shilmafone's Full Review: Game Theory [PA] by The Roots
Oh, the hunger.
My time listening to hip-hop music is still relatively short compared to most of the decent hip-hop writers here on this site, or anywhere, for that matter. As such, I'm still looking for what it is that I find appealing, what it is that makes me return to certain hip-hop albums again and again, while other ones, technically superior ones, fall by the wayside, destined to be forgotten. And the conclusion is that it's hunger, a desire to be heard, a desire to make an impression that simply bleeds out of whatever music the speakers might happen to be playing on. That's the one that pulls me in time after time, the one that says that, yes, this is an MC to listen to, this is a song to hear. The hunger.
And Game Theory has it in spades.
The much-discussed subject matter of Game Theory might be one reason for the relentless drive of the album -- for one, it's a tribute, a goodbye to the band's good friend J Dilla, who died not of an overdose, not of a gunshot, but of f*cking lupus (it's never lupus!). For two, it's an ode to the place that most of the band (and particularly primary MC Black Thought) calls home, one Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It's not without its blemishes, of course, but it's still home, and the love that Black Thought harbors for the town is palpable in every mention of good old 'Illadel. Finally, it's a screed against just about everything that just might be wrong with the world, whether it be the Ritalin culture of our children as brought upon the world by lazy parents, or the violence of the inner city. And somehow, all of those things are effortlessly melded together, within a musical tapestry (yes, I said tapestry) that includes classic soul, barbershop, and modern alternative rock. It's varied but never sounds scattershot, focused but never desperate.
And, yes, it's brilliant.
* * *
The first thing that becomes obvious on repeated listens to Game Theory is just how much of an album this is. Specifically, there's a serious sense of momentum that marks the first six tracks. Starting with the first of the album-bookending tributes to J Dilla, called "Dilltastic Vol Won(derful)", a quick, pleasant, ambient chord gets held for 30 seconds, the sound of passage to the afterlife, or of the road to enlightenment, or of something similarly abstract. Then "False Media" hits, followed by the brutal "Game Theory", the introspective "Don't Feel Right", the sinister "In the Music", and the utterly intense "Take it There". Each track seems to improve on the last, every one its own take on whatever the hell might be bugging Black Thought at any given time. And he just kills them. Black Thought sounds utterly incensed, passionate, and furious, and it's from him that most of the aforementioned hunger emanates.
And yet, it's never only from him -- while Black Thought certainly has some say in "False Media", for example, it's the deep voice of Wadud Ahmad that has the most biting of the lyrical content:
America's lost somewhere outside of Littleton
11 Million children are on Ritalin
That's why I don't rhyme for the sake of riddlin'
False media - we don't need it, do we?
...and even all that simply sounds like a warmup for "Game Theory", where Black Thought and long-lost Rootster Malik B rhyme furiously over some of ?uestlove's most impressive live drum beats and some well-placed Sly Stone samples, leading directly into a more straightforward beat bolstered by minor-key pianos and melancholy, a four-minute ode to unease called "Don't Feel Right". It's at this point, I think, that you finally start to get the impression you're listening to something great. This ain't a press junket, I ain't seekin' responses, says Black Thought, driving home that he's going to get what he needs to off his chest whether you like it or not. Which you do. Or will.
And then...
"In the Music" is one of the most musically perfect songs I've ever heard. I don't know what effect ?uestlove put on his snare to give it that double-hit "back-and-forth" sort of sound, but it turns a fairly ordinary beat into something truly special. The bass synth is creepy and sinister, and the simple-but-effective electric guitar effect never gets tiresome. Add in the occasional Neptunes-esque synth chord hit, and you've got a song that would be incredible even without Black Thought spitting his typically solid verses and some fella named Porn sounding really agitated in the hook, but all of that just adds to the experience. Songs like this are why I listen to hip-hop.
