Things Fall Apart (album)

Infobox Album |
Name = Things Fall Apart
Type = studio
Artist = The Roots


Released = February 23, 1999
Recorded = 1997–1999
Electric Lady Studios
(New York, New York)
Genre = Hip hop, alternative hip hop, neo soul
Length = 70:34
Label = Geffen/MCA
MCAD-11948
Producer = The Grand Wizzards
Jay Dee
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:8lu67ui0o0jw link]
*Review-Christgau|B+|name=The+Roots
*"Entertainment Weekly" (B) [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,274564,00.html link]
*Pitchfork Media Rating|9.4|10 [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/21398-roots-things-fall-apart link]
*"Q" Rating|4|5 [http://www.tower.com/things-fall-apart-roots-cd/wapi/106620830 link]
*RapReviews Rating|8.5|10 [http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/1999_03_thingsfallapart.html link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|4|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/theroots/albums/album/5306746/review/6211853/things_fall_apart link]
*The Source Rating|4|5 [http://www.tower.com/things-fall-apart-roots-cd/wapi/106620830 link]
*"Spin" Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1104218# link]
*"Village Voice" (favorable) [http://www.villagevoice.com/music/9909,lewis,4246,22.html link]
*Yahoo! Music (favorable) [http://music.yahoo.com/read/review/12053920 link]
Last album = "Illadelph Halflife"
(1996)
This album = "Things Fall Apart"
(1999)
Next album = "The Legendary"
(1999)

"Things Fall Apart" is a studio album by the hip hop group The Roots, released February 23, 1999, on Geffen Records. The album is considered to be The Roots's breakthrough album, earning praise from major publications and critics, while becoming the group's first record to sell over 500,000 copies.cite web | url = http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS | title =RIAA Searchable Database - Search Results - The Roots | accessdate = 2008-08-08 | work=Recording Industry Association of America] It includes the song "You Got Me", which won the group a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. "Things Fall Apart" was also nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, [cite web | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/654530.stm | title =Santana's Grammy glory | accessdate = 2006-12-18 | work=BBC News] which was won by Eminem for "The Slim Shady LP". Rolling Stone called it a "top-flight record" [ [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/theroots/albums/album/5306746/review/6211853/things_fall_apart The Roots: Things Fall Apart : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone ] ] , while Allmusic.com cited it as "one of the cornerstone albums of alternative rap." [ [http://wc07.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:8lu67ui0o0jw allmusic ((( Things Fall Apart > Overview ))) ] ] The album takes its title from Chinua Achebe's novel of the same name.cite web | url = http://www.inkblotmagazine.com/rev-archive/Roots_Apart.htm | title = The Roots Things Fall Apart | accessdate = 2006-12-16 | last =Welte | first =Jim | work =Ink Blot Magazine] As of April 5, 1999, "Things Fall Apart" has been certified gold in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Recording

The recording of "Things Fall Apart" began in 1997 and was completed in early 1999. ?uestlove has stated that during this period, the group recorded upwards of around 145 songs, later whittling down their choices to 14 songs (intros and interludes withstanding). ?uestlove writes about each song from the album in its liner notes. Retrieved on April 22,2007 (Pg 6)] The last song to be included to the final selection was "Double Trouble", featuring Mos Def. Initially, the song was supposed to feature a guest appearance from Mos' Black Star partner, Talib Kweli but due to the format of the track, it was decided to make it a throwback to the Run D.M.C./EPMD tag-team style of rap, with just two MCs. ?uestlove writes about each song from the album in its liner notes. Retrieved on April 22,2007 (Pg 6)]

The album's opening track, "Act Won", contains an excerpt from the Spike Lee film, "Mo' Better Blues". The excerpt is from a scene where Denzel Washington and Wesley Snipes are discussing the current state of African American music (or culture in general) after a gig.cite web | url =http://www.yaleherald.com/archive/xxvii/1999.02.26/ae/p13roots.html | title =The Roots's Things Fall Apart | accessdate = 2006-12-16 | last =Landy | first =Ben | work =The Yale Herald] The track "Act Too (The Love of My Life)", originally an interlude that evolved into a full song, features Common, whose verse is a continuation of his song "I Used to Love H.E.R.", off his 1994 album "Resurrection", in which Common speaks of hip hop as a woman. However, ?uestlove has stated that this is not "I used to love H.E.R. (the daughter), rather it is a "reflection on the evolution of hip hop, through our eyes." ?uestlove writes about each song from the album in its liner notes. Retrieved on April 22,2007 (Pg 8) ] Beanie Sigel made his debut on the track "Adrenaline!", after tagging along to a weekly jam session held by the group in Philadelphia. ?uestlove writes about each song from the album in its liner notes. Retrieved on April 22, 2007(Pg 10) ] Eve (at the time, signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath label, and known as Eve of Destruction) also made her debut on "Things Fall Apart", on the track, "You Got Me".

