The Roots
Undun
Def Jam
2011
Rating: 8 bumpy heads out of 10
I think 2002's "Phrenology" was the last time I really paid attention to the Roots. And this was no fault of the band, I just sorta drifted away, stopped paying attention to the new releases (and the Roots have had a lot of new releases). Maybe it's because I've been watching a lot of Jimmy Fallon lately (who has turned into a great, funny late night host, much to my surprise), where the Roots are the house band, but I decided to give their new record a listen. Like so many things I choose to do, it was a smart call.
Apparently the record is a "concept album" of sorts, telling the tale of the fictional, short life of someone named Redford Stevens - yes I read this in some other review since I barely pay attention to the lyrics. I'll tell you what it's not - it's not songs talking over and over about how much money they got and how fly they hoes are. How artists can record entire records saying the same thing over and over is beyond me, and probably proof of my old age. But hip hop like this, where they are actually trying to talk about something, even if I don't always know what it is - I can really get behind that. Moreover, since this is the Roots and they are a complete live band, the music is as sharp and stellar as ever. Hell, the instrumental version of this album would probably be worth checking out by itself.
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