No worries, however, as I will be on break for the next 30 days, meaning I'll have ample time to jot down my thoughts on the hip-hop albums I failed to cover this year. I thought, being that I haven't reviewed a single album since Weekend at Burnies, that this would be a good time to review every album/mixtape that has been somewhat relevant this year (including, also to my chagrin, Tha Carter IV). So, as the title already states, this begins my the first of my reviews over the next 30 days on what hip-hop has had to offer this year. What better way to start, I thought, than with one of the most anticipated albums for 2011, The Roots Undun (also an appropriate word to describe my blog for the past several months).
To be honest, I was surprised when The Roots decided to announce their 13th studio album back in October. What was even more surprising to me, was that they actually followed up their claim that it would be out by December. If you remember, The Roots announced How I Got Over in June of 2009 and said that it would be released by October (to which it wasn't and later released in June of the next year). The Roots also claimed that this album would be different from their previous 12 in the sense that this would be a concept album, rather than a traditional one. This worried me at first, but after hearing of snippet of the album's first single "Make My" in late October, I began to rest easier. The album may be a "concept" album, but that didn't change the formula to which The Roots would be making music (thank God Black Thought was still allowed to spit on this).
So what exactly is the concept of Undun? According to ?uestlove, the album is based on the life of Redford Stephens (1974-1999), who is a youth that tries to define himself in the middle of the city, but unfortunately, dies in the process. ?uestlove also stated that Redford was a fictional character, comprised of four to five black youths that he knew in his life in Philadelphia. The drummer compared the story of Redford to one in the ever popular series, The Wire, specifically Avon Barksdale, who played a low-level drug dealer. ?uest also said that the album takes a look into 24 hours of Redford's life, but with a twist. The album is told as a backward narrative, hence the title Undun. The Roots also were kind enough to release multiple short videos with each song released to help further tell the story of Redford and they've even come up with a fucking app to help as well (I can't to ask everyone in my family this Christmas if they've picked up the "Redford Stephens" or "Undun" app).
There were two other concerns I had about Undun before I decided to give it a listen on the stream The Roots were so generous to provide on NPR. The first was how The Roots could follow up their previous album, How I Got Over. I already reviewed that one for the blog and you can read my thoughts here. In short, though, the album was one of The Roots' most impressive in recent memory, so to take on a concept album (especially only a year and a half after its release) would be a risk. The other thing I noted was that, once again, The Roots had a tracklist that was, well, lacking beef. With 14 tracks, only 8 of them lasted more than 2:23 and four of them were under a minute a piece. While I'm not against short albums, it leaves little room for error, meaning Undun would have to be damn impressive in its bulk tracks in order to leave a listener with the feeling that their money was well spent.
So how impressive was Undun? Here's my review...
1. Dun
In an intro that sounds eerily similar to "A Peace of Light" from How I Got Over, it signals the death of Redford Stephens, specifically with the lifeline hitting blank at the end of the track. For telling the story of Stephens backward, it's an appropriate way to begin.
2. Sleep
"I've lost a lot of sleep to dreams" will be the line most remembered from this track. This marks the point in Redford's life where he is in between dying and living. The chords in the background provide a nice supplement and it sounds familiar to what The Roots have come up with before. Thought jumps on for the first actual verse of the album and drops the lines "and what I did eventually came back to me eventually" and "illegal activity controls my black symphony." Clearly, Redford was not a law-abiding citizen and the line "I was meant to be awake" shows that he died too early. Redford also must not have had a family who cared for him, "I wonder if my fam will remember me". When listening to the song at first, you may be tempted to say that the track is too short. Examining the lyrics closer, however, tell you that the song is perfect the way it is, for how much time do you really have before you're about to die?
3. Make My ft. Big K.R.I.T.
The first single off of Undun (and possibly the only one) is also the track where The Roots take the most risk in the album. I was thrilled to see that K.R.I.T. got together with the legendary crew for this, but I also questioned whether he could hold his own on a project that many believed not even The Roots themselves were capable of doing. The beginning of the song (which marks the end of Redford's life) has a slow intro but it picks up at about the :36 mark when ?uest's drums come in. K.R.I.T. gets the first verse and quickly shows why Thought and his crew must have had faith in him. A verse that hones in on the price of reaching "the steak lobster" life is told smoothly through K.R.I.T. (not that I didn't have faith in K.R.I.T. myself, but I always considered him a better producer than rapper). The hook plays into the theme K.R.I.T. describes and it done beautifully before Thought comes back onto the mic himself. Again, Thought does a terrific job with the material handed to him, even if his verse is short (the line "long robe of meurte" was ridiculous, in a good sense). The verse also fits perfectly with the video that accompanied this track. The song then takes it to a whole other level after the second hook, where The Roots go all Emerson, Lake & Palmer on us and probably jam one of the freshest two minutes I've heard all year. In all, everything about this song just works and it's a stunning piece of work, even for The Roots themselves.
