The Roots - Rising Down
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When a band - especially an established one - releases a new album, one of the most common concerns is as to how well the new material stacks up against previous works: is the new album as good as the old ones? If the answer is in the affirmative, then the artist stands as a progressive one raising the bar for each release and always aiming to outdo themselves, a mentality that goes a long way to repeatedly pulling off the difficult task of positive reinvention. Bands like Radiohead are known as much for their uncanny ability to progress without resorting to blatant left turns for the sake of blatant left turns. The Roots are a similar lot, one of the very rare bands that just keep doing their own thing without standing stylistically still, and always managing to sound better and better for each release.
Rising Down is the now-legendary Philadelphia crew's 10th album, and it stands as proof positive that they are one of the most creative acts in hip-hop today. Being perhaps their most overtly political release to date, Rising Down tackles social topics like addiction and the American prison system, incorporating beats that are a little harder and rougher than on earlier releases to help drive their socio-political points home. It's no coincidence that Rising Down was released on the 16th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots that erupted in the wake of the Rodney King trial, and infused as it is with references to an unjust system the album might very well go down in history as a political hip-hop rival to Public Enemy's Fear of a Black Planet.
Rising Down's title track, featuring vocal contributions by Mos Def and Styles P, is one of the strongest on the album, setting the stage for the slightly paranoid tracks to come. Rising Down is immediately followed by Get Busy, which features DJ Jazzy Jeff on scratches and, along with 75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction), stands as one of the catchiest numbers of the collection. These songs flow as classic cuts from The Roots, mixing Black Thought's incredibly powerful rap with the band's trademark live instrumentation, and taken as they are the songs are strong enough to satisfy anyone's hankering for The Roots.
Although there are highlights, Rising Down is solid throughout and ranks as one of those releases worthy of returning to over and over again; after the first listen the record begs for another spin. Days later Rising Down exhibits...
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