Questo of The Roots
On Sunday 20th June 2010, @questlove said:
"so will will you guys be using .....you know....instruments this time around?"
this is the question that BURNS me everytime im asked.
mainly because i don't have the energy to explain that not only are we master instrumentalists but damnit our engineering game is BAR NONE (ok...i'll say that The Dap King's Gabe Roth has me on "vintagology", but since i wisely employed him to engineer the 3rd Roots 2010 Booker T album, ive been taking notes so close i swear by 2012 i will kill the game in live instrument disguise making.
see NOW i can talk about it.
the rejection/we wont let them play in our reindeer games swift kick in the arse is what killed the "organic" sound of organix/do you want more?!!?!!
(for newcomers that need the cliff notes roots for dummies guide: all 11 of our records have been a complete 180 turn., the result being the most confused fan base in hip hop---here is a guide)
1993 organix (if you loved digable planets you'd love this, if you loved the chronic you thought this was soft)
1995 do you want more?!!?!? (if you loved the jazzoetry of organix you were mad as SHIT, cause the rhyming was more aggressive with the music and less jazz and poetry was used. if you NEVER heard of the roots and this was your first experience you loved this album)
1996 illadelph halflife (if you loved the freshness of DYWM you were mad as shit as this album was dark, hard edged and bitter. the jazz was all but gone. and we felt more like wu/deep. but if you loved you esoteric rap with some balls this was the first green light. and getting a near classic 4.5 in the then credible source definitely helped)
1999 things fall apart (if you loved the edge and darkness of illadelph, you didn't like this direction, too breezy too "neo"y, nothing hard like "clones" or riq's "no alibi", but with 9 other acts making the same unified move the world FINALLY embraced us, gave us our first platinum disc and a movement was born.
1999 the roots come alive (if you loved our show by this point, and were wondering where the centerpiece of the show (hip hop 101) was you were MAD.)
2002 phrenology (if you loved the consciousness afrocentric neoness of our native tongue soulquarian movement, then you HATED this record. we played every card that we WEREN"T supposed to play: (karate fx of wu past "rock you", bad brainisms "!!!!!!", pop hooks "sacrifice", rock songs "the seed", rnbullshit "break you off", snitchin "water", blatant sampling "thought @ work", cheesy commercial preaching "pussy galore", pretentiousness spoken word free jazz "something in the way of things"....---pretty much the taboo album. however...if you loved those things this was the album you were waiting for)
2004 the tipping point (if you loved the schizo nature of phrenology, then you felt this album was too cotdamn "normal", it does speak volumes that our least "Arty" normal album is still a favorite with the black fanbase that has always ignored us in the past.
2005 the only people mean enough to snark a goodie bag like our Homegrown double disc was pitchfork. but then again they were out for blood since the tipping point so .....*shrug?*
2006 game theory (if you loved the roots as this happy go lucky band you thought we were then the killjoy mournfulness of GT killed you softly like "there's a riot goin on" for hip hop.
2008 rising down (if the mellow/chollyness of GT was your speed, than this anger middle finger at the government was not a welcome embrace.---but if you were living in the real world and knew how effed up it was....this was for you....
but man.
fingers were pointing at me like something horrible when we made illadelph halflife.
the silent accusation was my production of "do you want more" was corny and soft for the status quo. so the chip on the shoulder was forever there and we were never the same.
i just had this "i will not be denied" stance.
and part of it was studying every aspect of engineering so i could know what type of sound to go for that the average musician (mint, tonys, lokey, fugees) was not going for.
of course we did it so good most people think "oh them mofos just STOPPED playing instruments"
no.
we just perfected the sonic madness.
here is a great example.
"web 2020" was done with instruments.
dont sound like it huh?
http://bit.ly/crAK1k
here is the recipe:
1994's "fried chicken" by the beatnuts
+ 16 years later when it comes on my ipod
+ ribbon mic placed on the floor of the drums
+ a rehearsal disc from sandwich making (kamal's "KLANG!!" noise
+ a mock tongue pop (ala drop it like its hot)
+ infinite plug ins effects
equals what you hear now.
if stripped away it wouldn't sound as aggressive.
but this is the difference tween musicians and producers.
the job is 20% done if you just play the music.
the art is ENGINEERING.
anywho.....ill talk more.
class over.
Short: http://tl.gd/20b4gl
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