Reviews (page 7 of 8)
Solid two album here. The seed is probably my favorite off this album. Some of the interludes seemed long though. The bets are solid and lyrically black thought does well. The appearances by talib kwali are solid too. 7.6/10
Different but good liked the last song
I really like the roots but this one is a little different.
Hip hop. Soul
Vamos allá con la banda residente del programa de Jimmy Fallon. Pues me han recordado por sonido a Outkast o Gnarls Barkley. Me ha gustado "Thought @ work". En general se deja escuchar pero no es un disco que volvería a oír o considere imprescindible.
A great album, I'm kind of ashamed that I only knew "The Seed (2.0)", but back in 2002 I wasn't too interested in this genre. This is one I'll surely get back to and perhaps give it 4 stars.
It was alright, it kind of washed over me, but I wasn't offended
I like this album but was a little disappointed with this listen, and it's a strange pick for The Roots, they have much much better material out there
I think a lot about how Philly hasn't produced as many microphone juggernauts as a lot of other cities, and the Roots have me convinced it's because Black Thought took all the talent and left nothing for anybody else—all respect due to Dice Raw and Malik B. I was only really familiar with their first three albums before this, so I expected there to be a musical jump towards more instrumental experimentation and diversity—and sure enough, this album's all over the god damn place—but the lyricism feels a little stuck in the 90s for better and for worse. In Rolling with Heat's case, afro-centrism is closing out a verse with "pro-black" before going on to proclaim that "dick smokers get no respect" in the next, and Pussy Galore almost feels hypocritical coming after Break You Off's infidelity—maybe that's the intent? Regardless, Thought is razor sharp elsewhere, to the point that you come to kind of resent the lengthy musical interludes that make up a portion of the record's 70 minutes. Solid stuff, but it makes me wonder why this was the sole Roots album to make the book's cut, and this is coming from someone who hasn't even gotten to Things Fall Apart yet. Key Tracks: Thought @ Work, Water, Quills
it's weird this is the only Roots album on this list apparently because it's the most "it's fine I guess" of all their albums I've heard. Black Thought rules though and that carried me through the album.
After listening to Phrenology, I understand why people like hip-hop. Still not my type tho.
Mostly okay
Was sure I wouldn't like this pleasantly surprised that i was wrong
This was much less "rap" music than avantgarde music. (6/10) Favourite Tracks: The Seed (2.0)
Parhaimmillaan todella letkeän laadukasta rap/r&b/whatever musiikkia Ameriikan tyyliin. Varsinkin muutamat vierailevalla vokalistilla varustetut biisit toimi hyvin. Valitettavasti mukana on genren normien mukaisesti useampia omituisia sekoiluraitoja, jotka rikkovat tehokkaasti kokonaisuuden. On tämä kuitenkin ehdottomasti listan parhaita raplevyjä tähän mennessä. Parhaimmillaan nelosen arvoista flowta mutta kokonaisuus jää tällä kertaa kolmoseen.
Second Listen. The first time this album came up for me, I wasn't impressed. None of the songs grabbed me at all. This time, I feel completely different. I thought the sounds, raps, everything was very interesting. I was probably turned off by the language used. This time I tried to focus more on the groves. Enjoyed it much more this time around. 3/5. (2/5 first time) Phrenology: the detailed study of the shape and size of the cranium as a supposed indication of character and mental abilities.
Dripping with fanny
I really enjoyed this album lyrically. The rapping is really good and engaging. However, the instrumentals were not enough for me to be impressed as a while. Further, I would have preferred a shorter run time to have made the album more effective.
Decent rapping, album too long though and would have preferred some better beats with more instruments, less electronic
A few bangers here but too much guff. Really liked Break You Off. Most of the rest was unremarkable
I really like The Roots - excellent musicians and songwriters. Some great tunes, and I like the amalgamation of different styles to produce something that still sounds cohesive and flows. However, I do think this record is too long. It could have easily lost a few tracks. It's also too loud and compressed for the most part. Whenever you see footage of The Roots playing live there is much more dynamic range and swing, and I feel a lot of that is lost on this recording. (3.4)
I always kind of thought this would be the type of hip-hop I would like, and there is definitely some good stuff here, but overall it surprises me that I think I prefer the 90's gangsta rap to this a bit more.
its alright
Top 3 1. (8) The Seed (2.0) 2. (9) Break You Off 3. (4) Sacrifice Bonus: (16) Thirsty!
Was pretty interesting - a wide variety from song-to-song. The drums & instrumentation are super tight and interesting, layered beneath the vocals in a few songs. Probably won't pull it up again but pretty neat
I would’ve hated this maybe as few as five years ago. Worse, I’d have dismissed it without giving it a chance. I’m different now. Now I give it a chance BECAUSE I wouldn’t have picked it. It’s still not something I’d choose to listen to, but I’m more willing to meet it on its own terms, to try to examine it and understand it and respect it. I’ll give myself the patronizing white guy pat on the shoulder here, even though I can recognize that perhaps I’m still a bit racist, just in a different way. I’m more like the condescending “liberal” white family in “Get Out”. Oh well, keep trying to grow and improve, right? Interesting mix of pop-rock and rap. Some of these songs speak to me like Childish Gambino last summer. Bears further examination.
Done.
Similair to beastieboys Gets better the longer I listen 3.5/5
Some good songs. Didn't like everything (what the hell was going on in the song "Water"?) Chill music.
