Disco de The Roots: “Do You Want More?!!!??! [PA]”

I bought this album back in 95. I havent stopped listening to it since. I remember people at my school had no idea who The Roots were. I told them "You will soon enough". Unfortunately it took about 4 more years until the rest of the world found out who these guys were. I have every Roots album (Including the somewhat hard to find "Organix CD) and I must admit this is there best. The beats are hypnotizing. The rhymes are just pure improvinizational masterpieces!! Everything on this album works. In a time when a lot of hip hop is just glamorizing and showboating...its refreshing to hear music like this. Ok I'll stop boring everyone just go out and buy this album you wont be dissapointed!!!!!!!!!

Flashback to the Hip Hop scene of 1993-1994. To parallel the jazz split between East Coast Hard Bop and West coast cool of the late 50s, is the emergence of the G-funk movement in the west as East coast rappers grew progressively hardcore and millitant. Musically, this would be a low point for afficionados of this genre who refused to be polarized into either extreme. Enter the Roots.

While previous forays into merging hip hop and jazz (see A Tribe Called Quest and Digable Planets) relied heavily on sampling, the Roots must surely be unique with a sound crafted with acoustic instruments from very competent musicians. With a name like "Black Thought", resident lyricist with the Roots, one would expect his message to be peppered with heavy political overtones. Not quite. With a flow that relies heavily on scatting, he confesses to being "raised in the cellar with a rhythm like Ella", no doubt, a significant influence in his style.

Drummer Ahmir Thompson is the instrumental musician holding down the mix. That much is evident to the casual listener. He plays with a jazz sensitivity but his pounding backbeats lets the listener know that this is primarily a HipHop record. No simple task as most of todays acid jazz records feature a drummer wandering around aimlessly torn between the two genres. Thompson's work is even more impressive on D'Angelo's "Voodoo".

These days, the tracks on the album read like acid jazz classics. "Proceed", "I remain calm", "Mellow my man", and the live "Essaywhuman?!!!?" with a refreshing take on gospel influenced call and response. The self-described organic feel of the album contrasts directly with just about all else in Hip Hop. You know that you're hearing real musicians play real instruments. These guys cut their teeth in jazz clubs and not the studio.

As technically proficient as this group is, music, after all, must be felt. Give these guys a listen, especially if you're into A Tribe Called Quest, Guru, Mc Solaar and Digable Planets.

Highly recommended.

When visiting the University of Wisconsin, Madison, a friend of mine came across this CD laying on the street. He picked it up, put it in his CD player, and proceded to have one of the best listening experiences of his life.

This album is off the hook. Fly, rad, chill, whatever the kids are saying these days... or should it be dayz? The lyrics are insteresing and thought provoking, and the style is smooth, and relaxing. Real instruments, not synthesizers, provide the mellow background beats that accompany the beautiful vocals. Do You Want More?!!!?! features musicians and rappers whose stylings complement one another and have incredible chemistry. It is rare to find an album that flows so well from track to track.

My favorite song by the Roots is Distortion to Static, but every other song on this CD is excellent. Although Phrenology and Come Alive are more popular, this is my favorite Roots Album. (Not to say that the others aren't good.)

Ideally you should listen to this album driving down the highway with your windows down in a warm, sunny day. Pick this one up, its "essential."

For musical snobs such as myself an album is considered a success if even three out of ten tracks stand out. In my opinion DYWM is not only The Roots' best album (with the exception of Organix, which I have not yet had the honour of obtaining), but is also one of the greatest works to have come out of the Jazz-Hop era.

As many of you would have heard, DYWM was recorded with 100% live instrumentation, and this works to perfection. In fact, this is the only hip-hop album with which I have found myself singing along to the instrumental lines, taking no heed of the lyrics. The instrumental lines are sharp, but never intrusive upon Black Thought's and Malik B's flow; jazzy enough to give the songs a unique texture, but not over-intricate to distract the listener from the vocals.

Black Thought and Malik B are perhaps one of the most made-for-each-other duos in hip-hop, bouncing off one another effortlessly on each track. Their lyrical presentation is crisp and fresh and provides a delicious counterpoint to the smooth, flowing instrumental lines. Both rappers have mastered the art of tonal variation (something not seen these days in commercial rap) and use it with wonderful effect on tracks such as Mellow My Man and Essaywhuman.

One of the great strengths of Do You Want More is that it has a near-perfect balance of quality music and accessibility, making it a great gateway album for those interested in The Roots or hip-hop in general. I would recommend this album to anyone - even those that are not yet into hip-hop. DYWM provides a great sample of The Roots' musical ability and will certainly leave you wanting more.

This was the second album that I picked up from The Roots (the first was The Tipping Point) and it has to be a real nice album to enjoy from beginning to end. It sounds like that they are at a live secession when recording this, with the instruments and the vocals. The second song gets the album going with the lead single "Proceed I" (There are about 5 different versions of this song on a bunch of 12" singles somewhere) as lead member Black Thought spits two verses, then Malik B finishes up the song. "Distortion To Static" is a song that features a bunch of laughter as the background vocals as the chorus. A standout track would be the song "Mellow My Man" as Black Thought passes the mic to Malik B on both verses. "I Remain Calm" is a loud track with drums. I couldn't decipher what the woman was saying in the back until a previous reviewer said she was saying "What the hell is this?", but Malik B and Black Thought come correct on this one. "Lazy Afternoon" as many people should have realized Black Though spits the same verse 3 times, each with a little more attitude than the previous. Rahzel would do his thing on the interlude "? vs. Rahzel". Another hot track is the title song "Do You Want More?!!!??!" as Black Thought rhymes over some bagpipes and drums that are played throughout the song. My only knock on this song is that Black Thought spits one solid verse and the track closes out with the title repeated with a few ad-libs. I was hoping he or Malik B would add another verse to the song. "What Goes On Part 7" is another laid back Roots style track with some tounge clicking curteosy of Rahzel. "Essaywhumam?!!!??!" gives me a somewhat of a confirmation that this was a live secession being recorded as instruments play and Black Thought handles the vocals, eventhough he doesn't rap. "Swept Away" is a song with a with a snare being played with a soft horn being played through the song, making it another standout. "You Ain't Fly" is a song about dissing some girl that rejected them, and yes ?uestion (now ?uestlove) raps on this song too, so its something worth hearing. "Silent Treatment" is a long song by Black Thought about a female that he liked (The group City High would sample this for that hit song "Carmel" about 4 years ago), as the music gives a relaxing feel. The listener should get out of that relaxed mode as the next track "The Lesson Part 1" as Black Thought and Dice Raw freestyle the entire track (Dice goes on for a good minute). Ursela Rucker would come by and drop a spoken word poem, that you have to listen real hard to understand what shes [really] saying other than the graphic words. I like it, because its somethig different that I've never heard on a hip hop album (whats funny is that Yvette's cell rings interrupting the poem somewhere in the middle). A great way to close the album off with something like this (I don't know and won't get into what the heck Rahzel does after the long silence following the spoken word.)

Overall this is a nice album, and a great experience to listeners to those who like hip hop with the help of live instruments. My only knock is that some songs they can give me a headache such as "Daskat" because of its loudness, but it doesn't take away from the album. I recommend this to all fans of Hip Hop, fans of live music and fans of the Roots, you can't go wrong.

Lyrics: A-

Production: A+ (live instruments)

Musical Vibes: A

Overall: A

Standout tracks: Proceed I, Mellow My Man, Swept Away, Do You Want More?!!!??!, and The Lesson Pt. 1