consistency. which is quite rare in popular music, and even more so in hip-hop.

i feel i grade them on too hard of a curve for myself and i don't account for the quality of their music relative to their peers.

i guess if 80& of being successful is showing up than The Roots are masters at success. Plus they've done it the hard way, touring rather than being a studio focused group. That's alot of time to spend around each other, plenty of time to decide to do other things. It's a testament to how they value each other and how they value the music they make that they've produced at a high level for so long.

and it's not like they have a model from which to draw from either. it's not like there was a hip-hop group that they could emulate or anything.

i feel conflicted about my opinion about them because i feel on the strength of their music, relative to all music, i can't give them an A. because i don't get those moments where i'm ready to 'jump around'. but i think after this post i ought to readjust my criteria, because if making 10 quality albums without catering to the lowest common denominator in this era isn't A-quality then i think our standards are off.