Good googly moogly. This joint goes hard. Can’t wait for their collab album.
Posts Tagged ‘The Roots’
The Roots: Dear God 2.0
20
Jun
And the greatest band in the land delivers yet again (with orchestra and choir in tow)
“hold the line please
Call me crazy, I thought maybe He could mind read”
What A Great Concert!!
07
Jun
I’m a huge fan of the Roots and John Legend. So when I heard they were doing an album together I got a grin similar to the one I had last night (the Celtics did their thing. Rondo!!)
I digress. I can’t wait to purchase the album, but until then I’m gonna play the mess outta this concert from “It’s All the Way Live”. Absolutely killlllling. The Roots Crew is fantastic as always, and the music selections themselves are beyond poignant. The band is amazing. Live instrumentation never went anywhere, but now it seems more relevant than ever.
In an era where anyone can cut an album by sampling something and getting a mic, innovation and skill are few and far between. Artists such as JL and the Roots utilize these tools and more, balancing technical artistry with a penchant for storytelling (Black Thought/John Legend with their words and everybody else with their respective instruments). The Roots’ guitar player, Captain Kirk, is one of the most virtuosic guitar soloists I know.
My favorite cut is the cover of Bill Withers’ I Can’t Write Left-Handed. Withers wrote it in protest to the Vietnam War. Sad that the words still ring quite true. Video of the performance:
Download the tape by clicking yonder:
Many thanks to All the Way Live
I don’t know how in the world they get so many soundboard recordings of concerts, but I love them.
Trumpeter Christian Scott with the Roots!!
08
Apr
Anybody who knows me can attest to my addiction with the Roots. In an era of so much wackness in rap, they are pioneers, leading the way with actual music with actual instruments. Don’t get me wrong, I love the art of production and DJ’ing as well, but nothing beats a real band. Nothing.
So when I saw this clip of trumpeter Christian Scott sitting in with them I had to post it (after recovering from the waves of jealousy that washed over me). Lol, just playing. This was really dope to see.
For those unfamiliar with Scott, he’s a great trumpet player, and he recently released a new album, Yesterday You Said Tomorrow. I think Rewind That is still my favorite album of his, but this most recent joint cranks as well. YYST has some nice jams on it…I’m a big fan of Scott’s cover of Thom Yorke’s The Eraser.
Speaking of instrumental music…
There’s a new jam up from Ndelible. Nearly 10 minutes long, it features solos from all the band (me on sax, Myron “Q Dot” on guitar, Sam Buck killing on keys, and Tommy on bass). Hope you enjoy. It’s an impromptu joint from rehearsal.
The Roots — Dilla Mixtape!!
03
Apr
It’s a testament to his producing legacy that years after his death people are still making myriad tributes and references to the masterful J Dilla. In this vein comes a great collection of Dilla grooves from The Roots. I’m tryna cut down on my longwindedness, so I’ll save my “good googly mooglys” and “real music is still alive” paragraphs for another post. Download link is the picture below.
And Happy Easter to all who celebrate!
—————————————————————————————————————————————————
All the single ladies…
31
Dec
This isn’t really a music-related post, so bear with me. Actually I’m gonna make it one for two seconds…
- I’ve been writing for the album all day. I have sketches for three songs…really want this next CD to be as perfect as possible. I know I’ll hate on that joint excessively a year after it’s released, but that’s just the way life is. I hope to continue improving as a musician and always be shaking my head at “back then.”
