\u201cInevitably, hip-hop records are treated as if they are disposable. They\u2019re not maximized as product, even, you know? Not to mention, as art.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an appropriate opening quip for an album that does exactly the opposite. Things Fall Apart<\/i> was more than a breakthrough for The Roots, it attempted to set a bar for hip-hop in the late \u201990s. It may not have been all that influential, but it certainly resonates as a memorable collection.<\/p>\n
Lead MC Black Thought rages through a rant and a half on the frantic \u201cTable O\u2019 Contents Pts. 1 & 2,\u201d which sets the stage well for the subtle anger with mainstream hip-hop that permeates this sometimes pretentious, but always accessible offering.<\/p>\n
Form there, you\u2019re instantly launched into the organ-laden, funky-drummed lament \u201cThe Next Movement.\u201d Most of the LP finds the Roots playing catch-up with group leader\/drummer ?uestlove, who\u2019s on a mission to make black people love black music again.<\/p>\n
Things Fall Apart<\/i> takes A Tribe Called Quest\u2019s love of beats and jazz samples and cranks it up about 10 notches. There\u2019s virtually no fat as Black Thought and Malik B cut through self-praising flows.\u00a0 For its part, \u201cAct Too (The Love of My Life)\u201d may be the greatest love letter to hip-hop ever recorded.<\/p>\n
This disc\u2019s hit single \u201cYou Got Me,\u201d featuring the neo-soulstress Erykah Badu, rightfully won the act numerous new fans, but the Jay Dee-produced \u201cDynamite\u201d is the true standout here with its crisp jazz sample and well-finessed flow.<\/p>\n
At its core, Things Fall Apart<\/i> is one of the best LP experiences you could hope to find in any genre. Solid, yet still relevant.\u00a0 I\u2019d qualify it as art, but hardly a chore to listen to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":27617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[6822],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-39947","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-the-roots","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39947"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}