Few good songs
Pretty darn good. Funkadelic
Highlights: The Seed (2.0), Break You Off
Pretty entertaining. Black Though had some good energy, but I felt like something was missing. Also the pair of earbuds I used was horrible, so maybe that had something to do with it.
Great lyrics, good beats, good flow
Un altro album difficile da giudicare. Conoscevo il gruppo solo per The Seed (2.0) prima di questo ascolto. Ho trovato questo album coerente stilisticamente ma molto incoerente rispetto al mio grado di apprezzamento. All'inizio ho pensato che sarebbe stato un ascolto pesante più o meno fino a The Seed. Da lì l'album per me si è aperto e praticamente fino a Complexity ho trovato tutti i pezzi molto interessanti e anche raffinati, Water e Break You Off in particolare. Poi però è tornato un po' troppo concettuale o troppo clubbarolo pur mantenendo l'impronta stilistica sicuramente, ma l'ho trovato poco azzeccato come cambio all'interno dell'album. Non mi sento di andare sopra al 3 anche se la varianza dei voti dei singoli pezzi è alta.
Loro sono forti però questo disco non mi conquista completamente, mi piacciono più quando sono neo-soul che puramente hip hop. Lo trovo anche un pò troppo lungo come disco poteva essere concentrato in una tracklist più breve e forse lo avrebbe aiutato a mettersi a fuoco. Detto questo per me sono un 3.5.
Zbog Seeda ocjena više.
Some good songs but not life changing by any means
The album started out strong, but loses some of its step in the back-half. Overall, it's solid first half and old-school appeal does a lot to make this a solid effort for the group.
This is my first exposure to a Roots' record, and I was really surprised at the variety of genres they venture into here. There's a little prog, a little psychedelia, techno in addition to neo-soul/old school hip-hop, which is more of what I associated with The Roots. Make me want to dive into more of their work, as I feel like it's a strange entry point, but I like a lot of what "Phrenology" has to offer. Fav Tracks: Break You Off, The Seed (2.0) Rating: 3.5/5
Pretty good
A bit long and runs out of steam towards the end a little, but overall a really enjoyable album with a great flow. Hip Hop for grown ups.
Beautiful production and rhymes. Could do with a trim though. Runs out of gas about half way through.
Real mix of styles in this hip hop. Best Tracks: Rock On, Thought @ Work, Rhymes and Ammo
Rap with a live band is always appreciated. Good and fairly consistent but not transcendent
Pretty solid rap album, but nothing that really stood out to me. 0RS
Some great grooves, mixes & references, will listen again.
The Rootsy, ale z dosc niespodziewanym albumem bym powiedzial, bo chyba najbardziej eksperymentalny w dyskografii i dosc dzielacy fanow, bo pierwszy albumik bez Malika, ktory poszedl z bandy, prawdopodobnie przez drugowanie, co jest tematem jednego z kawalkow, water, 10 minutowy kawalek z czego polowa jest prawdziwym psychodelicznym tripem w swiat Malika, a czemu eksperymentalny material, bo pomimo tego ze jest to niewatpliwie gatunek hip hopowania murzynskiego, to jest on przepelniony wplywami innych gatunkow muzycznych, glownie jazzu i neosoula, wiec jedynym featurem na albunie jaki znam jest talib kweli, natomiast reszta artystow jest dla mnie zbyt egzotyczna, a troche tych grajkow sie tutaj znajdzie na kolabie, dokladnie 21, bo nie jest to typowy material rapowy jak wspominalem, the rootsy wyrozniaja sie tym, ze instrumentale nie sa samplowane, ale grane na zywo, co brzmi swietnie live, ale stwarza tez problemy z organizacja tak poteznej bandy, a skoro neosoul, to musza byc chorki takze z colabowych artystow, natomiast lista featurow na produkcji jest jeszcze dluzsza i tego juz nie potrafie wyjasnic, zwlaszcza ze wczesne rootsy byly samoprodukujaca sie banda, co do kontentu lirycznego to jest to rap z gatunku conscious, czyli bardzo zyciowe kawalki, zwlaszcza o tym jak zle jest biednym ludziom o ciemnej karnacji, niektore kawalki sa nawet zbyt kaznodziejskie, ale taki urok gatunku, na plejaka dorzucam wspomniany kawalek o wodzie Malikowej i thought@work, ciekawie prezentuje sie takze okladka, ktora odnosi sie do tytulu plyty, phrenology na polski frenologia, czyli dawna dziedzina naukowa, w dziesiejszych czasach pseudonaukowa odnoszoaca sie do badania i pomiaru tego co kto ma w glowie na podstawie tego jaka ma glowe, wiec w zaleznosci ktore czesci kory mozowej jakie maja wymiary tak sie ocenia osobnika, okladka przedstawia osobe murzynska i co ona ma w poszczegolnych czesciach mozgu, co nawiazuje do klasycznego schematu frenologicznego
Não encontrei a parte do rock no álbum.
buen disco
No está mal, supongo que es mejor entendiendo la letra.
So far this album is better than 77, listening to them back to back is very interesting. Still have the consistent rhythmic thing going on. Their use of electric guitar almost exclusive for high riffs is super funky, especially when you layer in all the laser noises. The song "electric guitar" is just objectively bad though.
