Artist who currently put on, or in their prime put on, a better live show than the Roots:
M.O.P Gangstarr EPMD (Dj Scratch=QuestloveX1000) Eminem (polished but way too indulgent) KRS-One/BDP Outkast Jungle Brothers De La Soul Ghostface Fugees (their show used to be a lot like the Roots) Tribe Called Quest (good show but not spectacular) Run DMC (the greatest show on earth) Biig Daddy Kane (tied for greatest show on earth) Public Enemy (the second greatest) Beastie Boys Special Ed Poor Righteous Teachers (the dude Wise Intelligent has breath control like a muhfucker) LL Cool J (even though his current show is like a night at Chippendales, his target audience seems very pleased) Ultramag The Arsonists (laugh, but they killed it live, with no 30 minute bass solos) Jurrasic Five (see above) Chubb Rock (Hot Dog, etc. had alot to do with that) Puffy Korn-ye West Devin tha Dude 3rd Bass (Daddy Rich ohmyholygod) Busta Rhymes (so much energy+so many hits) Redman Snoop shit, I could go on, you know?
Another test: hit me with even one CLASSIC Black Thought rhyme. I mean Beats to the Rhyme classic, or Skypager classic, or Appetite For Destruction classic. You dig?
The one where he says that he's five-foot-eight!
He grew?
Yo, I'm every MC, it's all in me That's the way it is, when ya gotta be Indeed as I distort I proceed, I need Gettin hotter than sacks of boom, in my room at the Ramada Four tanks in your memory banks to fill up I provide the static, with scratch to match, while you catch the vibe Most can play high post, but yo that don't mean shit Because my click'll make a motherfucker sick I flips, redder than pork, comin to New York to mix [It's Bob Powers] With the snares and kicks to fix Rhythmatically, you got ta be, static-y Magiccally I appear, spark a L and drink a beer With air smooth, takin niggaz loot with dice then shoot The Roots, poetic, courageously kinetic Vagabond, versatile and various, plus rap styles of mine are blunt, pain is in the mind, so I'm fine and Five foot seven, inches in height[/b] My mission to strike mics and lighten your tights Ridin in, like lightning Flourescent, incandescent, evervescently I represent, Foreign Objects and Ill Elements Very relevant, plus intelligently managin matter that's makin tracks fatter, revolve around Saturn like rings and brins swings when I sings with bass Then distort up in your face like mace Bustin your dreams, I gasp with loaded magazines I'm on the rap scene, re-color fellas like a vaccine As I, rocks from under blunderin I'm not, lyrically Ya getm, shot, get caught so distort with thought, for real It's the illest out the Phi, short for Philidelph-iada-fly Money makin move fakin I isn't Niggaz can nah front, I'm poetically exquisite Wicked, with the visit while you're wonderin what is it Dig it, yo my mellow um whattup for the night [Malik B, get on the mic, get on the mic] Like that y'all, and yo I'm flowin, my part of the song It's goin, it's goin, it's gone
Artist who currently put on, or in their prime put on, a better live show than the Roots:
M.O.P
M.O.P
M.O.P
M.O.P
M.O.P
M.O.P
M.O.P
M.O.P
M.O.P
Shit is like a religious experience and all they need is them and their crew. No covers of other people's songs (except No Sleep Til Brooklyn), no wonky solos. A great rap show should get you charged, not make you yawn and check your watch.
Salute! Can't wait to hear them over JacobWizzle beats....
Another test: hit me with even one CLASSIC Black Thought rhyme. I mean Beats to the Rhyme classic, or Skypager classic, or Appetite For Destruction classic. You dig?
You seem to be suffering from a basic misconception, so let me clarify: I don't need to personally experience something to hate on it.
Nice.
Ok, i like the Roots, i listen to em a lot and i have done for many a year now. That said, the last time they toured here, i got all jazzed and went to the show (my Roots 1st) only to walk out a 1/2 hour in as the sound was crap and the show was boring. So yeah, i can see your collective point but fukkit, i still ike the albums.
