The Roots – How I Got Over

The Roots are one of my favorite groups. They started the ‘€œrap band’€, which I don’t think I could ever thank them enough for. Live instrumentation is my favorite new trend in hip-hop production. Nothing tops hearing drums, keys, guitars, and horns, instead of Timbaland-esque computer output beats. Needless to say, I was excited about this album when it was first announced over a year ago, I fought through the frustration of several delays, and after having listened to How I Got Over several times now, I can say that it was all worth it.

The Roots haven’t disappointed with an album in a long time. I don’t think that they ever really have, but the last few have been especially strong. They seem to really fine tune their craft as time goes on. The album is a little on the shorter side, at about 43 minutes, so it’s important that just about every song delivers. Production wise, as I mentioned before, you can’t go wrong with the Roots and their live instrument vibe. It’s jazzy and fresh. It keeps your head bobbing along the whole time. While I like the prominence of keyboards on the album, I do wish that there was more guitar. Guitarist “Captain” Kirk Douglas is a really great guitar player, and to not highlight that on the album is a missed opportunity, in my opinion. With how popular guitars have become on records recently, (see Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 and Eminem’s Recovery,) I’m surprised the Roots didn’t feature more of it. Then again, maybe that’s why they didn’t. Either way, while I feel the production was a little more toned down on this album than I would have liked to see, It worked really well in the end. The music flows excellently from song to song, and sounds really smooth throughout almost the entire album.

I say almost the entire album because there is a slight hiccup. To me, the album should have ended after 12 tracks, with the interlude ‘€œTunnel Vision’€ acting as an outro. The last two tracks, ‘€œWeb 20/20′€ and the bonus ‘€œHustla’€, come out of nowhere and really disrupt the chill vibe. I don’t really understand how they fit in the bigger picture of the album. I think maybe that’s why they chose to put ‘€œTunnel Vision’€ between them, almost as a divider. I know it may be picky of me, but had ‘€œWeb 20/20′€ been labeled a Bonus Track, too, and ‘€œTunnel Vision’€ treated as an outro, I would have a better feeling about the album as a whole.

Lyrically, it’s not hard to believe that Black Thought kills every verse. He’s gotta be top 5 right now, and my only regret is that there isn’t more from him. The songs provide a really interesting mix of dark and uplifting lyrics. A lot of hope for what’s to come. It’s actually pretty motivational at times, without seeming forced or cheesy. Combine the content with the fact that he just really knows how to rhyme and he has one of the most dominating flows in rap today.

The Roots have always been really feature-heavy, which, to me, has always been their worst quality. I don’t like albums with a ton of features, and it bothers me on this album just like it did on their last, Rising Down. I don’t have problems with chorus features, so Jim James/Monsters of Folk, John Legend, Joanna Newsom, Dice Raw and Patty Crash are all fine. My issue is with having too many rapper features. Blu and Phonte are on two songs each, one together, and I think they both are great on the album. Maybe they should only have one verse on the album instead of two, but I can overlook it because of how much I like the two of them. Truck North, P.O.R.N and STS, I’m looking at you guys. The first song, ‘€œWalk Alone,” is my least favorite, if only because we don’t actually hear Black Thought until the third verse of the album. Poor planning in my opinion. There’s a combined 6 verses on the album where Black Thought could have continued to be Black Thought. Why are these guys on half of the album? I understand they want to support their crew or whatever, but I don’t really like them.

With all that said, it’s much easier to discuss the albums weak points than its strong points. Like I noted, the production is smooth and fresh and Black Thought kills it in both a lyrical content and technical sense. Make sure to check out tracks ‘€œDear God 2.0′€, ‘€œHow I Got Over’€, ‘€œThe Day’€, ‘€œDoin’ It Again’€, and ‘€œThe Fire’€. And sorry, I really can’t narrow it down under five favorites; they are all so good. In my opinion, it is easily in the top 3 hip-hop releases of the year (so far). The Roots deserve every sale they get, and every ounce of credit they get for this one.

Recommended Tracks: Dear God 2.0, How I Got Over, The Day, Doin’ It Again, The Fire

Rating: 4.2/5