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Music CD - The Roots: Rising Down
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Music CD: Rising Down
Artist: The Roots
List Price: $13.98
Our Price: $9.97
Your Save: $ 4.01 ( 29% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Def Jam
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Tracks:
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1. The Pow Wow
2. Rising Down featuring Mos Def & Styles P
3. Get Busy featuring Dice Raw & Peedi Peedi
4. @ 15
5. 75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)
6. Becoming Unwritten
7. Criminal featuring Truck North & Saigon
8. I Will Not Apologize featuring Porn & Dice Raw
9. I Can't Help It featuring Malik B., Porn, Mercedes Martinez & Dice Raw
10. Singing Man featuring Porn, Truck North & Dice Raw
11. Unwritten featuring Mercedes Martinez
12. Lost Desire featuring Malik B. & Talib Kweli
13. The Show featuring Common & Dice Raw
14. Rising Up featuring Wale & Chrisette Michele
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0602517672567
Format: Explicit Lyrics
Label: Def Jam
Manufacturer: Def Jam
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Def Jam
Release Date: 2008-04-29
Studio: Def Jam
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: 4.5 stars
Comment: The production's stepped up a bit on this one and the beats are really nice...the guest stars (Peedi, Saigon, Wale, Mos) are used effectively and shine for the most part...Malik and Tariq are at the top of their game...the lyrics stay with you in a way that the past couple albums maybe haven't...this is the best Roots record in years.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece!
Comment: I've been a fan since the beginning and not that the last couple albums haven't been good but they haven't been in my eyes on scale with Things Fall Apart. This album hits on almost every track and shows a dark raw side of the Roots I haven't seen before. Love the opening track 2 and 8 they seem to shine the hardest! Great work, must have for true Roots fans.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Did anybody listen to the lyrics?????????????????
Comment: Did anybody listen to the lyrics? If you did't I can understand why you would rate the cd under 5 stars. This cd in its entierty is pure genius.
I'm going to see the Roots and Queen Badu this Saturday.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Legendary Roots Crew are indeed Legendary
Comment: Cover to cover; this is a phenomenal, audacious and sharp album. I cannot remember the last time I've enjoyed an album to a point where I can sit with it and not hit the forward button. From Hip Hop, to R&B, to Go-Go -- all of which are laced with haunting synths and a stellar array of percussion and melodies, The Roots have truly outdone themselves with this album -- Rising Down.
My Personal highlights include...
1. The special guests: PORN, Wale and the syrupy soulstress Chrisette Michele. All are just simply, incredible and are a refreshing addition to this album.
2. The intro and outro telephone conversations between The Roots and their manager Rich Nichols. Humorous, yet insightful.
3. The omitted "Birthday Girl" song featuring Patrick Stump (fall out boy), which underscores The Roots ability to reach out and appeal to mainstream audiences, yet keep their music true to Hip Hop purists
There are so many levels and elements of social commentary, personal strife and lyrical audacities that it would be near impossible to fit them all into a small commentary space without going over Amazon's word count limitations. But to phrase it in the simplest form, please, buy this album NOW.
Considering that The Roots are indeed the ONLY black band on a major record label, this wonderful group of talent and immeasurable imagination are far more deserving than being confined within the walls of music that trumps everything current in Hip Hop radio and Music Video rotations.
Purchase Rising Down and support The Roots! You will NOT be disappointed.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Another solid offering from The Roots.
Comment: It's crazy how this band can continue to put out such quality work. I know that a lot of folks prefer Game Theory to this record, but because The Roots have such a great body of work, you can always argue that they have a better record than Rising Down (my personal faves are IHL and TFA).
I noticed that the group has come under some criticism for the fact that this record is a little darker than previous offerings, but remember, this is The Roots. I find that this record is incredibly melodic despite its dark undertones. I think songs like " Singing Man" and " I Will Not Apologize" underline that fact in a very bold manner. Also, this is an cohesive album, not a bunch of songs slapped together with sales as the only goal in mind.
Another criticism is that they have too many guest appearances, but this is not haphazard at all. The Roots are essentially a band, so I tend to look at most of their records as controlled jam sessions, and as we all know, what's a great session w/o talented and diverse friends. Common and Talib bring their usual heat, and who can say that Mos didn't kill "Rising Down". Also, they have used this record to introduce talented proteges in Truck North and Porn. In the days of empty promises, it nice to see an artist keep their word and give the young guns a chance to shine.
Despite the high praise, I feel the biggest missteps are tracks 4, 5, and 6. I just find them to be a bit bland, but on the other hand, how do you transition from a track that's totally off the hinges like " Get Busy" into a relatively somber track like "Criminal". I'm not exactly sure, but I'm sure they could have done a little better.
All in all, this is a good record. Please go to a brick and mortar or digital store and purchase this album. We are now responsible for supporting an artform in dire need. Purchase this album.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Grammy award winning hip-hop trailblazers The Roots are set to release Rising Down on April 29th via Def Jam Recordings. Known for their prolific lyrics and live instrumentation, the Legendary Philadelphia crew is composed of Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter (vocals), Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson (drums), Kamal Gray (keyboards), Frank Knuckles (percussion), Kirk "Captain Kirk" Douglas (guitar) and Owen Biddle (bass). Garnering critical praise throughout their career, The Roots have firmly established themselves as a band with uncompromised artistic control and integrity. With Rising Down, the band's 10th album release, The Roots continue to take bolder steps adding new depths and range to their repertoire. The Roots co-founder ?uestlove states, "This is probably our most political album to date dealing with addiction, nihilism, hypocritical double standards in the prison system and overall life in Philadelphia. I'd say it's more mature and intense than all of our efforts but not a `downer' as most people expect us to do." The political nature of Rising Down is not only heard within the music. The title comes from William T. Vollmann's treatise on violence entitled Rising Up and Rising Down, and the release date falls on the 16th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots sparked by the acquittal of the police officers accused of beating Rodney King. Standout tracks include: "Criminal" a reflection of life on the streets and unjust persecution, "I Will Not Apologize" a tribute to Fela Kuti that discusses keeping dignity in the music biz and "I Can't Help It" a look at addictions and urges that compel us all. Additional guests on the album include Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Saigon, Dice Raw, Wale, Chrisette Michele and more.
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