"You Got Me" was co-written by Jill Scott who recorded vocals for the song's chorus and bridge. ?uestlove writes about each song from the album in its liner notes. Retrieved on April 22,2007 (Pg 11)] Her part was subsequently re-recorded by Erykah Badu at the insistence of MCA, who wanted a higher profile collaboration for the album's official lead single (at the time, Scott was relatively unknown outside of Philadelphia). When the group later went on tour, Scott joined them during performances of the song. "You Got Me" caught on quickly with radio and later MTV, giving the group a much needed boost in terms of sales and exposure. Its Grammy win provided a second round of success. The outside musicians who contributed to the album (mainly D'Angelo, James Poyser, and Jay Dee) went on to form the Soulquarians collective with ?uestlove and Pino Palladino.

Reception

The album was widely regarded as the group's most fully realized work. Critics praised it for its sobering themes, sonic quality, and fluid, cohesive sequencing, with Rolling Stone calling it a "top-flight record" and lead MC, Black Thought a "lyricist's lyricist with a hard, earnest voice that doesn't flow like water but bobs and weaves with less-predictable rhythms".cite web | url =http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/theroots/albums/album/5306746/review/6211853/things_fall_apart | title = Things Fall Apart | accessdate = 2006-12-16 | author =Toure| work =Rolling Stone] UK magazines such as Q gave it 4 out of 5 stars and Mojo says that the album is "the stunner they've always promised: the first candidate for hip hop album of 1999....in a hip-hop world dominated by well-worn pop samples and rap rewrites of 80's chart hits, such risk-taking should be cherished". [cite web | url =http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=1507006&dm=t&recfrom=Things+Fall+Apart-4438913 | title =Things Fall Apart | accessdate = 2006-12-18 | work=Tower records Editorial reviews product notes. ] Marie Elsie St. Léger of Barnes and Noble wrote in her review that the album had "Unfussy yet precise production, irresistible beats, and smooth rhymes. Few albums manage to simultaneously be this informative, political, and downright groovy." [cite web | url = http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?ean=008811194826&z=y#Reviews | title =Barnes & Noble.com - Music:Things Fall Apart, The Roots,CD | accessdate = 2007-05-22 | work=Barnes&Noble.com] Fans responded with as much enthusiasm, and the album shipped Gold in sales. [cite web | url = http://xxlmag.com/online/?p=3920 | title =The Roots The Paybacks | accessdate = 2006-12-18 | work=XXL magazine]

Track listing

"All tracks produced by Grand Wizzards except where otherwise noted."
#"Act Won (Things Fall Apart)" :55
#*Contains excerpts from the motion picture "Mo' Better Blues"
#"Table of Contents (Parts 1&2)" – 3:37
#"The Next Movement" – 4:10 (featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff)
#"Step Into the Realm" – 2:50
#"The Spark" – 3:52
#"Dynamite!" – 4:46 (produced by Jay Dee)
#"Without a Doubt" – 4:13 (featuring Lady B)
#*Contains samples of "Saturday Night" by Schooly D
#"Ain't Sayin Nothin' New" – 4:34 (featuring Dice Raw)
#"Double Trouble" – 5:50 (featuring Mos Def)
#"Act Too (The Love of My Life)" – 4:55 (featuring Common)
#"100% Dundee" – 3:54
#"Diedre vs. Dice" :47 (featuring Dice Raw)
#"Adrenaline!" – 4:27 (featuring Dice Raw & Beanie Sigel)
#"3rd Act: ? vs. Scratch 2...Electric Boogaloo" :52
#"You Got Me" – 4:19 (featuring Erykah Badu & Eve)
#"Don't See Us" – 4:30 (featuring Dice Raw)
#"The Return to Innocence Lost" – 11:55 (performed by Ursula Rucker)
#*"Act Fore (The End?)" (Hidden track)

Album covers

For a limited time period, "Things Fall Apart" was made available with a choice of five different front covers. One such cover displays a photograph taken during a riot in the Civil Rights Movement era. In the stark black and white photo, riot police are seen chasing two black teenagers on the streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant. In 2005, this cover was included in the book, "The Greatest Album Covers Of All Time" by Barry Miles, Grant Scott & Johnny Morgan, and published by Collins & Brown.

Chart history

Album

ingles

Credits

Performance credits

The Roots - Primary Artist

D'Angelo - Keyboards

Marie Daulne - Background Vocals
Larry Gold - Viola
Bob Power - Synthesizer

James Poyser - Keyboards

Scott Storch - Keyboards

Dice Raw - Vocals

Erykah Badu - Background Vocals
Igor Szwec - Violin
Anthony Tidd - Guitar

Common - Vocals

Mos Def - Vocals

Ursula Rucker - Poetry

Eve - Vocals

Beanie Sigel - Vocals

References

External links

* [http://www.theroots.com/ Roots Home Page]