Blir litt for eklektisk for min hip-hop smak
Funky fused rap with interesting sound scapes
Muy bien producido. Rap old school que suena actual. Tracks: The Seed, Pussy Galore
pretty nice album, listened to half but just feeling a different vibe so stopped halfway
Good album, but I've never really cared for the roots
Lækkert, men man skal også være i humør til deres tekster
Alright, I suppose. I don't really know enough about rap to distinguish good from bad, tbh.
jag vill ge det här en fyra men albumet är för långt. kill your darlings ffs
This is alright, couldn't say it's the best of all time but it's better than the "big bling hip hop" of the early 2000s. Still too long and not very memorable though.
I don't like rap and this project is content to hand it out in abundance with both hands. This is better than most rap offered up here but that's about it. 2.5/5
So so rap. Not the best not the worst. Some sparkling moments.
#69 This didn't feel like anything special, some good parts but it's too long, scattered, and bland. Sacrifice, Seed 2.0, and Break You Off are the only real highlights. 2.5 / 5
Don’t know anything about them. Not very good rapping.nothing to distinctive about them. They shouldn’t quit their day job. Music not attractive or soothing on the ears. Not very good at all. Two stars.
Review - I feel really bad to not be into The Roots but this is the second timemive.lisrened to a full album of theirs and it just doesn't do anything for me. Score - 5/10 Need to listen? NO
The roots vum name her vill versprächend aber so nervöse 90er hiphop Au namal nei non no
4/10. La verdad es que no puedo valorar bien este álbum porque no entiendo tanto las letras de los temas al estar en ingles, y siendo un disco de rap electro es algo bastante principal. Sin embargo, mirandolo desde una perspectiva 100% sonora y auditiva deja mucho que desear. Hay algunos samples y melodías que llaman un poco la atención pero no tiene un sonido que destaque más allá de la voz rapeando.
It was ok. Never really a fan of horny stuff
On the day that one of my favourite artists Glen Hansard tragically died due to a motorcycle accident I have to listen to the 2nd hiphop album in a row. What a contrast. I am totally not into Rap or HipHop except some rare exceptions. I was postively surpised by the outkast double album I had before my holiday break. The positive thing of the Roots is that it is a live band playing instruments and sample usage is minimal. That is a plus , but the sound goes is so many directions that it is lacking consistency. Best song is The Seed (2.0) but for the rest I was not really enjoying it. 2 stars
Boring and monotonous. Not foe me
A few really good tracks on this album but at over an hour, it’s a little bloated for me.
Pretty repetitive not really my thing.
fav songs; complexity neo-soul-ish, uneven, unfocused 30/100
Not my thing
Nah mate.
Come on. I mean it’s fine but I would definitely not listen again. I don’t think that anybody should be subjected to a 10 minute song where half of it is just screeching. I liked rock you and thirsty.
Didn’t really care for this one besides the last two tracks
First half was such a bore. When they got into the dancey stuff I had a lot of fun.
Tulipahan kuunneltua. Ei jäänyt kyllä mitään erikoista mieleen.
Pretty okay but can't take them seriously knowing they're just Jimmy Fallon's backup band.
THIS is the best band in late night?! I was going to give this a three because I appreciated the sudden genre changes and first half of this album…then it really fell off as it went on. And, automatic star removal for naming a song Pussy Galore & it ain’t about James Bond
I had never heard of The Roots before, and I suspect that’s because - at least on this album - the group hides behind collaborations with well-known artists. Or to be more precise: the style of the individual songs depends so heavily on their collaborators that it’s not at all clear what The Roots stand for. Maybe you could look at the first “real” track, “Rock You”, as a reference point, but that song is so bad that you can’t even come to a more favorable conclusion... Let me put it this way: The Roots are a kind of music collective that’s good at providing their collaborators with tailor-made backing tracks. The whole thing falls into the not-quite-so-annoying realm of hip-hop. So for me, “Phrenology” falls into the “tolerable but not good” category.
Just not for me. A bit too ‘difficult’ of an album for my taste. 2/5
4/10 A better hip hop album. I like the Seed, ignoring the lyrics. Hated Water, which almost needed to be skipped during the 5mins of nothingness. Far too long, but that seems to go without saying in this genre
Hardly find anything interesting apart from the Seed and maybe Rhymes and ammo. Diversity of genres in this album and most of it is quite unpleasant to the ear.
Not that interesting for me. A few unique tunes, but they didn't draw me into the album.
The lyrics I don't like (I can tell why they made this explicit) but I like the music in the background. Great.
Not my favorite, I don't really like the songs since I don't like rap music. and I wouldn't really recommend
eh
- 2002 bell’anno - Sound hip hop autentico ed essenziale - Sacrifice !! Rolling with the heat !! Quills !! - Ma ho sentito ”shabuya rollcall” in una skit ?? - The Seed (2.0) bel riff di chitarra Voto: 7
The Roots не дуже люблю, але поважаю. Буде цікаво послухати. Несподівані панківські вставочки. А так досить попсово - не моє. The Seed (2.0) вже колись чув - прикольно. Complexity попсова, але гарна пісня. Something In The Way Of Things (In Town) - крутий джазовий, експерементальний трек. Якби весь альбом був такий, було б супер. Thirsty! - танцювальний трек, додає різноманітності альбому. В загальному не зайшло, бо я думав що The Roots це щось в стилі A Tribe Called Quest, але ні.
