“gentlemen of an extraordinary league, you never see me blowin’ on no ordinary reed…”
~ Black Thought, from ‘75 Bars’

The Roots - the legendary Philadelphia rap group are at it again. Next week, their 10th album, Rising Down hits the streets.

According to ?uestLove, Rising Down is the Roots’ “most political album to date”, and is being released on the 16th anniversary of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. The album’s title was taken from a book by William T. Vollman entitled, Rising up, Rising Down. In it, Vollman examines violence from a historical perspective and presents his theory of moral calculus - a structured decision-making tool designed to help people decide when violence is justifiable.

Is this what these boys are reading when they’re not making music? Whoa.

Heavy themes notwithstanding, the few tracks I’ve heard from the album affirm that after over 15 years in the game, The Roots remain one of the greatest hip-hop groups of all time. “75 bars (Black’s Reconstruction)” - so named because it features Black Thought rhyming non-stop for seventy-five bars - can only be described with one word: SIIIIIIIICK! The live instrumentation and hard-as-hell beats on Get Busy featuring Dice Raw and DJ Jazzy Jeff is an instant head-nodder. Rising Down will also feature appearances from hip-hop’s finest: Common, Mos, Talib; and a go-go track w/vocals provided by Chrisette Michelle.

One track you won’t be hearing on the album is The Roots’ collabo with Fallout Boy’s Patrick Stump - a sing-songy track called Birthday Girl. Apparently, the track’s pop sound and its R. Kelly-inspired storyline didn’t mesh well with the rest of the album, so they decided to drop it and release it as on Itunes-only single. I can’t help but think that some disapproving rumblings from critics and fans might have also spurred the decision to cut the track. The song itself isn’t bad, but the video makes me wanna wretch. See for yourself.

The Roots will appear along with Erykah Badu at the Fabulous Fox Theater next month. Click here to purchase tickets.

cheers,k

Visit Giant Step for more information, videos, and tour dates for the Roots

Pre-order The Roots: Rising Down from Amazon for $9.99