Easily the most solid front-to-back record the Legendary Roots Crew has thrown together since Things Fall Apart. In recent memory The Roots have let too much filler slip into their work, but this one is squeaky clean and dripping with substance...take a combination of killer guest spots from both new (Blu, Joanna Newsome, Jim James) and old collaborators (P.O.R.N., Dice Raw, Truck North), Black Thought rarely missing while championing an unshakably steady flow, and ?uestlove leading everyone through the tightest of backings, tight-roping between sultry jazz ("Walk Alone", "Radio Daze") and leg-kicking funk("How I Got Over", "The Fire") and you got yourself a modern day hip-hop classic. Lyrically, Black Thought's bars don't shy away from his usual political skepticism, but examine the more personal and insecure corners of his psyche...look no further than the inquisitorial opening to the Monster of Folk re-working "Dear God 2.0", where he asks for God but is told "he's busy, hold the line please." There may be more question than explanations here, but at least now we have an answer to what the best hip-hop album of 2010 is so far.
Buy: The Roots - How I Got Over
MySpace: The Roots
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