The first Roots show I ever saw - which was the first time they played S.F. - was, hands-down one of the best fucking shows I had ever seen and it wasn't just me (i.e. "the disconnected") saying this. Folks far more senior than I, like Davey D, were similarly ranting about how good it was.
I think part of it was that, back in 1994/5, the Roots were tapping into the emergent "Golden Era" nostalgia that we all take for granted today. It was also the case that most of us had never seen a hip-hop group with a live band (this was DAT era, remember) and the novelty of that carried over.
AND, from recollection, there were no "wonky solos" at this early point of their stage show, though the "hip hop revue" portion did take up about 30 minutes or so...but we loved that shit.
It was around the third time I saw the group that I realized: "they're going to milk this until it's dead, buried, decomposed...and then some."
But that first show? Better than a lot of other shows I can recall from that era, including the De La/Tribe tour of 1993 which was pretty awesome. Or when the Fugees, Roots and OutKast all played the Fillmore together.
The first Roots show I ever saw - which was the first time they played S.F. - was, hands-down one of the best fucking shows I had ever seen and it wasn't just me (i.e. "the disconnected") saying this. Folks far more senior than I, like Davey D, were similarly ranting about how good it was.
I think part of it was that, back in 1994/5, the Roots were tapping into the emergent "Golden Era" nostalgia that we all take for granted today. It was also the case that most of us had never seen a hip-hop group with a live band (this was DAT era, remember) and the novelty of that carried over.
AND, from recollection, there were no "wonky solos" at this early point of their stage show, though the "hip hop revue" portion did take up about 30 minutes or so...but we loved that shit.
It was around the third time I saw the group that I realized: "they're going to milk this until it's dead, buried, decomposed...and then some."
But that first show? Better than a lot of other shows I can recall from that era, including the De La/Tribe tour of 1993 which was pretty awesome. Or when the Fugees, Roots and OutKast all played the Fillmore together.
I don't get it. They put on a great show the first time, but they sucked from there on out because they didn't switch up the format of their show?? That format is what makes them a good show... how many other rap BANDS are switching between their own material to covering Old Dirty Bastard, Kool and the Gang and Led Zeppelin...and pulling it off?? All this talk about whether they have fallen off is irrelevant to whether they still can rock a show.
By the way, if your criteria for judging a concert is how much a group can switch up their show from the last...then you need to cross off that entire list.
You know, I never got to see 3rd Bass live, but I was always curious how they came off, seeing as how Serch was a natural showman and Daddy Rich was insane on the decks. What kind of shit did they do live?
I think this speaks to the fact that the Roots make boring ass records. I'm sure that their show probably sucked the second time because the novelty of seeing them cover a bunch of tracks had wore off. Dudes who make good records don't need to switch up their show, because they can come on and rock it with dope tracks (that are their own).
Case in point: long after I couldn't hear "Dwyck" on record anymore I still lost my mind when Gangstarr did it live with Nice & Smooth at the Big L tribute.
Another test: hit me with even one CLASSIC Black Thought rhyme. I mean Beats to the Rhyme classic, or Skypager classic, or Appetite For Destruction classic. You dig?
The one where he says that he's five-foot-eight!
He grew?
Yo, I'm every MC, it's all in me That's the way it is, when ya gotta be Indeed as I distort I proceed, I need Gettin hotter than sacks of boom, in my room at the Ramada Four tanks in your memory banks to fill up I provide the static, with scratch to match, while you catch the vibe Most can play high post, but yo that don't mean shit Because my click'll make a motherfucker sick I flips, redder than pork, comin to New York to mix [It's Bob Powers] With the snares and kicks to fix Rhythmatically, you got ta be, static-y Magiccally I appear, spark a L and drink a beer With air smooth, takin niggaz loot with dice then shoot The Roots, poetic, courageously kinetic Vagabond, versatile and various, plus rap styles of mine are blunt, pain is in the mind, so I'm fine and Five foot seven, inches in height[/b] My mission to strike mics and lighten your tights Ridin in, like lightning Flourescent, incandescent, evervescently I represent, Foreign Objects and Ill Elements Very relevant, plus intelligently managin matter that's makin tracks fatter, revolve around Saturn like rings and brins swings when I sings with bass Then distort up in your face like mace Bustin your dreams, I gasp with loaded magazines I'm on the rap scene, re-color fellas like a vaccine As I, rocks from under blunderin I'm not, lyrically Ya getm, shot, get caught so distort with thought, for real It's the illest out the Phi, short for Philidelph-iada-fly Money makin move fakin I isn't Niggaz can nah front, I'm poetically exquisite Wicked, with the visit while you're wonderin what is it Dig it, yo my mellow um whattup for the night [Malik B, get on the mic, get on the mic] Like that y'all, and yo I'm flowin, my part of the song It's goin, it's goin, it's gone
Whoops--consider my kufi revoked.
