Can we talk about how The Roots haven't released an album in 8 years?

Black thought released a few albums though. Gotta confess I wasn't in LOVE with those joints.

But they didn't have the weight of a Roots album

The 3rd was the closest to an action fleshed out album. And ironically it was probably my least favorite haha.

...especially if they ditch the overly conceptual album thing and just make the best jams they can.

But the question is, Do they need to? Should they?

I'd think if they had something to say creatively they'd say it. But BT has his musical supposedly and solo stuff, and we all know Questo is lazy and has no other projects going on...

Damn...would love to get one more dope lp from one of my favorite crews...I don't know if I really ever got over these heroes being the house band for that late night show...kinda like Led Zeppelin working for the Johnny Carson Show...

From Jan '22 Rolling Stone:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/questlove-tonight-show-summer-of-soul-soundtrack-sly-stone-1276980/

"Right now, there’s easily 700 drafted ideas. Some songs completed. Some songs half-baked. But, I mean, what are the 14 songs the 700 songs that we can’t stop creating? So I promised my manager that I will not do any more new ideas after Dec. 31. So, come January, we’re going to mix this baby, and it’s going to be out in the first half of 2022."

The only problem is that Quest has been saying this since 2017...

Once Summer of Soul stops racking up the awards if Quest can do some get some time to work on it while doing the James Brown doc that's gonna be on A&E next year. Plus Thought's play might be slowing down in a couple of months too.

I'm sure some big time-consuming project is gonna come to Quest because of SoS.....but maybe we can get the album before it.

I wouldn't bet money on it, but Roots on 2022 might be possible.

Imagine if we got Roots, Q-Tip & De La albums in the same year tho?!?

They're just the band that backs up Jimmy Fallon now

You have Quest, BT, and Kamaal as original and now longstanding members. That's 3 of 5 of the early core.

It's tempting to think of the founding/earliest incarnation of something as the core identity of what that something is. But the founding incarnation of the Roots didn't actually last all that long in that Malik left or mostly left pretty early on and Rahzel/Scratch weren't too far behind (again from a big picture perspective).

Hub's loss is huge, of course. But you also have folks like Dice Raw and Poyser who have been in the Roots circle for nearly as long as the Roots themselves and are still around, have probably shaped the group's sound and trajectory more than Rahzel or Scratch for that matter. The imagery of the early core belies a much more fluid band structure than we might think.

I think what your comment gets at that is probably true though is that at this point, we really don't know what a Roots record might sound like. And as much as I love Quest, sometimes his comments about newer music on QLS have me scratching my head -- he has a deep love for the past but he doesn't seem especially excited about creating music at this point. And that's fine, he's been in it a long time and he's still shaping the culture, just from a different place. But it's not just that we haven't had a new Roots record ... we haven't even really had a full release of new music helmed by Quest in ages. So who knows what that will bring.

BT, on the other hand, is as good if not better than he's ever been. So if he brings some of that energy and translates it to the album's vision and sound? Who knows, could be amazing.

All that is to say, I'll be happy to hear endgame when/if it comes but I'm not worrying about it. They've made the mark and are still doing their thing, anything that comes out will be extra.

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

Yes indeed...legend! Is she still rhyming?

I think our idea of the band and the musicians, as fans, is likely different from what the band members have as themselves as artists.

Maybe the multi-media artists they are now are who they may have been in the band's financial and career security happened at an earlier point in their lives.

I don't get the sense that they don't care about their fans. I just think that they have this rare opportunity to create stuff they really care about *when* they want to make stuff.

Having autonomy over their work is an artist's dream. They've reached that point. So much so that they can explore other aspects of their creativity and still have their bread-and-butter to fall back on.

I'm as happy for them as I am sad that their recent success means I may never get another album from them. Even though I didn't get/understand their last album, they fill a lane that, outside of Kendrick and Lupe, no one else does - high concept, well-crafted music that really makes you think about the culture at large. That style of music made me become a fan in many respects. So, to not have them is a big blow.

But the band, both as musicians and as personalities, are so much a part of my maturation as a fan of music and art in general. From the fact that you all drop by here every day, they are to you as well. Not getting music from them is an uncomfortably tangible reminder that I am far away from my youth. And as a result, have fewer ties to the highlights of that time.

I sincerely hope that I get at least one more time to get hyped about an album release from a band I am so indebted to because they showed me potential about music and Black people, to be honest, that I didn't know was entirely possible.

