When you think about it, Jazz and Hip Hop really do have some significant similarities. Both are distinct and unique forms of American music created in the 20th century. They both have deep roots in New York (jazz in Harlem, Hip Hop in the Bronx). Also, both rely heavily on improvisation. For example, while Jazz artists have trained to improvise with notes, harmonies, and rhythms, true emcees learn to improvise using words, sounds, and flows.

With all that in mind, it’s a shame that very few rap artists have been able to do the whole jazz-rap combination thing any real justice. Many rappers are simply satisfied with looping old jazz samples to rhyme over, but refuse to as truly embrace this other genre and fuse it with Hip Hop’s current aesthetics to create a new sound. In my opinion, only a few groups have done this “joining” successfully, most notably Digable Planets, Guru, and of course, The Roots.

The Roots crew consists of vocalists Tariq Trotter AKA Black Thought, Malik B, and Dice-Raw; drummer B.R.O. THER. ? (later to be known as ?uestlove); bassist Leonard Hubbard; and master of vocal percussion (Beat Box) Rahzel. Each of the musicians are certainly talented, however there simply aren’t enough of them to provide a complete “jazz” sound. To remedy that, The Roots make it a point to work with up and coming young jazz musicians to round out each composition. The end result of their labor is some of the best Hip Hop-Jazz fusion music out there today.

In 1994, The Roots dropped Do You Want More?!!!??!, a sequel to their innovative and much-admired(though only somewhat successful) indie debut, Organix. With this second album, they persisted in building on the innovative sound that drew so much attention with their first LP. In fact, the Roots felt so deeply that it was a continuation of their debut that they even continued the numbering of the tracks where the first album left off.

Track Listing
18. Intro/There’s Something Goin’ On
19. Proceed
20. Distortion to Static
21. Mellow My Man
22. I Remain Calm
23. Datskat
24. Lazy Afternoon
25. ? vs. Rahzel
26. Do You Want More?!!!??!
27. What Goes On pt. 7
28. Essaywhuman?!!!??!
29. Swept Away
30. You Ain’t Fly
31. Silent Treatment
32. The Lesson pt. 1
33. The Unlocking

After a short vocal and musical introduction, the CD moves into track 18, “Proceed”. The song is essentially built around Scott Storch’s light melody on the Rhodes electric piano, with ?uest and Hub faithfully following his lead. Rahzel occasionally supplements the musicianship with some classic beatboxing. Black Thought and Malik B freestyle over the extremely very laid back track, with Thought vocalizing the memorable hook, “I shall proceed and continue to rock the mic…”

“Mellow my Man” is absolutely my favorite song on this LP. Lyrically, Thought and Malik trade verses over music constructed around one of the Roots favorite trinities: Storch on the keys, ?uest on the drums, and Hubbard letting the bass walk. The Roots modify the melody a few times on this track, with jazz artists Steve Coleman (saxophone), Joshua Roseman (trombone), and Graham Haynes (trumpet) providing muted horn accompaniment, usually during Malik’s verses and for the hook. In the middle of the song, the group switches modes, going into “jazz overdrive” allowing Black Thought to do a little scat over a break that’s more Jazz than Hip Hop. I had to loop this song more than a few times before listening to the rest of the CD.

The Roots light a little fire under the listeners with the next song “I Remain Calm” . Storch again returns to provide reverberating intoxication on the Rhodes, with Hubbard letting the bass do significantly more walking and ?uest driving the uptempo track with a high hat and snare. The thing that really set the track off is on the hook, they’ve got Shorty No Mas doing the old school Hip Hop scat that rap fans have heard many times, but seems to never get old. It’s hard to describe, but if you listen to rap frequently, odds are you’ve heard it somewhere before. The Roots blend Thought and Malik’s vocals well with the music. Another great track for the Do You Want More?!!!??! LP.

The group has a little frivolous fun on track 24, “Lazy Afternoon” . The song really only has one verse, but Trotter repeats it on each segment of the music, altering his delivery slightly each time. The repetition does an effective job of helping the artists portray an aimless afternoon day. For most of the song, the tunes are supplied by the vocal emulation of Rahzel who provides the track with percussion, keyboards, and bass all coming from his mouth. Hubbard backs up Rahzel on the stand up bass a little, but for the most part it’s all Rahzel. I like the relaxed feel this song has to it.

Those who haven’t yet been able to see The Roots live yet are in for a treat on “Essaywhuman?!!!??!. Here the group has recorded a segment from one of their live venues, allowing the listener to hear the magic they create onstage. While other rappers throw on a DAT (digital audio tape) and just move around the stage doing their songs, The Roots put on more of a performance than a show, accentuating the musical skill of each member. On this song, Black Thought raps some basic lyrics in a musical call and response type of format, then intersperses them with some vocal improvisations that imitate the instrument that’s supposed to respond in that stanza. He does this with each of the instruments (drums, keys, sax, bass), each time sounding rather convincingly like the instrument. I think Hub hits a few sour notes here, but for the most part the musicianship is excellent. I haven’t heard their live album The Roots Come Alive yet, but “Essaywhuman?!!!??!” is making me think I desperately need to rectify that situation.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Roots album without some poetry, and the group concludes the “Do You Want More?!!!??!” CD with some beautiful spoken words from poetess Ursula Rucker. On the last track, “The Unlocking” , Rucker verbally paints a disturbing, yet poetic picture of a rap group having sex with a groupie, accompanied by Leonard Hubbard plucking bass and ?uestlove on both the understated percussion and muted Rhodes. I’m always amazed at the poet’s skill at relating social messages while intricately crafting graphic scenes to contrast with her angelic voice. For more of her work, be sure to check out her solo LP, Supa Sista. From the few songs I’ve heard, it’s certainly worth your money.

In conclusion, “Do You Want More?!!??!” is an exemplary example of Hip Hop – Jazz fusion. Vocally, the group is easily on par with some of the best rap emcees of our time. Musically, the group certainly is not another Miles Davis Quintet, but they definitely know their way around their instruments. Over and over again, they prove that they can rock a rap audience as well as light up a jazz venue. For anyone who enjoys jazzy, more soulful Hip Hop tunes, I highly recommend buying this and the rest of the work from The Roots.


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving