Music : Rising Down
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0602517672567
Format: Explicit Lyrics
Label: Def Jam
Manufacturer: Def Jam
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Def Jam
Release Date: April 29, 2008
Sales Rank: 6265
Studio: Def Jam
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Editorial Review:
Album Description:
Grammy award winning hip-hop trailblazers The Roots are set to release Rising Down on April 29th via Def Jam Recordings. Known for their prolific lyrics and live instrumentation, the Legendary Philadelphia crew is composed of Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter (vocals), Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson (drums), Kamal Gray (keyboards), Frank Knuckles (percussion), Kirk "Captain Kirk" Douglas (guitar) and Owen Biddle (bass). Garnering critical praise throughout their career, The Roots have firmly established themselves as a band with uncompromised artistic control and integrity. With Rising Down, the band's 10th album release, The Roots continue to take bolder steps adding new depths and range to their repertoire. The Roots co-founder ?uestlove states, "This is probably our most political album to date dealing with addiction, nihilism, hypocritical double standards in the prison system and overall life in Philadelphia. I'd say it's more mature and intense than all of our efforts but not a `downer' as most people expect us to do."
The political nature of Rising Down is not only heard within the music. The title comes from William T. Vollmann's treatise on violence entitled Rising Up and Rising Down, and the release date falls on the 16th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots sparked by the acquittal of the police officers accused of beating Rodney King.
Standout tracks include: "Criminal" a reflection of life on the streets and unjust persecution, "I Will Not Apologize" a tribute to Fela Kuti that discusses keeping dignity in the music biz and "I Can't Help It" a look at addictions and urges that compel us all. Additional guests on the album include Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Saigon, Dice Raw, Wale, Chrisette Michele and more.
Average Rating: 
Rating: -
I've been reading stuff about The Roots for years but never actually heard their music till I saw their VH1 Soulstage concert. All I can say is WOW! This band is fantastic! I bought this CD after watching the concert and then actually saw them live in Worcester, Mass. a few weeks ago. What a show! Rising Down is a great CD. Great beats, great music, great lyrics. Keep up the great work.
Rating: -
It seemed like for me, this album just showed up one day. To be honest, I really didn't know this album was coming out during the summer (maybe with a little word of mouth), but it seemed like there was no kind of promotion prior to this album coming out. After it was released, I've started seeing promotion for it, including a few live performances from The Roots on TV (The band, along with Chrisette Michele performed on one show not too long ago).
Anyway, the Roots' second album on Def Jam is a pretty nice one. The production and the rhymes are still on point for the majority. I know I enjoyed "Rising Down" with Mos Def and Styles P. The track vibes pretty nicely, making it a huge standout. Another hot favorite of mine is the deep "I Can't Help It" featuring Malik B., Porn, Mercedes Martinez & Dice Raw. It's another track you can vibe to, something that the band is great for doing. Other tracks that are worth checking for are "Singing Man" featuring Porn, Truck North & Dice Raw, as well as "Rising Up" featuring Wale & Chrisette Michele.
The Roots missteps on such songs as "I Will Not Apologize" featuring Porn, Dice Raw, and Talib Kweli. For some reason, Kweli doesn't sound too well just doing hooks on other tracks (name a track where his guest appearance was only a hook. Maybe a Mos Def track, that's it if that.). Other tracks that weren't mentioned were not specifically bad tracks, but they were not standouts either.
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Rating:  -
it was ok.the beats are pretty good and so are the lyrics but its tight.
Rating: -
Awesome album by the Roots... expect nothing less. This album gets a 4/5 star because there are too many songs that are not songs like The Pow Wow and @15. Lots would disagree with me but its just a personal opinion.
I dig the socially/politically conscious hip hop the Roots is into. Some thought provoking rhymes and they sound dope!
Rating:  -
if this album gets 5 stars, as many seem to think it does, then what does "things fall apart," or "illadelph halflife" get? 60 stars?
there is a lot of BAD music on this album. the best verse is by saigon. blackthought has continued his descent from vicious battle rapper to mediocre point-maker. malik b isnt coming with it the way he used to - at all. and the music is definitely not boom-bap rap - not that it has to be. i appreciate that the roots are going indifferent directions with their music, but i find the guitar/rock type edge their music has to it these days to be grating. it might just be my personal preference, and that i just prefer the jazzy roots, or even the neo-soul roots. but, aside from the 5 star reviews on amazon, everyone ive spoken to - lifetime rap fans, longtime roots fans - and even people who dont like rap except for the roots - nobody likes this album. except for "criminal" because of saigon's verse, and "i will not apologize" because of dice-raw's verse, ive deleted this album from my digital media library.
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