The Tipping Point (Geffen)

For more than a decade, Philadelphia’s the Roots have been a conscientious and innovative force on the margins of hip-hop. With live instrumentation and an eclectic musical agenda, their career reached its apotheosis on Phrenology (2002). Although it was a sprawling, consistently brilliant album, it failed to move the Roots nearer to the upper echelons of the charts, which is perhaps why their seventh album sounds like a rather indignant bid for success. “It’s our time to shine,” asserts the rapper Black Thought on the opening track — a wonderful interpolation of Sly & The Family Stone’s Everybody is a Star.

It’s reassuring that the Roots’ desire to become more accessible has been achieved without damaging their integrity. Break Beat — an old-school rap track — is particularly outstanding. But one aspect rankles: since they seem so unapologetic about targeting the mainstream, their sanctimonious attitude towards the shallowness of their peers lacks a certain grace.



John Mulvey

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