And yet, rather than letting down after that particular artistic peak, "Take it There" holds up just fine, starting off in a more subtle fashion than "In the Music", but, after one more appearance by Wadud Ahmad, the whole thing just transforms. The beat opens up, pianos play insistent, dissonant chords, and the whole thing just gets louder. Incredible.
After this point, Game Theory lets down a bit, turning more into a collection of songs than the unified statement it had been shaping up to be, but the songs are still so individually impressive as to be well worth listening to anyway. John-John of Nouveau Riche shows up for a couple of hooks on the more laid-back tracks, and despite the general public consternation over his hook on "Livin' in the New World", I think he does quite well, his lazy delivery matching the hot weather of the song perfectly. "Baby", for its part, is a good-hearted take on "The times, they are a-changin'" (the philosophy, not the song), and while it may not sport the best rhymes on the album, it's easy to sway to. "Here I Come" sees Malik B doing some of the best rhyming on the album in a track whose pure ferocity rivals anything that, say, a musical genre like metal has to offer. I always find myself shouting along to this, for whatever reason:
My E.T.A. I'll arrive by morning
Money long like the arms on Alonzo Mourning
Vampire chicks suck blood Dusk to Dawnin'
Waitin to catch me sleep, but I'm not yawnin'
I mean, yeah, fine, he rhymed "morning" with "Mourning", which isn't really something to brag about, but he also went from the NBA to Tarantino/Rodriguez in one line. So there's that. "Here I Come" was so impressive when the band did it without Malik on Letterman, that it convinced me to buy the album, as a matter of fact. Now that I have the studio version, I listen to it almost as much as "In the Music".
Of course, even "Here I Come" is followed by "Long Time", an ode to unfulfilled aspirations, with another of my favorite lines brought on by Black Thought and echoed in a surprisingly competent verse by Peedi Peedi: Makin' somethin' out o' nothin' because everybody fifty cent away from a quarter though where I come from. Bunny Sigler's hooks are appropriately singable, as well, making "Long Time" a perfect single choice if Def Jam were so inclined. "Clock With No Hands" comes later, mellowing things out with a reflective track on the nature of friendship and relationships, Black Thought finding time for more great lines like To many parties concerned, it's time to live it and learn / Until we're able to grow, forever bridges we burn. It's beautiful.
And "Atonement" samples Radiohead! Squee! Honestly, it's not all that noteworthy other than that, but hearing Thom Yorke singing behind the Roots makes me dream of the collaborations I'd hear in my perfect afterlife.
"Can't Stop This", then, closes the album with an epic (yes, epic) tribute to J Dilla, which starts with what sounds like an answering machine message espousing the virtues of the deceased, continues with a loving rap on top of a Dilla beat (which itself was based on a Jackson 5 sample), and then suddenly transforms four minutes in into this strange, urgent thing with more answering machine aesthetics going on. The album finally ends on a rather difficult instrumental, a few more answering machine testimonials, and lots of broken beats and sounds...honestly, of everything on the album, this is the track I have the most trouble with. There's no denying the emotion in it or, for that matter, that the first half of it is brilliant, but the second half just kind of falls apart. Perhaps it's a symbolic gesture of some sort, or perhaps it's just some studio wonkery that sounded good at the time, but it's unfortunate that the album has to end on the only sour note it contains.
* * *
The good news, however, is that the ending of the album does not diminish the achievement of the rest of Game Theory. The synchronicity of the instrumental prowess, lyrical skill, and artistic vision found on Game Theory is pretty close to unparalleled in any modern musical form, and I'd even go so far to say that, on a personal level, its lasting impression on me will very likely be stronger than that of the album that topped my "favorite albums" list in 2005, Sage Francis' A Healthy Distrust. Its sincerity is unquestionable, and its timing, arriving amidst one of the most turbulent eras in the world's recent history, is perfect.
Game Theory is one of those albums that can change your perception of what hip-hop is, what it can be. For God's sake, don't miss it.
Despite what critics might have said about their two previous efforts, true hip-hop heads know that the Roots never fell off. On their seventh studio ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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