If you've read my #2-10, you'll know that I love Jazz. So it's only right that my favorite album of all time combines equal parts Hip Hop and Jazz. This is another album that I didn't discover until a few years after it had come out. This album came out in 1995, and I picked it up in the summer of 2001. I was 15, and had just gotten my first job. To give you some retrospect as to what other music I was listening to at the time, the day I picked up this album (on a complete whim), I also purchased Juvenile's Project English, and Trick Daddy's Thugs-R-Us...
01. The Roots - Do You Want More?!!!??!
I walked into Sam Goody during the summer of 2001. I had just gotten paid, and as a 15 year old audiophile, I had every intention of blowing my whole paycheck in that store. After making a few selections, I stumbled across a few albums by The Roots. At that point, I believe that "You Got Me" was the only song I'd heard by The Roots. But I liked it. Also, I knew who Rahzel was, because of his Making The Music album. And I knew that Rahzel was a close affiliate of The Roots. So, I decided to give them a shot. The only question I had now was; which album do I buy? After quickly looking over Do You Want More?!!!??!, Things Fall Apart, and Illadelph Halflife, I chose the album that only cost $9.99. It wasn't my best decision making process, but if turned out to be one of my best decisions regardless...
The Roots - Proceed
The Roots - Swept Away
I remember it took me a few days to actually get around to listening to the album, but once I did, I was amazed. The Roots were able to seamlessly blend jazz instrumentation with rugged lyricism. The live instrumentation allowed the songs to build, change, develop and follow the emotion of the emcee. From the mellow sing-songy intro, to the final seconds of "The Unlocking," The group is able to reinvent themselves a million times within the same album. From jazz, to raw hip hop, to bluesy melodies, to call-and-response skat, to ballady "Silent Treatment."
The Roots - Essaywhuman?!!!??!
The Roots - Silent Treatment
From the minute I listened to this album, I was a huge Roots fan. Ive given this album as a birthday present on more than one occasion. And since that summer in 2001, I've purchased every Roots album within the month that they were released. Aside from the musical progression within each song, Black Thought provides some of the most original schemes, and insightful lyrics in hip hop music. He is an immaculate story teller, but can still kill a braggadocios joint with the best of them. Through the years, The Roots have become one of my personal favorite groups. They consistently evolve their music, but never lose the soul elements that they started with; The live instrumentation, the jazzy mellow moods, and the conscious, raw lyricism. Though a few members have come and gone, the essence of the group remains, and has only gotten better. The Roots are hands down my favorite group in hip hop, and this was the album that started it all.
The Roots - Datskat
The Roots - Mellow My Man
High Point: The whole album. From front to back. This album is flawless.
Low Point: N/A
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Honorable Mentions include (alphabetically):
Aceyalone - A Book Of Human Language
Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow
Camp Lo - Uptown Saturday Night
Cee-Lo Green - Cee-Lo Green And His Perfect Imperfections
Cool Calm Pete - Lost
CunninLynguists - Dirty Acres
Freestyle Fellowship - Innercity Griots
Kendrick Lamar - O.D. (Overly Dedicated)
Lyrics Born - Later That Day
Mikah 9 - Citrus Sessions Vol. 1
Outkast - Aquemini
Pharoahe Monch - Desire
Reflection Eternal - Train Of Thought
Tupac - All Eyez On Me
Zion I - Mind Over Matter
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