The Roots
Do You Want More ?!!!??!

THE REVIEW

"...and you are all about to witness, symptomatic Hip-Hop Jazz, 100% groove... And you don't stop! It's from The Roots, Philadelphia based Rap group..."

Here, quoting the opening phrase of the LP, the review could already be nicely wrapped up. But for those who are not familiar with either the group or the album, I suppose a little more clarification might be appreciated. Can you imagine the meeting point between a jazzy jam session in some smoky nightclub and a circle of rappers on a street corner? Honestly, I couldn’t. Or rather, I couldn't before listening to the second recording effort of this atypical group from Pennsylvania. Which in reality has very little atypical for a Rap group: the heavy beats in four-four time are present, the MCs who spit the rhymes (and what rhymes!!!! Damn what style!!! Damn what flow!!! I mean you totally have to listen to them man...) are too.

It's just that instead of a box full of dusty vinyls, a turntable, and an Akai 950, the Roots have at their disposal the always inspired, punctual, and style-loaded drumming of Ahmir "?love" Thompson. And a large array of musicians weaving over damned jazzy, groovy, well-flavored in dopalistic vibe yo, in short, we get it. The presence of Steve Coleman on sax and Scott Storch on keyboards is particularly positive. But all the instrumentalists involved pull off impressive performances. Including Rhazel, the funny guy whose beatbox defies any human logic (certain sounds really seem to be birthed by a machine or a DJ behind the decks), seamlessly integrates with, and in some cases replaces, Thompson's drumming. For their part, Black Thought (still one of the most esteemed lyricists of the genre) and Malik B, draw from this rich musical dough the most genuine and fragrant rap bread imaginable. A strong desire to entertain and amuse the listener through rhyme schemes that are metrically not too complex but extremely musical. Besides the fundamental role of the already mentioned Rhazel, the noises produced with the mouth, the laughs, the onomatopoeias, the improvised scat singing, are integral to the marvelous sound of this album. It gives the impression that the band does everything to break down the barrier between them and the listener: the Roots don't want you to feel what they did in the studio, they want you to be there while they're doing it.

Their natural element is the stage, their oxygen the energy created between the crowd. There are so many original ideas that it's truly overwhelming: switching effortlessly from a purely jazz jam session, where the call-and-response play between the instruments is joined by the voices of the two MCs, to rather "unrefined" tracks where the "Ah-Ah!" of the two make up the main loop. Not to mention the challenges between beatbox and drums or the healthy self-celebratory swagger rapped over a background of bagpipes. At the conclusion of this long and complex jam session, the Roots present a composition written and recited by the Afrocentric poet and singer-songwriter Ursula Rucker.

A wonderful opportunity for reflection after so much fun. If only there were more occasions to spend 72 minutes of such high quality...