4. One Time ft. Phonte & Dice Raw
Again, another collaboration I was excited for when I saw the tracklist (considering how great Phonte was on "Now or Never" and "The Day"). The transition moves into this seamlessly and it's possibly the climax of Redford's life. Redford makes a decision that will get him killed in this track, but that decision is actually carried out in the track previous. Here, Phonte kicks things off by explaining how Redford wants to turn away from his life and that he knows it's wrong, "I wish a nigga would
turn around and walk away/I wish a nigga could", but that "once you’ve had the best better ain’t as good/Weak-heartedness cannot be involved." The hook, which is spectacular once again, signifies how Redford wishes that just once, things may go his way. The piano chords in the back remind me much of "Radio Daze" and "Walk Alone", which is a common theme throughout the beginnings of this album in how similar it is with How I Got Over. While Thought's verse is good, Dice Raw is the one who really steals the show. "I wonder when you die do you hear harps and bagpipes/If you born on the other side of the crack pipe/Niggas learn math just to understand the crack price/Then drive in head first like the jack knife." How this dude has not gotten a solo deal to this point is beyond me. Otherwise, another success on Undun.
5. Kool On ft. P.O.R.N. & Truck North
A complete change of pace from the darkness that sets the tone early in the album, it's accompanied by something that sounds straight out of Thin Lizzy in the late 70's. The hook here isn't as strong as the previous tracks (although that's a pretty hard level to keep up), but it does establish clearly that this is the lone point in Redford's life where things are going well for him. P.O.R.N., who is no stranger to The Roots, lays down a boastful, but strong verse all the same, (the line "I am heroin to those hear rhyme" might have been too much). Still, he does something about 94% of all rappers do today anyways (brag about themselves, their riches and women) and does it in an intelligent way, which deserves props. Black Thought's verse is short and one of his weaker ones on Undun, but there's still flashes of brilliance such as the line "got 'em waiting on the news like Kronkite." I also thought the line "hustling anonymous" was also something to note, meaning that Redford was unknown to the outside world in his work. Truck North's verse fits somewhere in the middle between P.O.R.N.'s and Thought's and is a good way to close the track before one more hook. Despite the continued tempo and lack of anything to switch it up, I still found myself transfixed for the duration somehow.
6. The OtherSide ft. Bilal & P.O.R.N.
This wasn't one that jumped out at me immediately, but after a few listens, I warmed up quick. Thought absolutely destroys his verse ("getting cheese like omelettes is"?!?) and then picks it up and drops another one nearly as good as the first. I'm not sure whether this is his best effort on Undun, but it's a certainly a candidate. This song shows the debate between Redford and himself on whether or not he should turn to selling in order to make a living. “We’re all on a journey / Down the hall of memories / Don’t worry about what you ain’t got / leave with a little bit of dignity." Bilal, by the way, does a terrific job with his hook duties and it's also another highlight of this track. P.O.R.N. does a complete 180 from "Kool On" and is more serious on here, which he does a decent job in. I still liked his verse better in the previous track, but I guess I can't get too greedy.
7. Stomp ft. P.O.R.N.
The beat that I'm the least crazy about, it does have the feeling of a more west coast feel, specifically something from The Chronic: 2001 ("Still Dre" ring any bells?). P.O.R.N. does sound great on this however, and this seems like a beat much more suited to his style. It also represents Redford deciding to take a violent stance on dealing with his problems rather than trying to reason. The best part about this track though? It's short and it leads into...
