Deeper in 'Thought' with the Roots

The Roots have a virtual monopoly on hip-hop's instrumental sound versus the endless amounts of DJs and producers. Basically anyone can make beats these days out of their bedroom, and producing continues the search for new sounds via sampling and technology. All the while, the musicians are the undisputed heavyweight champions of live instrumentation. The Roots are one of hip-hop's most important artists, and with their sixth album, Tipping Point, they continue to trail blaze. While the Roots' previous record, Phrenology, was more of an experimental record with such a wide variety of sound from heavy rock-like guitar to easier R&B, Tipping Point is a much smoother listen. Black Thought's performance on "Web" is astounding as the band simply sets a beat and takes a back seat to his torrid rhymes. Thought raps a mile-a-minute for over three minutes, hardly even gasping for breathe but staying strong throughout. "Web" rolls right into the next groove, "BOOM!" and Thought is at it again. Witnessing him perform these songs live would be worth the price of the ticket alone. These two songs were 10 years in the making, according to the liner notes, and pay homage to rap's old school rappers, including Kool G Rap and Q Tip. Like Phrenology, hidden tracks can be found following the last song, "Why." Both are hot, and the jam session that concludes the album goes from torrent beat boxing to a jazzy groove that is definitely worth waiting patiently for during the thirty-odd seconds of silence. Tipping Point does however somewhat lack a foundation or theme, something all the Roots' other albums did well (Things Fall Apart and Illadelph Halflife, especially). In fact, some Roots diehards might begin whispers of Tipping Point being a (gasp) "commercial" record. "I Don't Care" has an R&B hook that appears "dumbed down" from the Roots' usually deeper lyricism, and much of the album's sound has the potential to reach audiences beyond their current following. Oddly enough, Tipping Point doesn't have that catchy single like Phrenology ("The Seed: 2.0") or Things Fall Apart ("You Got Me") that will take them to the Top 40 realm. But despite the album's few shortcomings, nobody does it quite like the Roots. The musicians are on an entirely different level than anyone else in hip-hop, and the bar they are up against on each of their efforts is a giant leap above the rest. They will continue to keep their niche in hip-hop until another band comes along and dethrones them, which won't be anytime soon.