Hip-Hop, Punctuated

Marked With Political Commentary, Anger and Hope, The Roots Are Back With a Whole New Sound

By Alan Sculley

The Roots’ Ahmir Thompson (left) is on a whole new ?uest.

Since arriving on the national scene in 1993, The Roots have widely been seen as hip-hop’s best live act.

But Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, drummer and a key songwriter for the group, realizes that The Roots hasn’t had much competition over the years in the live arena.

One reason is many of hip-hop’s best acts don’t tour. And The Roots also has the advantage of using live instrumentation onstage, which gives the group a vibrancy in concert that is often lacking with rappers who rely on backing tracks to recreate their songs live. 

“Yeah, we kind of win technically and by default at the same time,” Thompson said.

But Thompson added he feels other hip-hop/R&B artists are starting to put more effort into their live shows. He noted that Kanye West’s recent tour (which included Lupe Fiasco, Rihanna and N.E.R.D. as opening acts) set a new standard for flashy production and dynamic performance in the genre.

“Those guys have, like, charisma, they have hits, they have stage prowess that just absolutely elevates them to the next level,” Thompson said.

On a purely musical level, though, The Roots is hard to beat. The band’s headlining shows can run three hours long, and feature inventive reinterpretations of some songs.

This fall, though, The Roots won’t have the luxury of unlimited set time. The band is on the road with Gym Class Heroes and limited to an opening act set length.

“Yeah, turning a three-hour show into a 45-minute show is not fun,” Thompson said. “Essentially, it’s going to be a challenge trying to find a place in which we can really fit all these songs in, because with 10 records, like, a song per record is almost like an hour of music.”

The Roots self-released its first album, Organix, in 1993, and then signed with DGC Records and immediately made a big impression with the press with the 1995 CD Do You Want More?!!!??!

In the years since, the group, whose current lineup includes Thompson, singer and fellow founding member Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, keyboardist Kamal Gray, percussionist Frank Knuckles, guitarist Kirk “Captain Kirk” Douglas and bassist Owen Biddle, has continued to solidify a reputation as one of the most musically adventurous and thoughtful hip-hop acts on the scene.

Thompson also noted that the group’s albums have generally had pretty distinct identities — which also means the group has risked losing fans of previous albums with each new release.

 “Basically, this particular sound (of Rising Down) competes with, like, the melancholy Roots of the Game Theory [2006] period, which competes with the free jazz of Phrenology [2002], which is competing with the neo-soul of Things Fall Apart [1999], which competes against the organic hip-hop jazzy roots of Do You Want More?!!!??!” Thompson said. “Every album, we have to reinvent ourselves.”

The Game Theory project coincided with a particularly tumultuous time in The Roots’ history.

The group was still signed to Geffen Records when it started recording the album. The band was also trying to get off that label, even though it wasn’t clear if another label deal would be available. (They eventually signed with Def Jam Records.) In addition, the CD was written and recorded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, an event that hit home for The Roots because Trotter’s children lived in the city, and the band had friends who called New Orleans home.

“Game Theory was coming from — it was a very sad place,” Thompson said. “It dealt a lot with death. It dealt a lot with confusion. But really, like, I just feel like this [Rising Down] is the sound of anger, which is different from the sound of sadness.”

Much of that anger reveals itself in the form of social commentary, and makes for a CD Thompson and his bandmates consider the most political album of The Roots’ career.

Some examples include the song “Rising Down,” which touches on a litany of problems that has today’s world “spinning out of control.” “Criminal” rails against unjust persecution. “I Can’t Help It,” centers on the pull of addictions and the damage addictions cause, and “I Will Not Apologize,” which is a tribute to afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, and the need to maintain integrity in the music business.

Thompson said he realizes the outspokenness of Rising Down won’t do The Roots many favors on a commercial level. He noted that radio hasn’t exactly encouraged musicians to make provocative music.

“I always say that Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks pretty much lost her career for speaking her mind against the Bush administration,” Thompson said. “And even though people have somewhat had a change of heart and turned around and said ‘You know what, Natalie’s right,’ essentially, I think people are just scared to [speak out] because it’s too much to risk. It’s like ‘why speak out against somebody who’s more powerful than me? It could end my career’ — we had to speak out on a lot of it.”

The Roots will perform with Gym Class Heroes at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach. Tickets are $35.50 to $49.50. Call 305-673-7300 for more information.

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