March 20, 2008...7:00 pm
that roots crew…
i love the roots!! and they’re just about ready to drop their latest joint.
the roots cd rising down (their 10th project!!) will be out on april 29th on def jam. in case you didn’t know, the legendary roots crew is tariq “black thought” trotter (vocals), ahmir “?uestlove” thompson (on the drums), kamal gray (on keyboards), frank knuckles (on percussion), kirk “captain kirk” douglas (on guitar) and owen biddle (on bass).
the roots co-founder ?uestlove said this about rising down, “this is probably our most political album to date dealing with addiction, nihilism, hypocritical double standards in the prison system and overall life in philadelphia. i’d say it’s more mature and intense than all of our efforts but not a ‘downer’ as most people expect us to do.”
the title of the cd comes from william t. vollmann’s treatise on violence entitled rising up and rising down, and the release date falls on the 16th anniversary of the los angeles riots sparked by the acquittal of the police officers accused of beating rodney king.
standout tracks:
“criminal” a reflection of life on the streets and unjust persecution
“i will not apologize” a tribute to fela kuti that discussses keeping dignity in the music business
“i can’t help it” a look at addictions and urges
check out these joints with special guests:
“birthday girl” featuring fall out boy frontman patrick stump
“rising up” featuring chrisette michelle and wale
“lost desire” featuring talib kweli and malik b
“rising down” featuring mos def and styles p
“the show” featuring common
“get busy” featuring dice raw, peedi crack and dj jazzy jeff
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