Link: http://www.boston.com/ae/music/cd_reviews/articles/2004/07/13/roots_make_point_as_hip_hops_elite/

______________________________________________________________________________


Roots make 'Point' as hip-hop's elite


For their sixth studio album, the Roots borrow the title of Malcolm Gladwell's bestseller, "The Tipping Point," which refers to that serendipitous moment when an idea, trend, or social movement breaks into the mainstream and spreads like a virus.

Commercially, the Roots are still awaiting their own tipping point. They've collected a Grammy, and have been critically hailed since their first album, 1993's "Organix," but bigsales have mysteriously eluded them. It's the one soft spot in what has otherwise been a remarkable career, in which they've carved out a spot as not only hip-hop's one real band, but one of its all-time great groups.

Two years after the Grammy-nominated "Phrenology," Philly's finest -- leader and drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, rapper Black Thought, bassist Leonard "Hub" Hubbard, keyboardist Kamal Gray -- return today with "The Tipping Point," which, compared to their ambitious last album, seems like an early morning chill-out record. A certain mood is set with the opening track "Star," which samples Sly and the Family Stone's soul chestnut, "Everybody Is a Star,"but the group quickly shakes things up with the head-bopping "I Don't Care," as delicious and satisfying a combination of hip-hop and R&B as anyone has produced this year. Similarly, "Don't Say Nuthin," the first single, blends spare beats and Black Thought's mumbled, ear-tugging chorus into a song that wouldn't be out of place in a club.

Because their musical vision has often been so expansive, some may find this album too slight, even sedate. The group is usually characterized by its cerebral Grammy-winner, 1999's "Things Fall Apart," considered by many to be their masterpiece. Yet, such a summation short-changes the Roots's ability to make really good hip-hop songs for the hips as well as the head. Take the one-two punch of "Web" and "BOOM!" Over bass and drums, Black Thought spits rhymes name-checking rap pioneer Kool DJ Herc and Patti LaBelle in "Web," but that's just an appetizer for "BOOM!" a bracing blast of stripped raw old-school rap.

Speaking of old school, a hidden track is actually a cover of George Kranz's human beat-box scat classic, "Din Daa Daa." It's pure, plain fun, as loose and easy as a jam session, and a prime opportunity for the band to show off its musical skills. A second bonus track, "In Love with the Mic," featuring comic Dave Chappelle, is a straight slice of hip-hop about a man who confesses his inability to love anything but his microphone.

This is a very accessible CD, but don't get it twisted -- the Roots remain a ferocious unit, one that doesn't seem to spend a lot of time worrying about what's playing on the radio or MTV. Still, if the Roots are destined to have a moment when they truly crash the mainstream rap scene, this album may be it.

Since the beginning, the Roots have been branded as a group more respected than liked, but there's nothing not to like on this fine album without a dead spot from beginning to end. From the jumpy reggae of "Guns Are Drawn," highlighted by guest guitarist Captain Kirk Douglas to the inviting, swivel-hipped groove of "Somebody's Gotta Do It," featuring Jean Grae, Mac Dub, and Devin the Dude, the Roots sound like a group in full command of their artistic impulses.

-- By Renée Graham

_______________________________________________________________________________

The age of the ignorant rapper is done: http://www.regeneratedheadpiece.com

"One morning I woke up and found my favorite pigeon, Julius, had died. I was devastated and was gonna use his crate as my stickball bat to honor him. I left the crate on my stoop and went in to get something and I returned to see the sanitation man put the crate into the crusher. I rushed him and caught him flush on the temple with a titanic right hand and he was out cold, convulsing on the floor like a infantile retard." -- Mike Tyson