happen one day though. I guess today was the day. But I wish I could have spent my introduction with something a little more fitting. Or, unfortunately, a little better. This isn’t exactly a bad album. But compared to their earlier work, especially Things Fall Apart, it’s not seen as their greatest work. And I can understand why, even without having any prior experience. This highlights another issue with this list. Which is the often glaring omissions of obvious albums that totally deserve to be on here. And they are commonly replaced by albums from the same artists that just aren’t as good. This album goes back and forth between songs that feel poorly executed, unfinished, and kind of flat, and songs that actually balance experimental East Coast hip-hop and soul music really well. I’m really not familiar with the rest of the group, but I’m well aware of who Black Thought and ?uestlove are. And I believe they are a very talented MC and a very talented drummer respectively. The former of the two does really feel like the main one leading the music here. But on certain songs, the instrumentals are pretty solid. Especially, like I previously mentioned, the drums. Those are almost consistently good on every song, even if the other elements aren’t. I’m just not sure where this stands as a proper hip-hop album. Because something about it feels like it’s lacking those main elements that make hip-hop such a good genre. It’s kind of a hard feeling to describe. The Roots have always toed the line between soul and jazz adjacent music and rap. And I don’t think this record represents the strongest aspects of the group’s fusions. Rating: 6/10
Ok album until it gets to Thirsty! Banger 3/5
Not bad, a 3.5 from me
Love love love The Seed The rest is interesting but not arresting
The flow was definitely apparent but some tracks were just a bit too odd.
Wasn't in a hip hop rock frame of mind today.
I liked The Seed (2.0) and Break You Off (the tracks with singing) and there did seem to be a good level of variation across the entire album, but there’s just too much filler and the album is too long! Water is just noise for about 6 of its 10 minutes to give the most egregious of multiple examples of a song overstaying its welcome.
Quite a bit on this album that I liked, a potential 4 stars. But some other parts that were very boring and it dragged on, so loses a star.
Pretty good, although I expected more. I won't come back to this, but I can see how this could be seen as objectively good.
3.5 A very well-made album that I just didn’t connect with deeply, it doesn’t feel cohesive as an album to me too, they’re just doing a lot of stuff on every track, even though they’re all well-made. A certain amount of corniness because they’re The Roots, but I’ll accept it
Insane album tbh. A lot of it came out of nowhere and some parts were a little overwhelming (Rock You, !!!!!!!, etc.) I think I wouldn't hate a song like !!!!!!! normally and it had pretty fire instrumentals, but its placement and suddenness just didn't really make sense to me. I liked its transition into Sacrifice (which I also enjoyed). Low 3/5, some strange interludes and songs that I couldn't tell if they were interludes or what. Still a solid album though. Favourites: Sacrifice, The Seed (2.0), Break You Off. LEAST favourite: Water
There were some good parts (The Seed (2.0) stands out, but it went on a little too long for me.
Really fun, great production. The Seed is a banger.
Nice. I really like the live / raw feel to the production
Surprisingly enjoyable despite the frequent use of the N word
It was alright. Some nice beats.
Some great tracks, just not enough for a 4
thought @ work drum sampleThe Incredible Bongo Band"Apache jahas liian selvä sample ja kommenttisektiossa muutama löytäny, tajunnu...noh...hyvää työtä kait... perkeleen hyväää... ylpeä... mutta meikän ei tarvinnut mitään private investiations...You get to meet all sorts... In this line of work.. mutta meikäläinen tajusin heti paikalla . Ei ponnahda, loikkaa, kumpua, kimpoa, hyppää, nouse, sätki itse rap osioista mitään. kuitenkin produktio menee mukavuusalueen ulkopuolelle siell' t''ll', ja onmistuu siinä... whacky ass songs siellä täällä... water
Nothing special,
It meanders a bit, sometimes feels a bit disjointed, there’s definitely peaks and troughs. Overall it’s good quality stuff. A firm 2.5 rounded … up. I think.
The Roots ollut aina vähän tuuliviiri, välillä digailee ja sitten taas ei. Jos ei tässä haasteessa ole aikaisemmin ollut heidän musaa niin varmasti eka kerta kun kuuntelin levyllisen kerralla. Tänään toimi ihan hyvin ja boogie kantoi kohtuu pitkän levyn läpi. Ei mestariteos, mutta kivaa rotaatiota muuhun musaan.
This album seemed like it was all over the place, so good for the Roots and their range. Some of the songs I really liked(The Seed) some I couldn't wait to be over(PG). Seemed like they had juvenile lyrics lacking depth. I feel like they have great song writing ability, but some of the songs that's not coming through.
Итс файн. Неожиданный эмбиент пис в середине. Лучшая песня - Thought @ Work.
#173. Some good stuff on here, but there's definitely a few tracks that could have been removed to make it better. Some of them seem like placeholders to make the album longer or something? I don't know. 3/5: decent.
Album would have been much better if one or two of the lesser tracks were taken off as it dragged on a bit.
Album was too long and hit or miss, but some real bangers on here for sure
I had the chance to discover this band love and was blown away A lot I liked on this album as it brought me back to that concert experience, but some. I didn’t like as much 3.5
Not bad at all but simply not my kind of music.
Liked it better than I thought. Some songs were really good but it was a bit too long.
Thoughts before listening: I like the Roots and used to own this album, but I don't often see this listed on best of lists like this. While it'll be nice to re-visit these songs, this seems like something that made the list because it was released around the same time as the book. This typically isn't even considered the Roots' best album. Review: This is certainly an electric album, with lots of different sounds and styles over 16 tracks. There is a lot to like here with my favorites being "Thought @ Work", "The Seed 2.0", "Break You Off", and "Water". That being said, there's a lot of songs on here and not everything is a good as these. This is a 3-star album.
Loved the sound of this album, the tracks worked together really well. Really good jazz and rap mash up. One of the best rap albums I have ever heard. I feel the lyrics are very powerful. Favourite song: Rolling with heat or seed 2.0 Least favourite song: Some of the fillers between songs. Album artwork: Love it
Solid hippin' and a hoppin'
Yeah, groovy and all that - but also feels a bit too influenced by Prince without delivering on this magic
idk it was fine but i was kinda bored
One to admire rather than to love. Like everything else by The Roots
This album has some great moments, but overall felt disjointed and overstayed its welcome
Hadn't come across this one before, I only know Things Fall Apart. This is a bit of a mad album, so many different styles and experiments. I like about half of the songs after 2 listens, but I could see it growing on me over time.
Pretty cool. Not really my thing, but I’m learning.
3,5