I honestly struggled to finish this, it really started to drag and I cant really place why ur didn't work for me tbh. There's parts I like, but not full songs, and in general I felt that the songs went on for a long time also. Fav Track: Break You Off
Otro álbum de rap. Si, de los 1001 álbumes que tengo que escuchar antes de morir, 300 son de rap, prefiero morirme. Tiene algunos ritmos chulos, pero, señora, suélteme el brazo.
not my type,too nosiy
Every once and a while there is a verse in here that makes this thing good. But in general, this felt like a slog that relied too much on toxic rap tropes to be great. 2.5 stars rounding down.
These the mfs in Jimmy Fallon’s talkshow??
I only liked one song ("The Seed"); the rest just weren't my thing
Suffers from the over use of the cliched N-bomb, but is lifted by some decent musicianship. I preferred the vocalists that sung compared to those that didn’t.
Better than your average rap album. That could be down to the not so frequent use of usual tropes such as the 'N' word in every other sentence and slightly less derogatory language towards women. Still there was 'Pussy Galore' but hey, its miles better musically than most from its genre.
Hip hop is not for me. Sacrifice not a bad track. Not sure what Water was meant to be other than noise.
gut. nicht meins, aber gut i guess. also i hab nit so aufn text ghört. vllt sollte man des machen? ach idkk i würds jetz nit nochmal hören. 2/5
Competent beats and production wasted on the same boring subjects. A real chore to listen to.
A pretty average album. There are a couple of decent songs in Sacrifice and The Seed, but the rest is fairly unremarkable rap to me. It tries to blend in influences from rock and jazz, but in the end becomes a bit everything and nothing.
A decent album, let down by being too long, with too many tracks that just stayed on one unvaried beat/rhythm for their entire (often overlong) durations. ‘The Seed (2.0)’ was probably my favourite song, being more rock/soul than hip-hop. Other relative highlights included ‘Thought @ Work’, ‘Pussy Galore’ and the bonus track ‘Rhymes and Ammo’, which I preferred to most of the main album. ‘Break You Off’ was also pretty decent, but was definitely too long, as was ‘Water’, especially the almost ambient instrumental section. Unfortunately, this album outstayed its welcome for me. Upper end of 2 stars.
Some ok stuff on here but I think my time for hip hop has passed and unless it has a really noticeable melody to it, I'm probably not that interested.
So here's the thing with The Roots - they are all such amazing musicians but I don't like the music they make. This record is mostly fairly straightforward hip hop but includes snippets of other, more interesting styles here and there. I would love to he a jazz record by The Roots. They may well have released one, I can't say I really follow them at all. As for this one, I lost interest quickly and it was much too long. I think that's a product of the time it was released, seems like most records from the late 90s/early 2000s are overly long because they all came out on CD. But imagine if every album ever made had been a double LP - there would have been an awful lot of filler on every record. And a hip hop record like this all blends together for the most part anyway so it just seems to go on and on. I'd like to give an extra star for the musicianship that I know they are capable of but I just can't do it. There was just enough in this that was interesting to not absolutely hate it, but I still wouldn't listen again. 2/5
Overall, not a bad album, but I do prefer a little bit more melodic songs, although there were a few that were nice. When I first read the name of the band, I realised that it sounds familiar and then I thought of Jimmy Kimmel's band, and yes, it is them. The weird thing is that I've only watched his clips here and there, possibly only a few dozen times, and it seems that I remember it correctly. Anyway, I listened to their top listened song on Spotify and it was actually very nice, and so was the one with most listens in this album.
This didn't do all that much for me, despite recognising the talent of the musicians. The rappers featured here have a good flow. The vocals from the backing singers were soulful when we got them. For the most part, this just sounds like a lot of rap from the era. This was most interesting when they weren't afraid to get experimental. On the 10 minute 'Water', there's a trippy instrumental middle section that gripped me more so than any of the rapping that preceding it. 'Something in the Way of Things (In Town' is a reading of a poem set to an interesting beat and '!!!!!!!' is a straight up hardcore punk interlude. Despite all these little interesting moments popping up throughout the hour-plus runtime, the whole project feels unfocused. This is one of those middle of the road albums that I'm sure we all get throughout this project.
Rap music is so not my thing
I just don’t
musically I enjoyed the listen. lyrics diminished their sound though.
Pretty standard turn of the century hip hop.
not really my vibe. wait isn’t this the jimmy fallon band? idk i only really liked like two songs
That last song is terrible.
Duplicate. I didn’t like this one the first time I listened and a second time didn’t change my mind. 2 star
Pretty meh, I'm yet to come across a hip hop album that changes my opinion on the genre. Some decent tracks but a lot of it is instantly forgettable, and some of the experimental stuff didn't do it for me. 2.5/5.
4/10
Not bad, but it’s not like it’s A Tribe Called Quest, either.
Not my musical idea of heaven for over an hour, but this group are politically aware as opposed to self promoting. Some creative samples and a plethora of black music styles on offer. Clearly a musically credible bunch. Critically acclaimed despite being less commercially successful
I feel like there's just some fat on this album that I tune out to. Very fine, wasn't blowing me away
Phrenology, das fünfte Studioalbum der Roots, erschien 2002 bei MCA Records und verbindet Hip‑Hop, Progressive Rap, Neo‑Soul und Rap‑Rock A. Trotz dieser Vielfalt wirkt das Album oft zerfahren: Die langen Aufnahmephasen von 2000 bis 2002 Aund die vielen Stilwechsel lassen den Gesamteindruck unruhig und überambitioniert erscheinen. Zwar ragen Singles wie „Break You Off“ und „The Seed (2.0)“ hervor, doch insgesamt verliert sich das Album zu häufig in Experimenten, die den Fluss stören.
