Since the early 90s, The Roots have been pioneering some of the most creative hip-hop joints probably in history. Album after album of excellence finds the lead emcee Black Thought spitting his poetic and descriptive lyrics and the Roots band pumping out some of the best beats and live instrumentals known to mankind, there's really nothing left for the band to do. They have arguably experimented more than any other set of artists in hip-hop with the exception of Outkast, and have seemingly always delivered and never put out a bad album, but they have quite a while left before they retire. In 2004, The Roots returned with The Tipping Point. With a concept based upon Malcolm Gladwell's infamous book "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference", The Roots are basically following the same message that Gladwell wrote about, which is how certain behaviors and deeds spread like viruses until they reach a "tipping point". The concept sounds quite eclectic, but turns out to be another reason to not judge a book by it's cover. The Tipping Point is an album that finds The Roots returning to their "roots", pun intended, found on albums like Do You Want More and Organix. The Roots are hell-bent on interjecting some of that old hip-hop flavor in paying main focus to the beats and rhymes and ignoring all of the gimmicks and experiments, returning back to what made The Roots so damn good: Their skill.



Track List & Rating

1. Star / Pointro (*****)
2. Duck Down (****)
3. Don't Say Nuthin (*****)
4. BOOM! (****)
5. Somebody's Gotta Do It f/ Jean Grae and Mac Dub (*****)
6. The Mic f/ Skillz and Trunk North (***)
7. Guns Are Drawn (***)
8. I Don't Care (****)
9. The Web (****)
10. Stay Cool (*****)
11. Why (*****)



One thing that you can easily note before I begin is the fact that The Tipping Point is The Roots shortest album to date, clocking in at only 11 tracks with no skits. It's strangely obvious that The Roots were trying to hit us with a more compact effort, trying their hardest to make the 11 tracks on here completely worthy. The Roots are incredibly simple here, avoiding any sort of experiments or concepts. The funny thing is that being so simple in crafting an album could perhaps be percieved as a concept in itself, because it's certainly breaking the norm of most of their previous work, as well as other artists. Hey, as long as the music is good, i'm not complaining.

The first joint "Star / Pointro" starts the album off on the right track. Right from the start when you hear the beat, it will immediately catch your ears and never let go. The melody found here is one of the catchiest I have heard in quite some time and will entrance fans of any sort of music, and not just hip-hop. The beautiful bass is assorted nicely within hypnotic guitars and background singing which is stellar. The sampling from "Everybody Is a Star" by Sly and The Family Stone is used in the chorus and is about as perfect and is can be. Lyrically, Black Thought comes as potent as ever with his well-written lyrics, switching topics about rising up in hip-hop while seeing society crumble around him. Thought's personal honesty is unforgettable, and his socio-political commentary should be rewound a few times to be appreciated.

I'm pretty sure that many Roots fans and mainstream fans have heard "Don't Say Nuthin'", their lead-single from this album. Surprisingly, Scott Storch produced this track. For those who don't know, Storch is responsible for collaborating with such mainstream artists like Dr. Dre, Christina Aguilera, and Beyonce Knowles. I'm sure many Roots fans will cringe at the thought of this guy coming in and screwing up a Roots track. Fear not... Scott Storch is unbelievable on the boards. Some people aren't going to like this beat, and I can understand why, but I'm personally loving it. The tapping keyboard melodies and scaling synthesizers give the song an epic feel beatwise. Lyrically, Thought comes potent with his old-school braggadiocio spitting reminding us of such classics like "Proceed" and "The Next Movement".

"Somebody's Gotta Do It" is one of those immediately trancing tracks that you honestly get stuck to from the first listen. The melodic beat is so perfect that you are zoned out when you hear it. The "Devin The Dude-esque" singing might not appeal to everybody, but it certainly works here. The guitar strings and pianos fix together to make one of the catchiest, most mesmerizing beats I've ever heard, which instantly puts this at the top of my list for best song on the album. Besides just the musical side, the lyricism is intense. Black Thought comes on the mic spitting at his prime, rapping his best verse in God-knows how long. Jean Grae, plain and simple, steals the show. Jean has proven once again why she is the best female lyricist in hip-hop today. Mac Dub's name just sounds awful and commercial, but his rhyming isn't bad. Granted he's not on the level of Jean and Thought (few are anyways), he spits potent and ill enough to let me give the song a perfect 5 star rating.

The album hits a low point with "The Mic" and "Guns are Drawn". Don't get me wrong, the songs aren't bad or anything, but they just aren't that good. The first of the two has an annoying beat which got on my nerves quickly, and the guest rapping was severely in need of fine-tuning. Even Black Thought needed to spit better. The second of the two joints features an awesomely catchy funk / jazz beat with a memorable sample which is simply unforgettable, but the rhyming is lacking that traditional creativity that Thought has delivered in the past. Musically, the song definitely hits many new levels sound-wise, but it's the lyrics that bring it down a bit.

Perhaps the most old-schoolish song on this entire album is "Stay Cool". The mesmerizing beat, laced with a hundred different instruments to provide an eclectic, yet traditionalistic beat fits nicely with the tempo and feel of the song. The mixture of soul and jazz blend together to provide that laid-back effect that few joints can master. Subject matter-wise, Black Thought gives us a trip back to the early 90s feel, relying more on fun, laid-back tracks than on spitting hard and being a gangsta. I love the track, but hey, that's just me.

The Roots take it home on "Why"; an excellent final song indeed. The song is mesmerizing from the start, with its use of singing and bass to kick things off. When the songs gets kicking, you'll notice the minimalistic use of guitar flicks, banging drums, scaling synthesizers and some well-needed bass to give the song a slow-tempo, relaxing feel which only The Roots could possibly create. It's very difficult to describe just how dope this beat is and it simply must be heard in order for it to be loved. Lyrically however, the song hits new levels indeed. Black Thought spits rhymes about the corruption of the world that he sees around him. He covers a variety of topics including racism, poverty, growing up in hip-hop, and surpassing life's obstacles. The magical thing is that Thought uses clever metaphors to hide some of these statements, which proves once again that he is an underrated poet, as well as lyricist.

I can't help but feel that The Tipping Point was an underwhelming experience. Granted I got to hear some unforgettable moments both production and lyrically, the album lacks the neccessary consistency that The Roots have had on prior projects. A lot of the songs are great, but still lack that neccessary creative edge that separates something awesome from classic. The album is sorely lacking any sort of Roots band companionship as well as Malik and Rahzel, making it seem like a Black Thought album (sort of like Phrenology was). I long for the days of the Roots coming together and pumping out a classic, but I guess the time isn't right yet. The Tipping Point however, is not a bad album at all if you see it for what it is. The Roots have tried to return a more simplistic form of hip-hop music here, and achieved it for the most part. The album has great beats, great lyrics... just great music. So when this album comes out, it honestly wouldn't hurt to pick this up, specially Roots fans. Don't sleep on it nucca...

4 Stars







SIMILAR ALBUMS

The Roots - Phrenology

The Roots - Do You Want More?

Sage Francis - Personal Journals

Cage - Movies for the Blind

Little Brother - The Listening




Recommended: Yes