Interestingly enough, this is the same height that Bun B described the girl he was trying to hit a minute ago at the All-Star Game as being...
how many other rap BANDS are switching between their own material to covering Old Dirty Bastard, Kool and the Gang and Led Zeppelin...and pulling it off??
To me, this is like championing the genius of Phish b/c of their fan-celebrated and praised Halloween shows where full lengths such as 'The White Album' and 'Quadrophenia' were recited in full on different occasions... The Roots' strength then is as cover band, regardless of genre? Trying to do a hardcore number a la Minor Threat on 'Phrenology':
But if you're feeling the need to do the noodle dance in the absence of heavyweights such as Phish and the Dead, more kudos for the Roots providing the time + place...
Speaking on behalf of the biggest haters: ten or so years ago when a Roots show was still novel, it was fun.
Now you couldn't drag me to one.
Name some rap groups that put on better live shows...
Rap's no longer a live performance medium... I pretty much quit going to rap shows entirely more than half a decade ago.
So if you havent been to any rap show in over six years, let alone a Roots show, with what basis can you say that a Roots performance is no longer fun or "novel"?
Artist who currently put on, or in their prime put on, a better live show than the Roots:
M.O.P Gangstarr EPMD (Dj Scratch=QuestloveX1000) Eminem KRS-One/BDP Outkast Jungle Brothers De La Soul Ghostface Fugees Tribe Called Quest Run DMC (the greatest show on earth) Biig Daddy Kane (tied for greatest show on earth) Public Enemy (the second greatest) Beastie Boys Special Ed Poor Righteous Teachers (the dude Wise Intelligent has breath control like a muhfucker) LL Cool J (even though his current show is like a night at Chippendales, his target audience seems very pleased) Ultramag The Arsonists (laugh, but they killed it live, with no 30 minute bass solos) Jurrasic Five (see above) Chubb Rock (Hot Dog, etc. had alot to do with that) Puffy Korn-ye West Devin tha Dude 3rd Bass (Daddy Rich ohmyholygod) Busta Rhymes (so much energy+so many hits) Redman Snoop shit, I could go on, you know?
But did you see those dudes in your "youth"? I would shit myself if I saw Tribe or Snoop when I was in my late teens/early 20's, I would get geeked almost seeing any hip-hop at that age. Today I would be like "damn the line at the bar is too long...."
The last live hip-hop show I caught was Kanye and that shit was just i-ight. I think the only dude who stills does an amazing show is KRS-ONE. that dude can rock the whole night with nothing but "hits"/rap-nerd classics.
Even though I like Devin the Dude's music, I can't picture it being a "engaging" experience. Maybe if it was some small place and his was sitting on a stool talking like that VH-1 behind the music shit, but yo.. dude's a charming-ass fellow.
but where you hatters feeling the roots as jay-z's band ?[/b]
how many other rap BANDS are switching between their own material to covering Old Dirty Bastard, Kool and the Gang and Led Zeppelin...and pulling it off??
To me, this is like championing the genius of Phish b/c of their fan-celebrated and praised Halloween shows where full lengths such as 'The White Album' and 'Quadrophenia' were recited in full on different occasions... The Roots' strength then is as cover band, regardless of genre? Trying to do a hardcore number a la Minor Threat on 'Phrenology':
But if you're feeling the need to do the noodle dance in the absence of heavyweights such as Phish and the Dead, more kudos for the Roots providing the time + place...
