The most highly respected crew in hip-hop are back with the excellent long
player Phrenology. This is a musical journey that sees The Roots kick down
musical barriers and explore every facet of hip-hop - so nothing new there
then.
Rock You provides the perfect start to Phrenology as it is explosive hip-hop
in its purest form, which then bizarrely morphs into a 24 second thrash
metal tune. I don’t know how The Roots manage to blend such alien forms of
music, but they do.
Break You Off is the first single, and this is beautifully mellow hip-hop
with Musiq providing a perfectly smooth chorus, as does Nelly Furtado on the
wonderful Sacrifice.
There is some raw, raw hip-hop on Phrenology as well as the smooth stuff,
and Thought @ Work is probably the best example of this. The classic Apache
beat is used to great effect and Black Thought spits heavy rhymes one after
the other as only he can.
Pussy Galore is the other real standout track on Phrenology - with a chorus
which is a remake of De La’s classic posse cut Buddy.
Phrenology confirms the general consensus that The Roots are the most
talented hip-hop crew around and I would urge everyone with an interest in
hip-hop to pick up a copy.
www.theroots.com
www.mcahiphop.com
Reviewed by Fraser Syme
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