The Roots' original lineup included Black Thought (MC vocals) and Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson (drums), who were classmates at the Philadelphia High School for Creative Performing Arts. As they began to play at school and on the streets, they added another MC named Malik B., bassist Leonard Hubbardand keyboardist Scott Storch. Another MC, Dice Raw, frequently made album appearances with the group from 1995 to 1999 before leaving to record a solo album. Scott Storch also left to pursue career as a producer following the Do You Want More?!!!??! album, He produced songs such as Still D.R.E. by Dr Dre. The Roots filled his void with another keyboardist, Kamal who is still a member. A beatboxer named Rahzel also joined the group and contributed from 1995-1999. Alongside Rahzel was vocal turntablist, Scratch who greatly contributed to The Roots' sound, most notably in live concerts. He left the group in 2003. Malik B. left the group in 2000. A guitarist, Ben Kenney, enjoyed a short stint with the group and contributed to their Phrenology album, but left to join Incubus. A percussionist, Knuckles, was added in 2002 and guitarist, Kirk Douglas (a.k.a. "Captain Kirk") repleaced Kenney. A vocalist, Martin Luther toured with The Roots in 2003 and 2004 and contributed to their album The Tipping Point. The current members of The Roots are Black Thought (MC vocals), ?uestlove (drums), Hub (bass), Kamal (keyboard), Knuckles (percussion), and Captain Kirk (guitar).
The Roots' debut album, Organix released in 1993, was actually a live recording from a concert in Germany that the Roots sold at their shows. The album earned enough industry buzz to earn the Roots offers from major record labels, and they signed with DGC records, which at the time was better known for its grunge music releases.
The Roots' first album for DGC, Do You Want More?!!!??! (recorded live without the use of samples), was a moderate hit on alternative radio. Their 1996 release Illadelph Halflife was the group's first album to crack the Top 40 on Billboard's album chart, spurred in part by MTV's airplay of the video for "What They Do", a parody of rap video clichés such as the "beatdown shot," and "Clones" which was their first to single to reach the top five on the rap charts.
In 1999, The Roots released Things Fall Apart (named after a novel by Chinua Achebe), their breakthrough album. The track "You Got Me", duet with R'n'B singer Erykah Badu, earned them a Grammy award for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group.
In 2000, Dice Raw left the group to record his solo debut album, Reclaiming the Dead.
The Roots' reputation as a hip-hop live band made Jay-Z call on them for his MTV Unplugged album in 2002. The album featured good recreations of many of his great songs, played by the band with a little help from female vocalist Jaguar Wright.
2002's Phrenology introduced a more mainstream sound for the Roots, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album. The album's sales were boosted by radio and TV airplay for two duets on the album, "Break You Off" (featuring Musiq Soulchild) and "The Seed 2.0" (featuring Cody ChestnuTT). The video for "The Seed 2.0" earned a nomination for the MTV2 Award at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. "The Seed" was also featured on the soundtrack to the Mandy Moore movie Chasing Liberty. Phrenology was certified gold (signifying U.S. sales of at least 500,000 units) in June 2003.
The Roots' 2004 release, The Tipping Point, took its name from a 2000 book by Malcolm Gladwell. The album earned two more Grammy nominations: one for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for the track "Star", and another for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group for the track "Don't Say Nuthin'". The album was an immediate hit, debuting at #4 on the Billboard album chart and selling over 100,000 copies in its first week of release.
On November 15, 2005 The Roots released two compilation albums, Home Grown! The Beginner's Guide To Understanding The Roots, Volumes 1 & 2. These two separately sold discs are a compilation of past hits, live performances, and rare remixes compiled by ?uestlove himself. They also feature 70 pages of liner notes written by ?uestlove. These two albums marked the Roots' last releases on Geffen Records.
The Roots' album, Game Theory, was released on August 29, 2006. The album, which features a track that samples the song "You and Whose Army" by Radiohead, was released on Jay-Z's Def Jam.
The Roots next album 'Rising Down' was released on April 29th 2008. Features tracks with Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Saigon, and other greats.
The Make Me Songfacts reports that The Roots' eleventh album, undun, is their first concept album. It tells the story of a man called Redford Stephens who died in 1999 at the age of 25. We hear Redford retelling his life post-mortem and attempting to deconstruct what led to his undoing.
The Roots are also the house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon airing first on March 2nd, 2009.
