Continuing the top ten with an amazing album from Philly's finest...
"The devil want me as is, but God, he want more" - "Walk Alone"
In 2009, Philadelphia's best Hip-Hop act signed on to be the backing band for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a move interpreted by pop culture pundits to be a descent into fogeyism and irrelevance. Critics predicted musical stagnation, as their contractual obligation to perform every night on a talk show would obviously hamper their creativity and tame their edgier sensibilities. Well, the critics were half-right. How I Got Over is considerably smoother and less "underground" than Rising Down or Game Theory, but the loose improvisational style the band perfected in their live concerts and further honed on Fallon (they would mesh their signature style with whoever the musical guest was on a nightly basis) contributed greatly to the cohesiveness and jazzy and soulful feel of How I Got Over. Jimmy Fallon's musical taste must have contributed, to some degree, to the musical choices made by the Roots on How I Got Over. Fallon is a noted fan of Indie Rock, and How I Got Over features apperances by the ladies from The Dirty Projectors and samples Jim James and Joanna Newsom. The Roots' embrace of blogosphere favorites blended perfectly with their standard R&B and Hip-Hop influences, modernizing what would have otherwise been considered a throwback album.
Though How I Got Over is special for the way it defies listener expectations, its greatness comes from how frickin' tight it is. Each song bleeds flawlessly into the next one, building on the central theme of surviving in the 21st century. "Walk Alone" comments on the struggles of individualism in Hip-Hop and in American society. "Dear God 2.0" uses a Monsters of Folk sample to expound upon the world's horrors, as Black Thought plays the role of Job, trying to believe while his world collapses around him. "How I Got Over" features singing from Black Thought and Dice Raw, riding one of ?uestlove's finest breakbeats to create a modern soul classic, akin to a Hip-Hop version of Stevie Wonder's "Living for the City." Though Black Thought and guest MCs (most notably Blu & Phonte) lay on the social realism pretty hard, the airy, jazz-inflected beats imbue a lightness to what would be an impossibly dark album if accompanied by Game Theory's or Rising Down's heavy backing tracks.
Though much of the album reflects on the impossibility of living in Urban America, a few of these tracks provide perfect soundtracks for a lazy summer day. "Radio Daze" is the breeziest Roots song in recent memory and the chillest since "What They Do." Blu and Black Thought leave behind the social realism to focus on wordplay, and the results are sublime. "Right On" naturally appropriates Joanna Newsom, whose music is probably the opposite of Hip-Hop, with DJ scratches and Black Thought and STS clearly revelling in the absurdity of the track. The climactic and most inspirational track on the entire album is "The Fire," a John Legend feature, in which Black Thought synthesizes the major themes of the entire album and revels in the inner spirit that allows people to overcome their daily struggles. ?uestlove's beat drives and pulsates, and John Legend wails euphorically.
Ultimately, How I Got Over proves that The Roots can probably continue to do what they do for another 20 or 30 years, since they'll always be able to fuse the original and familiar into a unique and soulful mix.
Standout Tracks: "How I Got Over," "Right On," (weird video, but good audio) "The Fire," "Radio Daze,"
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