They've long been hip-hop's best band, for whatever that's worth, and in their amazing live shows they've shown an ability to pay homage to the past and look to the future--all while living firmly in the now. But on Things Fall Apart, the Roots finally pull their promise and ability together, and the world's started to pay attention. --Randy Silver
The Roots
Things Fall Apart
[MCA; 1999]
Rating: 9.4
Like all music publications, we at Pitchfork are not above contradicting previously rendered statements when confronted with evidence that reverses an earlier opinion. If at any point we had bitched about the state of hip-hop, indie rock, modern jazz, avant-polka or any other musical genres, we hereby revoke said musings (although we will not un-publish anything), because today we're talking about The Roots.
Despite what you may have heard, and what we may have told you, there are still some great hip-hop artists around these days (but good luck finding them in your local store). Sadly, most of its most urgent and vital proponents are relegated to the hipster-only underground ghetto. The Roots were once there, but with three great records under their collective belts, they're finally poised to start gaining the wider audience that makes hip-hop so vital.
Their stat sheet is enough to make anyone drool. A fully live outfit possessed by a supremely funky rhythm section, a prodigy on keyboards, an intelligent rapper, and, in a fitting tribute to hip-hop's old school traditions, a Rahzel-- the Godfather of Noize that's able to sample drum beats, rhymes, and a variety of sound effects with his muthafuckin' mouth! With so many more weapons than your average rap setup, The Roots are able to push hip-hop's rhythmic and sonic boundaries like almost nobody else, and Things Fall Apart, for the most part, does fabulous justice to that promise.
The record begins with a series of old-schoolish tributes, propelled by drummer ?uestlove's relentless Roland impersonation. Things really pick up with the infectious and jazzy "Dynamite" and the shameless funk of the Schoolly D tribute "Without a Doubt". From there on in, it's track after track of stuff nobody does. "Act Too (The Love of My Life)", with its muted trumpet sample, is silky and soulful, and-- unlike every other rap song that suits those adjectives-- it's actually good. "100% Dundee" features a drum-n-bass breakdown from Rahzel that simply has to be heard to be believed. And the first single, "You Got Me", featuring vocals from Erykah Badu is an incredibly affecting and sad song.
The Roots are, on their own, ample proof that nobody should whine about the state of hip-hop. Salman Rushdie once said something along the lines of, "If there was one truly great book written in a year, it would be cause for celebration." The same could be said about CDs. Here's to one of this year's tastiest party favors.
-Samir Khan, March, 1999
Review by Steve Huey
One of the cornerstone albums of alternative rap's second wave, Things Fall Apart was the point where the Roots' tremendous potential finally coalesced into a structured album that maintained its focus from top to bottom. If the group sacrifices a little of the unpredictability of its jam sessions, the resulting consistency more than makes up for it, since the record flows from track to track so effortlessly. Taking its title from the Chinua Achebe novel credited with revitalizing African fiction, Things Fall Apart announces its ambition right upfront, and reinforces it in the opening sound collage. Dialogue sampled from Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues implies a comparison to abstract modern jazz that lost its audience, and there's another quote about hip-hop records being treated as disposable, that they aren't maximized as product or as art. That's the framework in which the album operates, and while there's a definite unity counteracting the second observation, the artistic ambition actually helped gain the Roots a whole new audience ("coffeehouse chicks and white dudes," as Common puts it in the liner notes). The backing tracks are jazzy and reflective, filled with subtly unpredictable instrumental lines, and the band also shows a strong affinity for the neo-soul movement, which they actually had a hand in kick-starting via their supporting work on Erykah Badu's Baduizm. Badu returns the favor by guesting on the album's breakthrough single, "You Got Me," an involved love story that also features a rap from Eve, co-writing from Jill Scott, and an unexpected drum'n'bass breakbeat in the outro. Other notables include Mos Def on the playful old-school rhymefest "Double Trouble," Slum Village superproducer Jay Dee on "Dynamite!," and Philly native DJ Jazzy Jeff on "The Next Movement." But the real stars are Black Thought and Malik B, who drop such consistently nimble rhymes throughout the record that picking highlights is extremely difficult. Along with works by Lauryn Hill, Common, and Black Star, Things Fall Apart is essential listening for anyone interested in the new breed of mainstream conscious rap.
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