The Roots 'How I Got Over' NYC Listening Session Report

The Roots How I Got Over on Island/Def Jam/Okay Player arrives June 22.

In attendance, L.A. Reid, Zoe Kravitz and the rest of The Roots crew. Check out the photo links after the article.

via the Boom Box

Last night, New York City was blessed by the legendary Roots crew beyond their nightly in-house band duties for 'Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.' The hip-hop band was hosting their first listening session at Legacy Studios for their ninth full-length studio album, 'How I Got Over,' an album reminiscent of 2002's 'Phrenology' with obvious natural progression.

"Contemporary" is the word that comes to mind when first hearing 'How I Got Over.' Not to suggest they've gone adult contemporary, but rather, it's the inevitable growth of a band who, after originally busting on to the scene with their crossover success, is now relishing in the collective genius of the entire group. Even friend and co-worker Jimmy Fallon was in attendance to support the Roots, eagerly awaiting to see what the select few in the media thought of their latest effort. 'How I Got Over' will undoubtedly be well-received, probably more so than 'Phrenology,' as the landscape of hIp-hop has significantly changed since then.

Here is the general rundown of 'How I Got Over':

1. 'Walk Alone' (feat. Truck North, Porn, Dice Raw, Mercedes Martinez):
This opening track follows a smoothed out intro and keeps the melodic momentum going in this neo-soul cut with former Jazzyfatnastees front woman Mercedes Martinez.

2. 'Dear God 2.0' (feat. Jim James, MOF):
This lead single is a reinvention of the Monsters of Folk classic 'Dear God,' only slightly darker and more intense than the original.

3. 'Radio Daze' (feat. Blu, Porn, Dice Raw, Mercedes Martinez):
A mellow Bass-heavy movement with Blu as the official scene stealer.

4. 'Now Or Never' (feat. Phonte Coleman, Dice Raw):
Modestly mature track with the quietly desperate hook, "Gotta get my shit together / it's now or never".



5. 'How I Got Over' (feat. Dice Raw):
The first leaked track and video off 'How I Got Over,' is jungle-tinged with jazz sensibility.

6. 'The Day' (feat. Blu, Phonte Coleman, Patty Crash):
This track resembles the 'Phrenology' cut 'Sacrifice' featuring Nelly Furtado, but with Blu's opening verse setting the stage for the whole song, as new school Roots affiliate Patty Crash provides a soulfully edgy hook.

7. 'Right On' (feat. Joanna Newsom, Sugar Tongue Slim):
Andy Samberg's girlfriend, pianist and singer/songwriter Joanna Newsom assists this thumping track with newcomer Sugar Tongue Slim, who sounds like a cross between Cypress Hill and the Pharcyde.

8. 'Doin It Again' (feat. John Legend):
A signature Roots sounding track, where John Legend sings the hook in a slightly rockier way than we're used to.

9. 'The Fire' (feat. John Legend, Rick Friedrich):
This keys-heavy closing track screams 'victory!' in its uplifting and triumphant production.

Bonus Cut #1:
A cypher meets posse cut amidst DJ scratched production, like the soundtrack to a schoolyard.

Bonus Cut #2:
Sugar Tongue Slim is on the hook and lends a verse to this song probably titled 'Hustler,' since STS repeats it throughout the cut along with "I hope my baby girl grows up to be a hustler."

Photo links:
Wire Image

John Legend 'Wake Up Sessions' Album With The Roots Close To Being Finished

via MTV

John Legend is a pretty lucky guy. He sang the national anthem at the World Series and joined Stevie Wonder onstage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th anniversary concert last fall — on the same day.

The piano-playing crooner will follow those achievements with the release of his next album, Wake Up Sessions, with the Roots. According to Legend, he's been a fan of the Philadelphia band since his college days, when he was a student at the University of Pennsylvania.

"We're, like, 99 percent done. We've done all the recording, and now we're mixing half the album, and it's coming out in September," the singer told MTV News. "I'm very excited about it. It's gonna be a very interesting, very cool album. And like I said, I'm a big fan of the Roots. I'm excited to be able to put out an album with the Roots. This is a group I've been following since I was a kid at UPenn. I would go to open mics and watch them host the open mics, wishing I could be onstage with them, and now I'm in the studio with them making this album, and it's pretty exciting."

Legend and the Roots joined forces last month to perform at a 40th-anniversary Earth Day event. Wake Up Sessions is the follow-up to Legend's 2008 album, Evolver, which featured the Andre 3000-assisted "Green Light."

Robert Glasper: Jazz Man & Hip Hop Collaborator 'Double Booked' Album Review

As reviewed by Chase Hoffberger at the Austin Chronicle

Robert Glasper - Double Booked (Blue Note) released August 25, 2009.

Jazz traditionalists will wish they could have gotten more of Robert Glasper's Trio on the Houston native's most recent Double Booked, but anyone familiar with the 30-year-old pianist knows there's no sense in confinement. As a longtime collaborator of Mos Def, J Dilla, Q Tip, and the Roots, Glasper's musical tendencies lie as close to hip-hop as they do to traditional jazz, a fact made most evident on the tease of De La Soul's "Stakes Is High" midway through Thelonious Monk's "Think of One." Split into two parts – first half with the Trio, second with his Experiment, which features Casey Benjamin on both saxophone and vocoder – Booked is just as much about Glasper's unique vision (the Bilal-featured "All Matter" - music below) as it is his tangled piano phrasings ("No Worries"). Approach it with an "Open Mind."

Order Robert Glasper - Double Booked here:
Robert Glasper - Double Booked





Robert Glasper Improv-ing On The Keys To 'Gettin' Up' w/Q-Tip @ London's Roundhouse For Gilles Peterson's 10 Year Worldwide Anniversary Tour in 2009.



Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson of the Roots discusses Robert Glasper's influence.

DJ Jazzy Jeff Shows Us His Turntable Skills

From Questlove's twitter page, recorded during soundcheck DJ Jazzy Jeff rockin' the turntables with L.L. Cool J's "Rock The Bells."

Pop Stars Kelly Clarkson & Sara Bareilles Go Urban

sort of...

via Billboard

Singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles has begun work on her sophomore album for Epic Records, Billboard.com has learned. In the early going, Bareilles is recording in Brooklyn, N.Y., with production assistance from Roots drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and Adam Blackstone.

Read more:
Billboard - Sara Bareilles Working With Questlove On New Album



via Canoe.ca

Kelly Clarkson is desperate to silence critics accusing her of "ripping off" Beyonce’s hit Halo - she is reworking the offending song on her live tour.

The Since U Been Gone hitmaker claimed songwriter/producer Ryan Tedder sent her the track that became Halo without telling her he'd already offered it to Beyonce.

Clarkson later came under fire after Sony Music bosses released her version, Already Gone, as a single - despite her desperate pleas to shelve it.

Read more:
Canoe - Clarkson reworks Beyonce ‘rip-off’