No, its really not! The subject/issue was whether the Roots put on a good live show, not whether they are a genius band simply because they do cover songs.
Congratulations though for pointing out that white granola types like the Roots and that they celebrate them by noodle dancing to cover songs.
No, its really not! The subject/issue was whether the Roots put on a good live show, not whether they are a genius band simply because they do cover songs.
Shaky premise tho' if you're citing the inclusion of cover material to support your argument of them staging a decent live show...
'Stay Fly' alone bests any song in the Roots' own catalog when it comes to sheer visceral excitement...
Congratulations though for pointing out that white granola types like the Roots and that they celebrate them by noodle dancing to cover songs.
Or are did we just paint a mirror image somewhere? -> ad hominem attack on my part (somewhat classless)...
On a more somber note, why are the Roots even treated as sacred cows (see above) by those who like 'em? Far more deserving artists, past and present, to lavish your attention on instead of this particular group... I am glad tho' that these sorts do exist so that I'm able to pawn off review copies received of product from said act via eBay and the like...
I'm sorry man but you're pushing this defensiveness a bit much here. I can't speak for everyone but in terms of what I was putting across:
The Roots, at one point, had a very fresh, very energizing live show but over the years, they've done very little to switch it up. I can't speak from experience, but I get the sense that somone like James Brown, in his prime, was killing shit without ever seeming like he was performing off a script and for all their "liveness" after you've seen what amounts to the umpteenth show-in-a-row, you realize that it's not as "spontaneous" as you thought it was.
Personally, I don't understand why people are hating on this, "play your own songs" shit - the Roots spend most of their show playing their own songs. They only do the "revue" bit for maybe half an hour and personally, I always thought that was fun. I mean, if you went to go see Jay-Z and he decided to break out into "Raw" is anyone really going to be, "man, that shit is corny"? (Actually, knowing this board, I think the answer would be "yes").
However, if Jay did EVERY show with "Raw" then it would seem not so...uh...raw.
In any case, anyone who thinks the Roots have hip-hop's best live show sounds like someone who hasn't been to enough hip-hop shows.
(And to answer JP's question: the Roots backing Jay-Z was hot).
(And to answer JP's question: the Roots backing Jay-Z was hot).
word word. you can tell they spent a lot of time learning the parts. I think the one stood-out to me the most was when they did "girls girls girls" and some back-up singer sing a long. It was the details that made it "special".
Anyone ever catch Common Sense when he had this band called "Black Girl Named Becky"? All-time live show, right there. It was right after resurrection and little bit before "one day..." so it was pretty much material from his second album done live with Mr. Sinister on the cut. Amazing.
Alot of ya'll have too much hate... take em for what they are or were. When Illadelph dropped really no one was fuckin with them, and they were on some different shit. That was their prime though. Now they are older, and a bit more formulaic like almost any group that tours constantly and has put out more than 1 or 2 albums...
I always dug their shows for what they were and not what they weren't. But I always dug Gang Starr, Public Enemy, CMW, NWA, every group for what they were, not what they weren't. They all could rock shows in their own way, and alot of it had to do with when and where you saw them.
I have seen the Roots live 3 times and the first time was always the best, the other two times were good, but not the same. I saw Public Enemy live 2 times. The first time was raw, the second time was dope, but never compared to the first time.
but whatever I guess if you like the roots that's a mark against your street cred, or soulstrut cred... get over it, you aren't that fly.
the roots perform more than any other rap act. if 3-6 mafia/MOP went out on the road as much as the roots, they'd be telling the same lines on stage and going throught the same routines as well. beyond that, the roots are talented players and its nice to see some good musicianship at a live show. i agree that it at times comes off as a 'jam band' breakdown when they get into their solos, but i don't see how that's a bad thing. their jamming is good!
i think a lot of this vitriol comes from the fact that a different demographic has embraced the roots and you jerkoffs are afraid to be associated with them. why can't you enjoy the fact that the roots have crossover appeal? does it make you scared that you and the hippy chick from san francisco may have the same tastes in some music.
the tipping point was a solid album and folls are pissing all over it like black eyed peas.
