The Observer, September 29, 2006
Volume XXXIX, Issue 5
Grammy-winning Roots hit campus this Saturday
Do you know who the Roots are? If you don't, get to know them before Saturday, when this Grammy-winning hip hop group hits Adelbert Gymnasium at 7 p.m. for this year's "One Big" UPB-sponsored concert.
"I've never heard of the Roots before, but I guess they seem to do good work. I don't know, I've never heard them play before," said senior Chad Tang.
His thoughts were echoed by quite a few around campus. I did a quick impromptu poll the other day; nothing terribly scientific (I know, blasphemy. Sorry Case, I'll try harder next time). About half of the people I talked to had heard of the Roots before; the other half hadn't the slightest idea who they are. Of the half that had heard of them, half of those had actually heard their music before.
I did some quick research online. Rolling Stone gave all five of their last five albums at least a three star rating, with two fours and a three and a half. Metacritic gave their latest album, Game Theory, an 84, giving them the thirteenth highest rating for all albums of 2006. This impressive group won a Grammy in 1999 for the single "You Got Me" featuring Erykah Badu, and they've been nominated twice since then. They've also been rated one of the best live acts by Rolling Stone.
The critics love them. They've been making waves and influencing other hip hop groups since 1987. Why aren't they more well-known?
The Roots have always been a hip hop group that goes against the grain. They're closer to Common, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli than they are to Jay-Z, Diddy, Dre, or Snoop Dogg. In a sense, they have two strikes against them coming out of the gate: people that might like the Roots if given a chance dismiss them because they declare with a blanket statement that they hate all rap, and people who like mainstream rap dismiss them as "backpackers," underground, and too experimental.
As Rolling Stone puts it, the Roots lack a crazy outstanding personality in the group, someone like Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas. Their frontman, Black Thought, an MC critics regularly praise for clean delivery and creative rhymes, doesn't live for the spotlight. Their most well-known member, drummer and producer ?uestlove, also happens to shun the spotlight, though I did catch him in a commercial for ESPN Monday night football.
But of the people that know the Roots, almost all love their originality, energy, and raw sound. "They're real old school political. It's pretty sweet," said freshman Jared Urchek.
Maybe The Roots still aren't for you. It's OK; it's understandable. I mean, the greatest group in the history of the world isn't for everybody; not everybody can handle the intensity. If you're reading this and saying to yourself, "Yeah, man! That's me!" then you're in luck, because UPB is looking out for you.
Instead of having two big concerts this year, UPB has decided to reallocate its budget. "UPB Concerts is only having one big concert this year, because consolidating the big concert budget allowed us to get a very well known group [the Roots]. This method saved the committee money, which we plan on giving to the Springfest concert budget. This way, there will be two well known bands coming to campus," said Tran Tran, UPB Concerts committee co-chair. In addition, by having one well-known band in the fall, the fall Spot Nights will be smaller, which opens up the budget for more and bigger Spot Nights in the spring. Spring Spot Nights will feature more indie bands to cater to the other end of the spectrum, in the flavor of Cat Power or Gris Gris, so no one will feel left out.
Hopefully, the show will sell out; this is UPB's goal, at least. Unfortunately, as of Monday, only 200 advance tickets had been sold. But with the largest portion of the year's concert budget going to this event, don't you owe it to yourself to check it out? And for five dollars, who could say no? "It's a good deal for five dollars. I am excited. Thoroughly," said Urchek.
To recap, the Roots will be playing this year's biggest concert at Adelbert Gymnasium at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Scratch Track will open; doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for faculty and staff, and $20 for all others. Check it out!
