VOL № E86 — February 2020
Phrenology
The Roots
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After three years reeling from a new visibility, The Roots resurfaced on the other side of the new millennium by making the deliberate choice to move forward. Phrenology, a flip of the discredited racialized pseudoscience, surges to life through a retracing of the lineage of Black music. The album revels in reinvention, leaving traces of Soulquarian magic while blatantly swerving the neo-soul box that brought them success.
On its face, it’s frantic, indulgent, and the signature raucous Roots energy; beneath, it’s an extended meditation on what happens to hip-hop post-commodification, supported by a ceaseless barrage of beats and rhymes. The social tensions loop in the background, Black Thought aims in every direction, and The Roots crew lean into their pop/crossove...
LP 1 / Side A
| 1 Phrentrow |
| 2 Rock You |
| 3 !!!!!!! |
| 4 Sacrifice |
| 5 Rolling With Heat |
| 6 WAOK (Ay) Rollcall |
LP 1 / Side B
| 1 Thought @ Work |
| 2 The Seed (2.0) |
| 3 Break You Off |
LP 2 / Side C
| 1 Water (The First Movement / The Abyss / The Drowning) |
| 2 Quills |
| 3 Pussy Galore |
LP 2 / Side D
| 1 Complexity |
| 2 Something In The Way Of Things (In Town) |
| 3 Rhymes and Ammo |
| 4 Thirsty! |
