All rejoice, The Roots have just put out another great album. I have to admit, I was worried. Their previous album, Rising Down was only a shadow of their masterpiece Game Theory. Then, to the surprise of many, they signed on to be the backing band for the unfunny-man Jimmy Fallon. Long time fans including me feared that they were selling out, would stop touring and not release anything. The Roots shatter these fears by releasing a focused, mature work, album calling back to their early days as a soul/jazz group with rapping over the top.
How I got over finds them stripped down to keys, guitar, drums, bass, and vocals, with only a few of samples that had beefed up every album since Phrenology. Spending every day playing together as band has made them once again a band. Their playing with various guest artists on Jimmy's show has also made their sound a bit more eclectic, especially when it comes to guest stars who include Joanne Newsome, Monsters of Folk, and John Legend.
The album starts with a dark, chilled out into that sets up a great vibe that continues through most of the album. Every song flows into the other and most songs are catchy and have a great groove. It sounds like an album Curtis Mayfield would make if he was a hip-hop artist. Not until the last two tracks does the album loose its momentum and not surprisingly, these are the two most "typical" hip-hop tracks on the album. The closer "Hustla" is terrible in my opinion.
Hardcore hip-hop fans may be alienated by this album and they have every right to be. This album has "sellout" written all over it to those who haven't really payed attention of The Roots. It is just a further evolution of their sound. They have skirted the line of hip-hop, jazz, and rock for years. Will this push them into the mainstream? Maybe. "Dear God 2.0" is getting a lot of radio play. I can see many singles/itunes-orientated listeners finding the album boring, it is a start to finish type affair. This is another great album for haters of hip-hop to start.