Disappointed. Expected more. Thought I recognised a song but realised it was the Jungle Brothers being interpolated
A couple of good songs but kinda weird
Inte min stil tyvärr.
Complexity
Album 43 Top 3 "favorites" off the album: Complexity, Something In The Way Of Things, Rock You This is the only album where I've skipped a song halfway through. I skipped Water after under 5 minutes. There were some decent tracks, but on the whole I didn't enjoy this one unfortunately. I suppose I just can't relate to the experience of turning around and finding Pussy Galore. Skill issue, honestly. Truly my own fault.
The Roots sound great! I mean, the musicianship is off the charts. It's refreshing to hear some live instrumentation in a hip-hop record from the 00's-onward. I'm sure they're a great live band. Yes, I mostly know them as the band from The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, which I haven't even watched for years! That certainly must be the band's most profitable gig by far. I also know The Roots have other records that are way more beloved and well-acclaimed than this one. And thankfully so, because there's really nothing interesting here.
I like the bande enough, but Black Thought is tiring after a while.
There are people who listen to this genre and enjoy it. Props to them - I am not one.
I hate that they chose this album. It is more experimental than others they made and still a great record but 'How I Got Over', 'Undun', 'Things Fall Apart', 'Game Theory' and 'Illadelph Halflife' are easily much better. 7/10 [SWAP]
This was an interesting listen, but not something that I will listen to again
Decent, I like the old style of hip hop/rap and elements of soul, jazz, and rock. Not my favorite listen but I'm glad that I now know about this album and this artist!
Not a fan
31/1089 2.3092* I guess you had to be there in 2002 to really understand how fondly this album is remembered. I wasn't there. It was an ok album, felt a little long and was looking forward to the end. At least they made bank on the tonight show Hits...the seed, sacrifice
Not my style. Two and a half great songs - rest not my style
ok - good rock vibe and music. Hard - for heavy rp aficionados
i've never purposefully listened to the roots rolling with the heat and seed 2.0 had me bobbing my head
Vild at the seed skiller sig så meget ud! Både godt og skidt, for det er så godt et nummer at jeg sidder og venter på det, og venter bagefter på mere som det. Men jeg får desværre bare metervare hip hop.
Jeg har vist aldrig hørt andet end The Seed (2.0.) fra the Roots. Ja og så selvfølgelig set dem i Jimmy Fallons talkshows. Respekt for at bruge et 25 sekunders punk track som intro til et popnummer feat. Nelly Furtado. Det siger lidt om The Roots range. Når de går alternativ hip-hop syntes jeg det kan noget, men desværre bliver det lidt for ofte alt for poppet, går techno eller bliver over-eksperimenterende.
Definitivamente não precisava ouvir antes de morrer, não me liguei nas letras mas a música apesar de não ser ruim é repetitiva demais
The Roots seem to have spent an inordinate amount of time recording this album. But I find it rather underwhelming with over-produced music and the standard delivery of what may be good lyrics. It's all a bit cliched to my ears.
Old School Hip-Hop. Some songs are meant to be annoying I think.
It was fine and easy to listen to until !!!! This was certainly neither my genre nor essential listening.
Nice, but not my taste.
It’s not the worst hip hop album, but it cannot pretend to be essential listening. How can a band that good make an album this bad?
I just can't get into The Roots. Personal enjoyment: 2/5 Relevance to this list: 2/5
Meh
I think I respect the Roots more than I like them. Like they go over my head or something because this didn't grab me like at all, despite the fact that I know how influential and monumental they are. 4/10
Hip hop tipo Eminem...ta bé,no l'he escoltat tot però bueno...un 5
Pretty dreadful. Sounds like a lobotomy, with just as much substance. It is also very, very loud and obnoxious.
Ei iskenyt, ja odotin enemmän. 2/5.
A mixed bag for me, this varied hip-hop album. Don't like the more R&B songs, but the groovier/rockier songs are better. Still nothing I'd choose to listen to. A maybe slightly harsh 2.
You lost me at "push my seed in her bush"
Didn't love it, didn't hate it
Not my cup of tea
listen to Undun instead.
Groovy and energetic at best, disconnected and grating at worst
Interesting and eclectic. Not my genre but it was not a bad listen.
Couldn't get through it.
Rough start but gets better. Some good stuff towards the end. 2.5 stars
Not a fan
This isn’t for me.
i quite like the intro to the album, feels like whoever makes it has a really strong rock taste. the rest feels kinda heavy
Not a bad rap album, but too long for its own good. 2/5
Bit of a different one, but not quite my thing
This gives Funkadelic vibes with Philly attitude, but it is frustratingly overlong. The live band atmosphere is cool and there’s great tunes, but the whole album loses momentum after a while and just can’t sustain itself. Clearly this was The Roots getting their pop style working; you just wish it was half the length.
DNF
Just in my opinion, the group was over rated from the start. Given its history and cast, it was promoted far more than should have been
There were a few choice tunes on this album. But, it did not catch my ear. The Seed, Break You Off, and Quills were the strongest.
Starta bra, blei litt for eksperimentelt etterhvert. Skal man være fair? Nei. Vurderer etter lydene som arbeider i ørekanalen i skrivende stund, og de er litt i overkant slitsomme. Neste!
raz super raz słabo - takie 2.5
pas pour moi
Cool...
