Phrenology

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.

‘Phrenology’ doesn’t do it for me I’m afraid. I applaud and appreciate its ambition, but its sprawl and length ultimately work against it for mine. Having said that, I do genuinely like parts of the album. ‘Water’ is probably the most interesting track on here musically, channelling early Funkadelic. ‘Complexity’ featuring Jill Scott, ‘Break You Off’ with Musiq Soulchild and ‘Something In The Way Of Things (In Town)’ are all highlights, and the second half of the album is generally stronger. Overall, I wanted to like this more.

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

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!