Dun
The Roots Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
P-P-5-D
Yeah, yeah, P-P-5-D
I'm sayin, yo
Touch this yo, knahmsayin what?
Yo-yo, yo, 100%..
[Black Thought]
I swear solemnly that I'll forever rock steadily
People wanna know where Malik? He right next to me
The weaponry, the secret recipe
Hard to peep this, deep shit, shows I eat with
Contaminated thoughts I walk the street with
I bayonnet cassettes and chop beats with
this olympic lyricism you can't, compete with
Globe travellin, throwin your verse like a javelin
Things Fall Apart and MC's unravellin
Backstage whisperin to management like
"change the order, it's no way that we can rock after them"
My man sport the 'fro like _What's Happenin?_
From the latest hi-atus, The Roots back again
Your crew practicin to catch this natural blend
They packages read "care when handlin"
It's all soft shit, batteries not included with
Matter of fact, your whole front's a re-enactment
I blow your ba-tty ass into fragments, P-5-D
The new testament, mic specialist, what?
Yeah
Check it out, yo [3X]
Yo yo, Black Thought, I represent the Fifth Dynasty
Lyrical click, 100% Dundee
[Malik B]
Malik B, I represent the P-5-D
Guerilla click, 100% Dundee
[Black Thought]
Black Thought, I represent the Fifth Dynasty
Lyrical click, 100% Dundee
[Malik B]
Malik B, I represent the P-5-D
Guerilla click, 100% Dundee
The Milli-illitant-tant, 'pon cock, ready to rock
Power out, in the clout, it seems out, all through your block
Posse don't play the cut, but what, you get sheist
Got the personality named trife, ready to heist
Smashin 'graphs, snatch the ice, crush your mental device
Thought twice, shoulda thought once, got played for the dunce
Dialogues I moderate, cool out, we outta state
Just blendin in the great, give me room to ventilate
Most niggaz is fraudulent, the rap seargeant
Bargin, through your regiment, call your president
Hittin all targets cuz it's a cause that's lost
Between the killers when they probably Teddy Ruxpin talk
Droppin tears of steel, two drops up in the bucket
Facin three ? and a cop so yo fuck it
If I get abducted, trapped up in the belly
Wacked up my celly, get known like Dawn Stanley
You know the deally on the daily in the ?
If I sense you got a bend to your kite, then send it up
We press up on your corner with windows they're tinted up
Lay our props face down on the ground and get it up, what?
Face on the ground and get it up
[Black Thought]
Yo yo, Black Thought, I represent the Fifth Dynasty
Lyrical click, 100% Dundee
[Malik B]
Malik B, I represent the P-5-D
Guerilla click, 100% Dundee
[Black Thought]
Black Thought, I represent the Fifth Dynasty
Lyrical click, 100% Dundee
[Malik B]
Malik B, I represent the P-5-D
Guerilla click, 100% Dundee
[Black Thought]
Check it out
While you pose for pictures, I'm the invisible enigma
Down low, scope you off the roof like the fiddler
Cage you up in the vocal booth, you're held prisoner
Watch, while I'm bangin out this hot shit from Sigma
Illa-del-P-A, live without a DJ
And it's been that way, since Sergio Vallente
Yo, The Roots holdin it down, is all you can say
Plus the Black Thought em-cey, professional-lay
Push pen to paper like Chinua Achebe
Thumpin, what was your assumption
I lace your function, make it a Black Thought production
Word up I'm on somethin, stellar hold off course
I'm gone bluntin, travel light and broadcast
via satellite, Illa-Fifth Dynamite
Lyrically calculus in this arithametic hip-hop metropolis
But loyal fiends coppin this hot shit
Yaknahmsayin? Hot shit, word up
Illa-Fifth hot shit y'all
Black Thought, I represent the Fifth Dynasty
Lyrical click, 100% Dundee
[Malik B]
Malik B, I represent the P-5-D
Guerilla click, 100% Dundee
[Black Thought]
Black Thought, I represent the Fifth Dynasty
Lyrical click, 100% Dundee
[Malik B]
Malik B, I represent the P-5-D
Guerilla click, 100% Dundee
The Roots's song "Dun" is a perfect showcase of the group's lyrical prowess and their skillful blend of hip-hop, jazz, and other musical genres. The song opens with a brief introduction and a sample of a drum beat, followed by Black Thought spitting bars on the seventy-three keys of ivory and ebony. The theme of the song is subversion against the norms and mainstream culture as Black Thought and Malik B declare their loyalty to their respective neighborhoods – the Fifth Dynasty and the P-5-D, respectively.
