The Roots, 'The Tipping Point' (Geffen)
The Roots play it straight.
By Chris Ryan 08.11.04 3:00 AM
We ask a lot of the Roots. Straddling mainstream gun claps,underground knapsacks, and jam-band woodsheds, they’reequally at home backing Eminem at the Grammys, sharing the mic withCommon, or finding the pocket with Medeski, Martin & Wood.Hip-hop’s de facto house band have never been just a rapgroup. Philly’s finest are the bridge between indie artistslooking for shine and fat cats looking for cred. And by sharingstages with everyone from Moby to 311, they’ve normalizedhip-hop for white alt-audiences.
There have also been times when the Roots asked a lot of us.They’ve often sailed the uncharted seas of prog rap,meandering into spoken word, wanky solos, and fusion indulgences.But if their early Native Tongues–tingedoutings--1995’s Do You Want More?!!!??!and1996’s Illadelph Halflife--were happy to chill onthe couch, 1999’s Things Fall Apart found a studiosound that delivered on the group’s adventurous promise.Spearheaded by drummer and musical director Ahmir“?uestlove” Thompson, they began taking production asseriously as chops, flirting with everything fromdrum’n’bass to sound collages to lo-fi recordingtechniques. Things got even better with 2002’sPhrenology, which mixed R&B, soulful rock, and free jazzwith a newfound fondness for sampling--even scoring a crossoverhit, “The Seed (2.0),” with Cody Chesnutt.
Rumors circulated throughout 2003 that the band would return withan even more expansive work (allegedly featuring cameos from Nasand John Mayer). But The Tipping Point is a different kindof change-up: a straight-ahead rap album with tracks culled from avariety of mostly unknown producers that eschews liveinstrumentation as well as the group’s burgeoning Bomb Squadstreak. The elephant in the Roots’ studio has always beentheir rapping, with Tariq “Black Thought” Trotterserving as something of a nothing-ventured, nothing-gained MC. Thisapproach usually worked for the group, with the vocals acting asjust one more instrument in the mix. But with Black Thoughtcarrying the weight, the record buckles.
After album opener “Star,” a languid, eight-minute vampbuilt on a Sly Stone sample (pretty much the sole nod to theirlive-band aesthetic), the group play the wall. The rest of TheTipping Point is a Black Thought showcase: “I’m notonly a passenger / I’m in the cockpit.” Ladies andgentlemen, your pilot has turned off the FASTEN SEATBELT sign, andyou may want to roam about the cabin, because Thought is about toramble a bit. Its title may imply a theoretical jump-off, butThe Tipping Point lacks the thematic coherence of theirrecent albums. “Code name: Yaphet Kotto, Ak,” rapsBlack Thought. But he lacks the stoic charisma of that Bondvillain/Homicide star. The boasts are drenched with a dourmaturity, and he dispenses tepid social commentary (“We inthe last inning / The world keeps spinning / My people steadylosing / While the rich keep winning”). Tracks like “IDon’t Care” and the single “Don’t SayNuthin’” (produced by Dr. Dre protégé andformer Roots sideman Scott Storch) are supposed to be radiofriendly but sound like Talib Kweli outtakes.
The pace picks up on “Web” and “Boom,” asThought finds the controls and buzzes the tower, “eating MCslike a carnivore,” interpolating rhymes from Big Daddy Kaneand Kool G Rap, and bruising a furious drum assault that’seither Thompson’s handiwork or a dusty breakbeat. It’sexactly the kind of abstract-retro punch the Roots throw best.Thought is equally at home on “Somebody’s Got to DoIt,” playing off the warbling vocals of Houston stoner Devinthe Dude and the sharp, nasal intelligence of Jean Grae.
This last track is a testament to the group’s golden A&Rtouch, showing that the Roots are at their best incorporating newvoices rather than circling the wagons. Dripping with elbow grease,The Tipping Point goes about its unassuming business notunlike a latter-day De La Soul record. Which would be fine if weweren’t so hungry for the Roots to blow our doors off. Do youwant more? Don’t we all?