Anyone ever catch Common Sense when he had this band called "Black Girl Named Becky"? All-time live show, right there. It was right after resurrection and little bit before "one day..." so it was pretty much material from his second album done live with Mr. Sinister on the cut. Amazing.
could not disagree more. i called that band "Black girl named booty" - corny doesn't begin to explain it. Common and mr. sinister live in the cut is that shit. live hip hop is still pretty
You know, I never got to see 3rd Bass live, but I was always curious how they came off, seeing as how Serch was a natural showman and Daddy Rich was insane on the decks. What kind of shit did they do live?
I saw them open up for PE early 1990. They put on a great show and Daddy Rich straight killed in the 'givethemanbehindthewheelssomecredit' section of it. Haven't listened to their records since 92, but they definetely brought it live.
On the subject of The Roots: - I loved the first two concerts I saw in '94 and '95, the subsequent three have been very formulaic. - I like all their albums except The Tipping Point. - Weren't feeling them as backing for Jay-Z. - That new track that was posted is .
Anyone ever catch Common Sense when he had this band called "Black Girl Named Becky"? All-time live show, right there. It was right after resurrection and little bit before "one day..." so it was pretty much material from his second album done live with Mr. Sinister on the cut. Amazing.
When Illadelph dropped really no one was fuckin with them, and they were on some different shit.
Perhaps in your private mindgarden and those of a few others...
Back at you, because I am sure you were not feelin it in the hood in ATL... You are from the hood right?
I'm not sure what you're talking about.
I'm just disputing your claim that Illadelph Halflife was a rap album that "no one was fucking with"--unless, of course, you mean it in the sense that nobody was listening to it, in which case I agree.
Comments
I'd also add the Pharcyde to this list.
He grew?
Yo, I'm every MC, it's all in me
That's the way it is, when ya gotta be
Indeed as I distort I proceed, I need
Gettin hotter than sacks of boom, in my room at the Ramada
Four tanks in your memory banks to fill up
I provide the static, with scratch to match, while you catch the vibe
Most can play high post, but yo that don't mean shit
Because my click'll make a motherfucker sick
I flips, redder than pork, comin to New York to mix
[It's Bob Powers] With the snares and kicks to fix
Rhythmatically, you got ta be, static-y
Magiccally I appear, spark a L and drink a beer
With air smooth, takin niggaz loot with dice
then shoot The Roots, poetic, courageously kinetic
Vagabond, versatile and various, plus rap styles
of mine are blunt, pain is in the mind, so I'm fine and
Five foot seven, inches in height[/b]
My mission to strike mics and lighten your tights
Ridin in, like lightning
Flourescent, incandescent, evervescently
I represent, Foreign Objects and Ill Elements
Very relevant, plus intelligently managin matter
that's makin tracks fatter, revolve around
Saturn like rings and brins swings when I sings with bass
Then distort up in your face like mace
Bustin your dreams, I gasp with loaded magazines
I'm on the rap scene, re-color fellas like a vaccine
As I, rocks from under blunderin I'm not, lyrically
Ya getm, shot, get caught so distort with thought, for real
It's the illest out the Phi, short for Philidelph-iada-fly
Money makin move fakin I isn't
Niggaz can nah front, I'm poetically exquisite
Wicked, with the visit while you're wonderin what is it
Dig it, yo my mellow um whattup for the night
[Malik B, get on the mic, get on the mic]
Like that y'all, and yo I'm flowin, my part of the song
It's goin, it's goin, it's gone
Shit is like a religious experience and all they need is them and their crew. No covers of other people's songs (except No Sleep Til Brooklyn), no wonky solos. A great rap show should get you charged, not make you yawn and check your watch.
Salute! Can't wait to hear them over JacobWizzle beats....
yes, lyrically
Nice.
