The Roots

The Roots are an influential Philadelphia-based hip hop group, known for innovative lyrics and live instrumentation. Inspired by the "hip-hop band" concept pioneered by Stetsasonic, the Roots themselves have garnered critical acclaim and influenced later hip-hop and R&B acts.

Recording history

The Roots' debut album, Organix, was actually a live recording from a concert in Germany that the Roots sold at their shows. The album earned enough industry buzz to earn the Roots offers from major record labels, and they signed with DGC records, which at the time was better known for its grunge music releases.

Related Topics:
Germany - DGC - Grunge

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The Roots' first album for DGC, Do You Want More?!!!??! (recorded live without the use of samples), was a moderate hit on alternative radio, but their second album, Clones, was their first to become a hit in the hip-hop arena, hitting the top five on the Rap charts. Their (1996) release, Illadelph Halflife, was their first album to crack the Top 40 on Billboard's album chart, spurred in part by MTV's airplay of the video for "What They Do," a parody of rap video clichés such as the "beatdown shot."

Related Topics:
Samples - Alternative - 1996 - Billboard's - MTV

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In 1999, The Roots released Things Fall Apart (named after Things Fall Apart, a novel by Chinua Achebe), their breakthrough album. The track "You Got Me," duet with R&B singer Erykah Badu, earned them a Grammy award for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group.

Related Topics:
1999 - Things Fall Apart - Novel - Chinua Achebe - R&B - Erykah Badu - Grammy

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2002's Phrenology introduced a more mainstream sound for the Roots, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album. The album's sales were boosted by radio and TV airplay for two duets on the album, "Break U Off" (featuring Musiq Soulchild) and "The Seed 2.0" (featuring Cody ChestnuTT). The video for "The Seed 2.0" earned a nomination for the MTV2 Award at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. Phrenology was certified gold (signifying U.S. sales of at least 500,000 units) in June 2003.

Related Topics:
2002's - Phrenology - Musiq Soulchild - Cody ChestnuTT - MTV Video Music Award

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The Roots' 2003 release, The Tipping Point, took its name from a 2000 book by Malcolm Gladwell. The album earned two more Grammy nominations: one for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for the track "Star," and another for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group for the track "Don't Say Nuthin'." The album was an immediate hit, debuting at #4 on the Billboard album chart and selling over 100,000 copies in its first week of release.

Related Topics:
2003 - The Tipping Point - Book - Malcolm Gladwell

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The Roots' upcoming album is entitled The Game Theory, and will be released on Def Jam Records.

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