8. Lighthouse ft. Dice Raw
...my favorite track of Undun. I had heard good things about this one surfing the internet a few days before the stream was released and it not only didn't disappoint me, it fucking blew me away. The first lines, which function as a sort of bridge, come from Raw who states: If you can‘t swizzim then ya bound to drizzown/Passing out life jackets bout to go didown/Get down with the captain or go down with the ship/Before the dark abyss I’m gon’ hit you wit dis," which tell me that Redford has come to point of desperation in his life where he may not make it through. The real treat of the track comes next however, when Raw, yes, Dice Raw drops the best hook of the entire album. I was amazed at how well Raw's voice sounded in melody (even with his past experience on "Radio Daze"). Raw isn't done yet, as he goes into the first verse and continues to stay on fire. The metaphor of suicide and almost drowning is so well done, especially with lines like "The waves come over my head and just crash/my hand start bleeding water starts receding" and "The fear of drowning still diving in the deep end/The waters carried me so far you can’t reach ‘em", that I could nearly picture myself for a brief moment in Redford's shoes. The ocean/drowning metaphor continues with Thought, who drops a more complex verse than Raw (the "maritime museum" line was deff. a highlight). It would be an injustice to forget that the music (which I've done a poor job of focusing on to this point) to this is extremely well composed. Because Owen Biddle left The Roots in August, I'm not sure if he helped record this, but whoever was on bass for this did a fantastic job and it really is a great supplement. A magnificent and inspiring track in all.
9. I Remember
It's hard to follow up such a powerful track as "Lighthouse" is, so it's to no surprise that this one isn't on the same standard as the one previous. Thought's verses are short, but he does have three of them, and the hook is solid. I thought ?uest's drums on here were stellar and helped carry the track more than anyone else, as he has done on many tracks previous in The Roots discography. The song touches on Redford reflecting on the choices he's made to this point and how he's lost going forward. It's a good song and I thought it certainly wasn't the worst on Undun, but it's also not a highlight.
10. Tip the Scale ft. Dice Raw
I think I can officially say to this point that without Dice Raw, this album would not nearly be what it ended up being. Again, Raw does a great job with his hook and he fits perfect with the tempo of the song. "I live life trying to tip the scale, my way" summarizes the feelings Redford has at this point in his life (and is in jail at the time of this track, at least from what I could gather). In a weird, but brilliant way, the song not only foreshadows the death of Redford, but also could provide a fitting end to Redford's life. The line "Only two ways out, Digging tunnels or digging graves out”, courtesy of Raw, also shows that this may be the point in Redford's life where he puts to rest any thoughts of trying to lead a life above the influences of the streets surrounding him. The violins and slow beat combined make this another track that showcases The Roots brilliance and also is one that helps carry Undun to its finale.
11. Redford
OK, so at this point, it should be noted that Undun is, in all fairness, done. However, listening to this and the final three tracks give a nice touch to the end of the album and also give more meaning musically. The final four tracks I've found are based on Sulfjan Stevens' work on his Michigan album, so feel free to check out the similarities between the two if you wish (I'm just not motivated enough at the current moment).
12. Possibility (2nd Movement)
Interlude.
13. Will to Power (3rd Movement)
Interlude.
14. Finality
Violins anddd were done.
Closing Statement: For all of my concerns and complaints about what I'd expect from Undun, these were put to rest quickly. Now, I will say that being this is a new release, I tend to be much more optimistic than I usually am (I've come back to earth a little on Lamar's Section.80 for example). However, that being said, this is a marvelous (yes, I just said marvelous and I'm not English nor over the age of 60) piece of work from The Roots. Lyrically, there is so much to consume here that it's impossible to catch everything with one, even two listens. Thought continues his case for being the best MC that nobody will ever recognize with another stellar performance and it's just about as good as his work on How I Got Over (which I considered the best body of work from Thought since Illadelph). Guest wise, it's another home run for The Roots, who were meticulous and careful on who they selected to appear on this. While Phonte and P.O.R.N. are both great in their own right, the two who really stood out to me were K.R.I.T. and Raw. K.R.I.T. showcased again why he may just be the most capable and diverse young rapper in the game today and also confirmed my belief that he's more mature than half the MC's over the age of 30 (to put this in perspective, he's more thoughtful than some of the greats right now, including Shady). The hooks are also extremely well done and this album has been mixed and mastered (with its seamless transitions) as good as you can get these days. The album is short, yes, but that's even more of the beauty of it. Redford died young, yet he may have had greatness inside him had he decided to lead his life differently. The same goes for Undun. The album shows incredible promise and is cut short before anyone wishes it would.
The Verdict: If you've been looking for the album of the year, you may have it with Undun. It's too early to hand it the hardware, but it's certainly one of the most complete albums I've heard in recent memory. One thing is for sure though, and that is that The Roots are the best musical group still producing relevant content today. My only question is: what could they possibly do next?
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