Ok, i like the Roots, i listen to em a lot and i have done for many a year now. That said, the last time they toured here, i got all jazzed and went to the show (my Roots 1st) only to walk out a 1/2 hour in as the sound was crap and the show was boring.
So yeah, i can see your collective point but fukkit, i still ike the albums.
The first Roots show I ever saw - which was the first time they played S.F. - was, hands-down one of the best fucking shows I had ever seen and it wasn't just me (i.e. "the disconnected") saying this. Folks far more senior than I, like Davey D, were similarly ranting about how good it was.
I think part of it was that, back in 1994/5, the Roots were tapping into the emergent "Golden Era" nostalgia that we all take for granted today. It was also the case that most of us had never seen a hip-hop group with a live band (this was DAT era, remember) and the novelty of that carried over.
AND, from recollection, there were no "wonky solos" at this early point of their stage show, though the "hip hop revue" portion did take up about 30 minutes or so...but we loved that shit.
It was around the third time I saw the group that I realized: "they're going to milk this until it's dead, buried, decomposed...and then some."
But that first show? Better than a lot of other shows I can recall from that era, including the De La/Tribe tour of 1993 which was pretty awesome. Or when the Fugees, Roots and OutKast all played the Fillmore together.
I've only seen about half of the people on that list and out of all of them the best by far was a Ghostface promo concert for the 1st album.
Just him & Rae and I think the third was Inspectah Deck (Can't seem to remember) on stage for 3 hours and it was pure fire.
Roots was ok the first time. But after that it boring...
I don't get it. They put on a great show the first time, but they sucked from there on out because they didn't switch up the format of their show?? That format is what makes them a good show... how many other rap BANDS are switching between their own material to covering Old Dirty Bastard, Kool and the Gang and Led Zeppelin...and pulling it off?? All this talk about whether they have fallen off is irrelevant to whether they still can rock a show.
By the way, if your criteria for judging a concert is how much a group can switch up their show from the last...then you need to cross off that entire list.
You know, I never got to see 3rd Bass live, but I was always curious how they came off, seeing as how Serch was a natural showman and Daddy Rich was insane on the decks. What kind of shit did they do live?
Case in point: long after I couldn't hear "Dwyck" on record anymore I still lost my mind when Gangstarr did it live with Nice & Smooth at the Big L tribute.
Whoops--consider my kufi revoked.
Interestingly enough, this is the same height that Bun B described the girl he was trying to hit a minute ago at the All-Star Game as being...
To me, this is like championing the genius of Phish b/c of their fan-celebrated and praised Halloween shows where full lengths such as 'The White Album' and 'Quadrophenia' were recited in full on different occasions... The Roots' strength then is as cover band, regardless of genre? Trying to do a hardcore number a la Minor Threat on 'Phrenology':
But if you're feeling the need to do the noodle dance in the absence of heavyweights such as Phish and the Dead, more kudos for the Roots providing the time + place...
But did you see those dudes in your "youth"? I would shit myself if I saw Tribe or Snoop when I was in my late teens/early 20's, I would get geeked almost seeing any hip-hop at that age. Today I would be like "damn the line at the bar is too long...."
The last live hip-hop show I caught was Kanye and that shit was just i-ight. I think the only dude who stills does an amazing show is KRS-ONE. that dude can rock the whole night with nothing but "hits"/rap-nerd classics.
Even though I like Devin the Dude's music, I can't picture it being a "engaging" experience. Maybe if it was some small place and his was sitting on a stool talking like that VH-1 behind the music shit, but yo.. dude's a charming-ass fellow.
but where you hatters feeling the roots as jay-z's band ?[/b]
That's their forte though, right? Cover band?
No, its really not! The subject/issue was whether the Roots put on a good live show, not whether they are a genius band simply because they do cover songs.
Congratulations though for pointing out that white granola types like the Roots and that they celebrate them by noodle dancing to cover songs.
Shaky premise tho' if you're citing the inclusion of cover material to support your argument of them staging a decent live show...