The two MCs employ vivid imagery to depict their lives, inner thoughts, and social environment. Black Thought uses metaphors that relate to war and military such as "bayonnet cassettes," "throwing your verse like a javelin," and "backstage whispering to management." Malik B employs similar figurative language with lyrics like "Malik B, I represent the P-5-D/Guerilla click, 100% Dundee," "Posse don't play the cut, but what, you get sheist," and "Droppin tears of steel, two drops up in the bucket."
The song's lyrics are a testament to the Roots's unwavering commitment to hip-hop culture and their ability to stay true to themselves despite the pressures to conform. The group also pays homage to their predecessors and influences by using references to Chinua Achebe, Sergio Vallente, and Teddy Ruxpin.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo! On these seventy-three keys, of ivory and ebony
Black Thought boasts of his skills as a pianist and promises to forever rock steadily
People wanna know where Malik? He right next to me
Black Thought's fellow rapper, Malik, is nearby
The weaponry, the secret recipe
Black Thought has powerful lyrics that are like weapons, which are his secret recipe
Hard to peep this, deep shit, shows I eat with
His deep lyrics are hard for people to understand, but they reveal a lot about him
Contaminated thoughts I walk the street with
His thoughts are not pure and may have been influenced by the negative things he's seen on the street
I bayonnet cassettes and chop beats with
Black Thought is skilled at writing lyrics and creating beats
this olympic lyricism you can't, compete with
His lyricism is at an Olympic level that cannot be matched
Globe travellin, throwin your verse like a javelin
Black Thought travels the world and throws his powerful lyrics like a javelin
Things Fall Apart and MC's unravellin
Refers to the album 'Things Fall Apart' by The Roots, and how other MC's can't match up to their success
Backstage whisperin to management like "change the order, it's no way that we can rock after them"
Other rappers are intimidated by The Roots' success and ask for changes in performance order
My man sport the 'fro like _What's Happenin?_
Refers to Afros, a common hairstyle in black culture, and the TV show 'What's Happening'
From the latest hi-atus, The Roots back again
Refers to The Roots returning to music after a hiatus
Your crew practicin to catch this natural blend
Competing rappers try to imitate The Roots' natural and unique sound
They packages read "care when handlin"
Rappers should be careful when trying to imitate The Roots, as they are a unique blend
It's all soft shit, batteries not included with
Other rappers' music is weak and lacks creativity
Matter of fact, your whole front's a re-enactment
Their music is a copy of The Roots' sound
I blow your ba-tty ass into fragments, P-5-D
Black Thought will defeat the competition and represents the P-5-D crew
The new testament, mic specialist, what?
Black Thought is skilled on the microphone and represents a new era in hip-hop
Malik B, I represent the P-5-D
Malik B is part of the P-5-D crew
Posse don't play the cut, but what, you get sheist
The Posse doesn't allow others to get in the way of their success
Most niggaz is fraudulent, the rap seargeant
Most rappers are fake, but The Roots are the real deal
Hittin all targets cuz it's a cause that's lost
The Posse keeps going even if they don't win because it's important to them
Between the killers when they probably Teddy Ruxpin talk
People who act tough may not actually be violent and could be compared to the teddy bear toy, Teddy Ruxpin
Droppin tears of steel, two drops up in the bucket
The Posse doesn't cry easily, but if they did it wouldn't make a big difference to them because they are strong
Illa-del-P-A, live without a DJ
The Roots don't need a DJ to perform on stage
And it's been that way, since Sergio Vallente
The Roots have always performed without a DJ since the beginning of their career
Push pen to paper like Chinua Achebe
Black Thought writes powerful lyrics like famous Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe
Thumpin, what was your assumption
The Roots' music is powerful and surprising, which surprises their listeners
I lace your function, make it a Black Thought production
The Roots' music is unique and special because of Black Thought's creativity
Yaknahmsayin? Hot shit, word up
Referring to the song's quality and its lyrical prowess
Contributed by Caroline E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mike Ball
on Proceed V (Da Beatminerz remix)
So after purchasing “Do You Want More” the day it dropped, my guy the upped me from jump (pass the popcorn obvi) found this join on a European release and pressed play…the rest is history. But there in lies my question…what IS the history, the story on how, where, when, this was created? I need to know for context. Drop a link if there is one out there PLEASE! V 5 is a masterpiece!