The Seed (2.0) is a really good song. It’s a shame about the rest of the album.
Not loving the vocals.
some good songs, but even the normal songs are somewhat mid. I could have gone w/ a 3 here, but there were many weird parts of this album that made it uncomfortable to listen to.
Fun sounds and definitely different than what I usually listen to.
Not great
Good, but very much not for me.
We gangstas
This is #day311 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I guess I'm just not in the mood for this kind of music today. It gives me a headache and makes me annoyed. The album's architectonics is at times fun, though. Still, this is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day312.
point8.
A lot of stuff going on today, so I got one cursory listen to this. Familiar with the Roots from their album with Elvis Costello, I was reasonably hopeful. While there is some sonic diversity here, this album doesn't have the lyrical, melodic, or emotional range of Wise Up Ghost, probably as the latter uses Costello's whole career as a sample base, while Phrenology is conjuring its own musical material and there isn't enough of it. Certainly not to justify the runtime. All Speakerboxx, no Love Below. 2 I note from a quite read-up about The Roots that they are often characterised as ‘alternative Rap’. Unusually what I am hearing is two-bar loops for minutes on end while someone talks about one or all of 1. How great I am at rapping 2. How great I am generally 3. How women find me irresistible 4. Where I am from (Philadelphia) Is this really the alternative to the other rappers we’ve heard so far? Let’s be fair though; occasionally they will throw us a chorus albeit in the form of the sort of mundane tune that would escape notice on a Dido album (Sacrifice, Thought @ Work). Or they might just make funny noises (!!!!!!!, the latter half of Water, Something in the Way of Things). A little differently again, Pussy Galore seems to complain about the omnipresent poison of the sexualised female body in human culture. It is not entirely clear if the contents of this album are excluded from that indictment. I note that they have their own drummer; kudos, although so did Huff N’ Doback and there is really nothing here as good as Boats and Hoes. No, I was unable to get crunk with this album. 1.5/5
Nothing special about this, ordinary rap at best with random and nonsensical interlude tracks. Initially thought it was a 1 but I had my eq wrong in my car that completely ruined the album.
an hour and seven minutes. :/
We get it. You make music for intellectuals. We get it.
Erm, probably quite creative? Not for me though, thanks. I'll either go 2 or 1, I'll decide in the morning. I try to reserve 1* for records that actually have something wrong with them musically (rather than just those that I don't like) but, I dunno, it's a strong dislike. But it's not bland, and I guess it contributes.
I tried, I really did. I just don’t like rap.
Fun
Not really my cup of tea. There were some good tracks in "The Seed" and "Complexity". I found the beats messy and the vocal rhythms uninspired.
I like this album because the songs are very upbeat. I enjoy the genre of music as well.
This was not for me at all. I’m really not that into rap and this just did nothing for me. All I wanted was for it to end. Find it kinda wild that these guys are now the house band for the one of the whitest guys alive in Jimmy Fallon.
Okay. Not my favorite genre, but different
No private session used for Spotify. Uncomfortable use of the N word. Music was a bit annoying. I wasn't desperate for this album to end, but I did welcome it.
Some parts of this are really cool. HOWEVER, then I joined the band, one of the first songs I had to sing was The Seed. I think it’s one of the worst songs ever and so with that, I can’t give this a great rating.
So mid
I know of the Roots but never listened to any of their music before. Some songs had a great flow, but others were irritating enough that I hated them. Definitely overlong in my opinion, but for listeners more into the Hiphop genre I can see this being much more palatable. 2/5
Not the Roots' good ones
Nice beats. But, as always, with this kind of music based on the lyrics, It just doesn't speak to me. Some interesting beats here and there but nothing really that excites me. Without the music being interesting, I couldn't care less about the lyrics.
Kinda Repetitive
Not my style, but a couple of good ones, will relisten
The Roots have better albums.
The Seed 2.0 is an obvious banger and is the reason this album gets 2 stars.. This album was all over the place and I did not appreciate the techno in the end..
i’m not a big fan
I used to really like the roots 20 years ago. The more I listen to them now, the less I like them. Did Jimmy Fallon ruin them for me?
Correcto
Too long. Too boring. A couple good songs. Too little. Too bad.
The first song is garbage. This album is a mess. That said there are a couple of decent songs on here. Thought @work is pretty good. Also like Quills But Pussy Galore is painful. Overall kinda meh? The sort of album I wish I could remove from my Spotify history.
Enjoyed the last third
# 426 : I don't love it, I don't hate it. I thought it was very ordinary, quite long and rather forgettable. I still don't like rap…or is it Hip-Hop (shrug), anyway, this was another album where I didn't feel like it warranted the "must hear before you die" label.
En del helt ok låtar men jag sugs inte in. Kanske krävs mer fokus på texterna än vad jag kan uppbringa just nu för att verkligen uppskatta detta. Velar mellan en 2a och en 3a men för stunden blir det 2 av 5.
Inte det album av deras som jag rankar särskilt högt i deras diskografi. Men alla deras albums är av väldigt hög kvalle.
Nice rap album, some good hits and beats, tons of rock influences and guitar parts.
Lots of songs i didnt like
Album starts off decent enough, but quickly loses all momentum with the interludes being just boring. I know the album came out in a weird transition period for hip hop, but this just doesn’t fit in anywhere and not in a good way.