'Stay Fly' alone bests any song in the Roots' own catalog when it comes to sheer visceral excitement...
Or are did we just paint a mirror image somewhere? -> ad hominem attack on my part (somewhat classless)...
On a more somber note, why are the Roots even treated as sacred cows (see above) by those who like 'em? Far more deserving artists, past and present, to lavish your attention on instead of this particular group... I am glad tho' that these sorts do exist so that I'm able to pawn off review copies received of product from said act via eBay and the like...
I'm sorry man but you're pushing this defensiveness a bit much here. I can't speak for everyone but in terms of what I was putting across:
The Roots, at one point, had a very fresh, very energizing live show but over the years, they've done very little to switch it up. I can't speak from experience, but I get the sense that somone like James Brown, in his prime, was killing shit without ever seeming like he was performing off a script and for all their "liveness" after you've seen what amounts to the umpteenth show-in-a-row, you realize that it's not as "spontaneous" as you thought it was.
Personally, I don't understand why people are hating on this, "play your own songs" shit - the Roots spend most of their show playing their own songs. They only do the "revue" bit for maybe half an hour and personally, I always thought that was fun. I mean, if you went to go see Jay-Z and he decided to break out into "Raw" is anyone really going to be, "man, that shit is corny"? (Actually, knowing this board, I think the answer would be "yes").
However, if Jay did EVERY show with "Raw" then it would seem not so...uh...raw.
In any case, anyone who thinks the Roots have hip-hop's best live show sounds like someone who hasn't been to enough hip-hop shows.
(And to answer JP's question: the Roots backing Jay-Z was hot).
Expect to hear this song on the next Roots tour.
word word. you can tell they spent a lot of time learning the parts. I think the one stood-out to me the most was when they did "girls girls girls" and some back-up singer sing a long. It was the details that made it "special".
Anyone ever catch Common Sense when he had this band called "Black Girl Named Becky"? All-time live show, right there. It was right after resurrection and little bit before "one day..." so it was pretty much material from his second album done live with Mr. Sinister on the cut. Amazing.
I always dug their shows for what they were and not what they weren't. But I always dug Gang Starr, Public Enemy, CMW, NWA, every group for what they were, not what they weren't. They all could rock shows in their own way, and alot of it had to do with when and where you saw them.
I have seen the Roots live 3 times and the first time was always the best, the other two times were good, but not the same. I saw Public Enemy live 2 times. The first time was raw, the second time was dope, but never compared to the first time.
but whatever I guess if you like the roots that's a mark against your street cred, or soulstrut cred... get over it, you aren't that fly.
if 3-6 mafia/MOP went out on the road as much as the roots, they'd be telling the same lines on stage and going throught the same routines as well.
beyond that, the roots are talented players and its nice to see some good musicianship at a live show. i agree that it at times comes off as a 'jam band' breakdown when they get into their solos, but i don't see how that's a bad thing. their jamming is good!
i think a lot of this vitriol comes from the fact that a different demographic has embraced the roots and you jerkoffs are afraid to be associated with them.
why can't you enjoy the fact that the roots have crossover appeal? does it make you scared that you and the hippy chick from san francisco may have the same tastes in some music.
the tipping point was a solid album and folls are pissing all over it like black eyed peas.
Perhaps in your private mindgarden and those of a few others...
I saw them open up for PE early 1990. They put on a great show and Daddy Rich straight killed in the 'givethemanbehindthewheelssomecredit' section of it. Haven't listened to their records since 92, but they definetely brought it live.
On the subject of The Roots:
- I loved the first two concerts I saw in '94 and '95, the subsequent three have been very formulaic.
- I like all their albums except The Tipping Point.
- Weren't feeling them as backing for Jay-Z.
- That new track that was posted is
Back at you, because I am sure you were not feelin it in the hood in ATL... You are from the hood right?
Yes, I agree. That was hot.
I'm not sure what you're talking about.
I'm just disputing your claim that Illadelph Halflife was a rap album that "no one was fucking with"--unless, of course, you mean it in the sense that nobody was listening to it, in which case I agree.