- Also in music news, I went to see the Roots at the 930 Club last night with the Ndelible homie, Ron B. Man that concert was dope…they really are one of the best bands out, period. Wale stopped through as well
Back to our regularly scheduled broadcast…
Recently, ABC’s Nightline profiled the “epidemic” plaguing black women — namely that they can’t find suitable black men to marry. They cite statistics like “41% of black women aren’t married” (in comparison to 20% of white women) and say that only 54% of black men are “suitable” for marriage (when taking out the unemployed, incarcerated, and those without a high school diploma). Video’s yonder…
My thoughts…
- On the one hand, I’m kinda happy that ABC addressed what’s an undeniably important issue…but I can’t help wonder if the stats are blown out of proportion a bit…or at least made to fit a certain narrative (word to Identity Politics class). This is definitely a problem, but I think it’s bigger than just black folks. The story highlights the 41% of black women who aren’t married, but they seem to brush off the fact that 20% of white women are in the same boat. White people are incarcerated…brown people are incarcerated…all types of cultures have those who haven’t graduated high school. These aren’t black only problems.
- At least in this interview, some of the fault lies with the women profiled, many of whom admit to being in what are basically polygamous relationships. Why would you expect fidelity from a dude who has three of you? And if you keep picking these types of guys, why expect any different results?
- They say that even if all black men married black women, there’d be 1/12 black women who would be single. Ok…and? Aren’t there other races out there? And everybody doesn’t wanna get married…
- There’s a perception in the video that black women aren’t the “take home type.” It’s sad that even the most “successful” black women buy into such crap.
This is a rant, so I’m not really going anywhere with this. Just wanted to step out the home studio for a while. My thoughts are probably more reactive than rational. I just felt a bit weird after watching the special. On the one hand, I know this is a real issue. I’ve seen first hand the problems it causes in the black community, specifically. But this is society-wide as well. It’s not a new thing for men to avoid settling down. And polygamy has been around since inception.
So…practical solutions. If this is really an issue society is worried about, how should we deal with it?
Greattttttttt music
13
Dec
Real quick…headed to a wedding, but I had to blog about this dopeeee release I found on the internets through the good people at itsallthewaylive. It’s a collection of sammiches (sandwiches) that Questlove has released.
The Roots use them on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. These are some of the tiny bits of songs that they use to open/close segments. Putting them on the zune now…this is music for driving…and studying…and basically everything else. Can’t wait for How I Got Over.
Download it for free yonder
To those sensitive to folk cursing, be advised…I don’t particularly care, good music is good music, but for those of a different mindset, you’ve been warned.
@ Ndelible’s RonB, they have Spain on here with Chick Corea!!!!!
I know, I know…
07
Nov
I’ve been mighty MIA…and I apologize for that. Work, school, and the grad school search are taking a toll. Can’t complain, though. God’s good…life’s good. It’s all…good, if busy. This is what’s been on my mind recently. Not excited at all, but…
Ndelible is featured on Okayplayer.com!!!!
For those of you who may not be familiar, the site was created by The Roots’ Drummer Questlove. Getting on here is huge…and to get such a good album review is crazy. You can read the whole thing at the link, but my favorite part’s yonder:
————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Time & Chance, the first album by Ndelible is a worthy introduction to what I hope is a long-lasting career. The musical nuances are delightful and exciting to what have become mundane radio ears. The lyrics are thoughtful, as if David James sees himself as a vessel (I mean, the dude?s name is David James) and his voice is not some crooner?s silky timbre, but rather a gutty imperfection, untampered with in a world of perfect thin-voiced love singers. But like I said, sincerity always wins. Always. And if Ndelible continues to be sincere, then indelible they will be, indeed.”
You can pick up the digital album here. Physical CD’s are yonder.
———————————————————————
In other news…
To all you MJ fans out there, DJ Jazzy Jeff just released a nice Michael Jackson compilation (He’s the King, I’m the DJ)…I’ve had it on rotation for a minute now. It’s available for free here.
Another great record from a local cat by the name of Zo just came out. He (along with members of the Foreign Exchange) have made a pretty cool album that remakes some classic tunes (in the Stevie Wonder, Isley Brothers vein). It’s also available for free here.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————
Lastly, for your viewing pleasure, just saw an interesting profile of Common. Gotta love positivity in rap. It’s harder to find than Bin Laden
