The Roots - Rising Down
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The standard bearers of socially and politically conscious rap have long shrugged off such labels, until now: Rising Down is more political than the rest of the Philadelphia group's albums combined, says drummer Ahmir ?uestlove Thompson. Over tight boom-bap rhythm and comparatively lush melodic accompaniment, Roots MC Black Thought and various guests, including Talib Kweli and Common, rhyme about a host of social ills. On I Will Not Apologize, the group decries hip-hop stereotypes that have been extended by pop culture and the media to black America as a whole. The theme recurs on 75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction) and on the smooth, propulsive funk jam Criminal, where Black Thought draws a pointed contrast between the respective penalties for political crimes and street-level thuggery. It's a gruff, sometimes paranoid album with a...
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