It’s okay. Got to be in the mood for some of this though. The more laid-back stuff is chill enough but the more in-your-face moments are a little more challenging for me to just sit and listen to.
Wanted to enjoy it more.
When they slow down a bit they are definitely better. The Seed (2.0) is probably the best song here although the lyrics are a bit dumb. Overall, I like the singing and music much better than the rapping. I know I’m missing out on the message but it wasn’t meant for me anyway.
4/10 - It was alright. A lot of interesting pieces but nothing that I enjoyed all too much. They are the band that plays with Jimmy Fallon which is cool I guess. It does hit a wide variety of genres.
..
Not my thing
Not my vibe, was not in the mood for this music and could not get into it... :(
Interessant am Anfang, dann aber gar nicht meins
Solid first half. Really enjoyed it. Back half got a little too experimental for me. Overall fun time.
It's OK. Nothing amazing, but not bad.
Tiresome.
Some are good, some are really bad.
boring american hip hop
Album 629 of 1001 The Roots - Phrenology (2002) Rating : 2.75 / 5 I'm not a big Hip Hop fan and if this was purely that, it would likely rate lower. The blended elements of hip-hop, rock, soul, and jazz, creating a unique sound that I find more appealing. A good listen but still not likely to go back to it.
I remember the first time I tried to get into the Roots. My cousin lent me this album and I listened to it several times. It didn’t take then and it still didn’t now. I like some of the raps and the DJing but the throwbacks to funk and soul just kill the vibe for me.
It’s a nice mixture between rock and rap/hip hop (as far as I know - I’m not really into the hip hop/rap genre). I can hear that they are very good at what they do. But I just don’t really want to listen to this type of music Some of it is fine as background noise and The Seed 2.0 is great
Did not enjoy this.
I've listened to this a few times and I just don't think it's for me - apparently it's not their strongest album, so fingers crossed for next time
2.5 decent beats but nothing really resonated with me
I love The Roots but this is not in the running for their best work. It is good, but not great. They tried to break into the commercial realm which is fine but it really doesn't suit their strengths.
It's shit
Not for me. Tough to get through.
I liked a couple of tracks: "The Seed (2.0)" and "Water". But every time a song featured rap, I was turned off.
Eiiii eiii The Seediä, sitä ei saa pois päästä (mikä kertoo tarttuvasta melodiasta, se taustalla junnaava). Ihan hyvä levy, kiva tasapaino, kun liu’utaan räpimmästä popimpaan ja sit takas räppiin. Mut miks lopussa tulee bileet? Se on ehkä hauskinta. Mutta lähtökohtaisesti en hirveesti pidä, ei aivan yllä kolmoseen.
This was fine for the genre.
Not as bad as I feared it might be
There's a couple tracks here that I thought were alright but at the end of the day I don't think this one's for me. The Vibe: You're driving around in a video game and this is the fake music that's playing on the radio.
2.4 There were some interesting elements but meh.
I root for The Roots from South Philly. What an interesting album with bongo rap mid-track and an ending straight out of a cheesy club night
För långt och inte helt min grej.
Not bad. Not sure how much I want to listen to it again, but I can appreciate the lyrical masterwork of the songs at least. Water is quite out there though.. Gave me some free form jazz vibes.
2/5
Not my favorite hip hop but it was still decent
Despite my proud ownership of the official ?uestlove signature drum set, I couldn't wait for this record to run its course.
Bit strange
Can't understand the lyrics and not gonna try. Mostly doesn't sound too good, but songs with female vocal hooks have a nice vibe A bunch of unsuccessful experiments. Rhymes And Ammo is more classic yet actually sounds good
I want to like this, and there are a few strong songs, but honestly this is not fun to listen to. It’s somehow a little too experimental yet also pretty boring? Something’s just not clicking. Best song: Rhymes and Ammo
Black Thought is perhaps the most underrated rapper in the game. He is top notch, but I’m not as hyped about the rest.
So when I think of The Roots, I think Jimmy Fallon – so this was an eye-opener for me, since I’ve never listened to one of their albums… Musically – the album is extremely well-done, and the hip-hop based lyrics were pretty solid as well… Best quality of the album, was the fact that the sound and range of the tracks was pretty diverse – which is always appreciated… Best tracks IMO, were – - Sacrifice – Decent musical track, with an excellent message lyrically… - The Seed (2.0) – Primarily related to the musical track, and less so the lyrics… - Water – Not awesome, but I found it to be a very interesting track… Would probably give this one a 2.50 if I could, but can’t quite get it to a 3 – but definitely a solid album for sure…
Thought @ Work The Seed (2.0) Rhymes And Ammo I like most hip hop but this just feels bland to me
Nah. Not a fan except like one song.
I was such a huge fan of Things Fall Apart that I bought this album the day it came out…and was disappointed. All these years after the last time I heard it, still underwhelming. Bloated, too many cheesy interpolations, and very little of what made love their earlier work so much.