But if I don't, I know I am glad to have spent the last twenty years rocking with and supporting a band that was as impactful as overlooked - and that's a lot.

>I think our idea of the band and the musicians, as fans, is
>likely different from what the band members have as themselves
>as artists.
>
>Maybe the multi-media artists they are now are who they may
>have been in the band's financial and career security happened
>at an earlier point in their lives.
>
>I don't get the sense that they don't care about their fans. I
>just think that they have this rare opportunity to create
>stuff they really care about *when* they want to make stuff.
>
>Having autonomy over their work is an artist's dream. They've
>reached that point. So much so that they can explore other
>aspects of their creativity and still have their
>bread-and-butter to fall back on.
>
>I'm as happy for them as I am sad that their recent success
>means I may never get another album from them. Even though I
>didn't get/understand their last album, they fill a lane that,
>outside of Kendrick and Lupe, no one else does - high concept,
>well-crafted music that really makes you think about the
>culture at large. That style of music made me become a fan in
>many respects. So, to not have them is a big blow.
>
>But the band, both as musicians and as personalities, are so
>much a part of my maturation as a fan of music and art in
>general. From the fact that you all drop by here every day,
>they are to you as well. Not getting music from them is an
>uncomfortably tangible reminder that I am far away from my
>youth. And as a result, have fewer ties to the highlights of
>that time.
>
>I sincerely hope that I get at least one more time to get
>hyped about an album release from a band I am so indebted to
>because they showed me potential about music and Black people,
>to be honest, that I didn't know was entirely possible.
>
>But if I don't, I know I am glad to have spent the last twenty
>years rocking with and supporting a band that was as impactful
>as overlooked - and that's a lot.

That "fake" ATCQ album was amazing though and very much felt like a natural extension of their discography --- so that'd be a positive, not a negative or a caveat.


-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

Or at least, I hope he is...

>I'm as happy for them as I am sad that their recent success
>means I may never get another album from them. Even though I
>didn't get/understand their last album, they fill a lane that,
>outside of Kendrick and Lupe, no one else does - high concept,
>well-crafted music that really makes you think about the
>culture at large. That style of music made me become a fan in
>many respects. So, to not have them is a big blow.
>
>But the band, both as musicians and as personalities, are so
>much a part of my maturation as a fan of music and art in
>general. From the fact that you all drop by here every day,
>they are to you as well. Not getting music from them is an
>uncomfortably tangible reminder that I am far away from my
>youth. And as a result, have fewer ties to the highlights of
>that time.

Yeah, I feel a lot of this. And those bands that we love in our youth genuinely forge ties with our sense of self that are near impossible to recreate later. I think, though, that's all the more reason to keep engaged with new stuff, try new artists, etc. Because although it's perfectly fine to love stuff the stuff of your youth, it is sad when folks get to the point that that is all they can appreciate --- when they are so focused on that time that they even want their favs to just recreate a certain sound without end.

That's why for me, I'm kind of glad they've just taken their time --- and if it comes, great, if not, cool. I don't want them to put out what they *think* they should put out, but rather what they want to put out. I want them to put out something that reflects where they are now.


-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

BT will still amaze and astound, Quest seems to be in an excellent place curating/writing books. I saw them live a few years ago and they were still great. And I don't mind at all seeing them on Fallon.

But like some have mentioned here and in similar threads, it would be nice for them to just release an album that isn't stuck to some overall theme or super-serious story. What happened to just coming with 10-14 of your best songs, 45 - 60 minutes? Why so serious? Dope beats/songs and rhymes, doesn't have to be complicated but hearing years ago they had recorded 700 songs just feels exhausting.

__
I don't like the beat anymore because its just a loop. ALC didn't FLIP IT ENOUGH!

Flip it enough? Flip these. Flip off. Go flip some f*cking burgers.(c)Kno

Allied State of the National Electric Beat Treaty Organization (NEBTO)

The Roots are in the the return on investment portion of their career. They really dont need another album. I won't be mad if a new one comes out tho

and then I can die a happy man

I'm not holding my breath for ANY Roots shows on physical media anymore at this point.

he made it sound like there was more stuff coming for Summer of Soul --- so there's hope yet on that front

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

Kind of glad they haven't released any new music. If the love ain't there don't do it. Plus they don't need to make new music anymore. The Tonight Show keeps them paid. They're able to do other hobbies they love.

Just put out the records on streaming platforms and sell vinyl through Okayplayer.

Peace,

Spirit (Alan)
http://wutangbook.com