The Roots to me always were more like another Philly dude Bernard Hopkins. B Hop never experienced the extreme highs of someone like Tyson or De La Hoya but he is always there, always consistent. Now he maybe a bit past his prime but his still can go out there and win even if he doesn't have a Trindad KO moment in him anymore he still has the skill to jump up and surprise you. The Roots were never Kanye level but they were always putting out consistently quality material and keeping a significant portion of their fan base happy.

So far this album isn't really doing it for me and I didn't expect it to from what Quest described. I have to disagree with you though that they've been making the same album for the past 8 to 9 years. I really liked How I Got Over and Rising Down was probably my favorite album of 2008 regardless of genre. I recently started listening to Undun again this past february and I was surprised how much I liked it. I won't listen to it the way I listen to Game Theory or some of my other favorite Roots album but it's still quality and to me a better "concept" record than this one is. I agree with some of your other points later in the post about their use of Capt. Kirk. I am surprised that after what 10 years in the group they've never been able to record a an album, a song or anything that takes advantage of what he brings to the group. I think he and Black Thought could make some really banging, rocking shit that would really bang in the car. In fact I think part of what might be lacking with this release and some of their other side projects is the feeling that the band is a little too big.At times they feel a bit bloated to me and more like a compilation than an airtight band.