Organic sounds flow on Things Fall Apart

By JAMES CONROY
Collegian Staff Writer

"It's all about the Benjamins, baby."

If anyone is looking for the major problem in hip-hop, look no further than the words of Puff Daddy. Instead of rapping for the love of it, too many hip-hop artists rap for the money.

This is one of the reasons the Philadelphia-based act The Roots refrains from calling its music hip-hop. The Roots' members prefer the term "organic hip-hop jazz" -- a term that explains the group and its latest release, Things Fall Apart, perfectly.

Unlike most hip-hop acts, The Roots don't employ a DJ -- although fellow Philadelphian DJ Jazzy Jeff does make an appearance on Things Fall Apart.

Instead, The Roots create melodies with actual instruments. With drummer ?uestlove, bassist Hub and keyboardist/guitarist Kamal, The Roots create music Puff Daddy and The Family never dreamed of.

Hip-hop artists seldom use actual drumbeats or keyboards, but The Roots pull it off. The group creates the kind of "thinking man's rap" De La Soul is known for, but The Root's rapper and bandleader Black Thought still can battle with any MC out there.

With creative melodies and the intellectual raps of Malik B. and Black Thought, The Roots seem poised to take over where A Tribe Called Quest left off.

In the song "Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New," The Roots ask the question "What's the cure for this hip-hop cancer?"

The answer, it appears, is The Roots. And the myriad of hip-hop artists who appear on Things Fall Apart only back up that point.

Along with turntablist DJ Jazzy Jeff, The Roots also employ R&B crooner D'Angelo.

But instead of using D'Angelo for his voice, The Roots use his keyboard skills, which often are overlooked.

On "Double Trouble," Black Thought trades rhymes with Black Star's Mos Def, bringing together two of today's best MCs.

While on "Act Too (The Love of My Life)," a song about their love of hip-hop, Black Thought matches lyrics with guest rapper Common.

"Act Too," though The Roots deny it in their liner notes, is a follow-up to Common's song "I Used to Love H.E.R.," a song about the demise of Common's true love -- hip-hop. On "Act Too," Common describes "this hip-hop cancer":

"Caught in the Hype Williams, and lost H.E.R. direction . . . /H.E.R. Daddy'll beat her, eyes all Puff-ed."

The album's best track is the first single "You Got Me," featuring Erykah Badu. Badu professes her loyalty, singing "If you are worried 'bout where/I been or who I say or/what club I went to with my homies/baby don't worry you know that you got me."

As the song comes to an end, drummer ?uestlove shows his skills by breaking out into a jungle-style beat, and Black Thought explains, "But, sometimes relationships get ill."

And sometimes, Things Fall Apart.