Este álbum foi difícil de ouvir. Existem algumas composições de Rap que são interessantes a nível instrumental, por norma são repetitivas, mas por vezes interessantes. Este álbum fez algo que eu não contasse que fosse possível ficar apático a músicas com até alguns instrumentos. Os instrumentos ficam demasiado contidos na repetição, sem tempo para se desenvolverem e com fortes influências de musica eletrónica a mistura. Isto tudo por cima de um Rap pesado e zangado ficando uma mistura homogénea e solida que embate contra ti. As músicas vão melhorando ficando mais melódicas, destaco a Break you off, a Quills, a Complexity e a Rhymes and Ammo neste requisito mais melódico. Algumas músicas são longas só por serem longas sem acrescentarem muita coisa com o tempo que gastam nelas, parece que é ruido só por ser, destaco neste área de encher chouriços a música Water. O álbum tem 16 músicas e uma duração de 1h7, este tempo todo muito caracterizado pela repetitividade do Rap. A melhor música do álbum foi o Pussy Galore e a Rhymes and Ammo. Nota: 3/10 23/05/2024
Catchy but all mature lyrics
Ho hum I'm not feeling the albums this week. Not my thing.
Well, we’ve established that I don’t like hip hop. So it isn’t surprising that I don’t like this. Between the scratches and pops and drum machine rhythms are quick cuts between sections and liberal use of the N-word, which is so offensive in most settings that I cannot even spell it out without risk of being cancelled. And it goes on and on, 70 minutes…. Including 2x songs over 7 minutes and another over 10 minutes. Yikes! And a pet peeve of mine, there are 37 names mentioned in the production credits, including 6x producers, 5x engineers and 17x assistants. Sorry, that’s just crazy. The whole package isn’t so much offensive as is it generally irritating. But it could be worse, there are some semi-melodic moments. I’ll go 2/5
This album felt unnecessarily lengthy, and there were moments that dragged on, making it a bit tedious to get through. This album felt overly long, with certain moments dragging on.
Started off absolutely hating this album, but it got better throughout the listen. Still not great but I didn’t hate it as much as at the beginning
Day111 - does this age well? sounds good but the lyrics lame
m parecen todas casi iguales, mismo tono vocal, no hay cambio de ritmo, de base, muy monotono. cuando le mete colaboraciones que rompen con el esquema se salva, le aporta algo diferente
Listening to the first few tracks. Decent presentation but the guy was way too angry to keep listening to.
“Things Fall Apart” is one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. “Phrenology” is why I quit listening to the Roots.
If there is a venn diagram between "extremely talented band" and "extremely unmemorable music", the Roots live right smack dab in the center
Meh. There are some OK bits to this but too much of it is unremarkable.
The beats are great, lyrically the ninjas are flying a little much for my liking. The Roots are culturally significant and I respect their work but this album didn’t do it for me. Break You Off was the only track I felt I could say I liked. The rest didn’t connect.
A very mixed bag for me. I'll revisit some individual tracks but not the whole album.
This is fine. I've listened a couple times and just can't seem to find much to really enjoy. I'm not saying there isn't something here, it's just not holding my interest enough to actively find.
Yeah, still not into rap. I didn't mind "Sacrifice" but that was about it.
Some interesting moments but not enough
The first couple of songs were very challenging to get through, the angry rap isn't my thing at all and all the profanity and mysognistic lyrics were made it even worse. Then it got more diverse stylistically. Still, it was far away from something I'd enjoy and the album itself was also way too long, more than 70 minutes. Not my jam overall.
Not for me.
There were parts that the music and the vocals played well together but the lyrics are a distraction for me
Except for „The Seed“ meh
I was really excited when I saw it was the roots. I have never listened to an album of theirs before. I didn’t like it as much as I expected to.
2 - The only song I liked was the seed. The rest not for me
I only realised once it had finished playing that I hadn't actually listened to it, which I guess says something
I have not heard of this album before or artist though the album cover looks vaguely familiar. Could be reminded of another album though. I am not the biggest fan of rap music but it wasn’t bad to listen to. None of the songs stood out to me so I probably won’t listen again.
Love The Roots but this one wasn’t very good.
The only song I liked was The Seed 2.0, and that was mostly because the music reminded me of the intro to Flight of the Conchords. Most of this was an unpleasant chore to listen to.
Meh
overall an average rap album. there are some really groovy beats, others are a little more experimental and i like that! Black's rapping is also solid. its just that maybe i was expecting a little more experimentation and crazier lyrical themes from them, at least in this release, because it seemed interesting. im listening to their other works and they are definitely better imo, so its just this one!
A bit odd. I thought I would enjoy this a bit more than I did.
Idk, this kinda was bland. I saw the Roots live in the late 90's. I had a good time. Looking back though, I don't remember shit about the music, just the fact that I was there. I felt that tonight listening to this album. As soon as it ends, it will be lost forever. I hear there is praise for the lyrics, but lyrics come later for me and this album didn't sell the pitch.
Ging best lekker maar door water en wat erna kwam ging dit niet zo lekker meer in m'n hoofdje. Spijtig
Once again, a good album that is just too long. Over an hour long, 16 tracks. By the 13th doing I felt like it would never end.
Not bothered, need to read why it's up there
I thought I liked hip hop a lot. It appears I don’t. Even using Apache and name checking Flash didn’t save it for me. I thought it was dull. Lacking in purpose and emotion.
This album takes some interesting, experimental directions which are really cool, delving into genres like hardcore punk and electronica at moments. However a lot of their hip hop tracks came across a little bland for me.
Paar toffe stukjes
This was sonically pretty interesting at times, but something about the performative bravado in rap lyrics often leaves the impression of overcompensation.
music 2*
Some of it quiet tuneful not what I would usually expect with hip hop.
Could not get into this to save my life
Monotonous.