Do the New Orleans album you wanted Game Theory to be originally. Now that you guys got Brass Heaven as extended fam, go all out.

Or, my personal choice. Do the Latin album. Go to Cuba. Go to the streets, and get the gritiest sound possible. Funky horns, timbales, etc.

Shit, mix New Orleans jazz, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and hip-hop.

That would be some next level shit.

The Roots fanbase is built in, you won't lose many of us regardless of what you do. But you also won't get the minstrel-rap crowd either. So just do you. Better to keep your integrity and sell 200k then sell your soul and sell 500k, because we all know even Chingy and Akon ain't selling THAT much, considering how many spins they're getting.