Things Fall Apart (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart cover
Studio album by The Roots
Released February 23, 1999
Recorded 1997 - January 1999
Genre Rap
Length 70:34
Label Geffen Records/MCA
Producer(s) The Grand Wizzards
Jay Dee
Professional reviews
The Roots chronology
Illadelph Halflife
(1996)		 Things Fall Apart
(1999)		 The Legendary
(1999)


Things Fall Apart is a hip hop album by the Philadelphia based group The Roots, released on February 23, 1999, (see 1999 in music) by Geffen Records. Things Fall Apart is considered to be the group's breakthrough album, with the song "You Got Me" which won the group a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. The album was also nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album,[1] which was won by The Slim Shady LP by Eminem. The album was critically well received with Rolling Stone, calling it a "top-flight record", and All Music Guide calling it "One of the cornerstone albums of alternative rap." The album takes its title from Chinua Achebe's novel of the same name.[2]

Contents

[edit] Recording

The recording of Things Fall Apart began in 1997 and was completed in early 1999. ?uestlove has stated that during this period, the group recorded upwards of 100 songs, later whitling down their choices to 14 songs (intros and interludes withstanding). The last song to be included to the final selection was "Double Trouble", featuring Mos Def. Initially, the song was supposed to feature a guest appearance from Mos' Black Star partner, Talib Kweli but due to the format of the track, it was decided to make it a throwback to the Run D.M.C./EPMD tag-team style of rap, with just two MCs.

The track "Act Too (The Love of My Life)", originally an interlude that evolved into a fully song, features Common, whose verse is a continuation of his classic "I Used to Love H.E.R.", in which Common speaks of hip hop as a woman. Beanie Sigel made his debut appearance on the track "Adrenaline!", after tagging along to a weekly jam session held by the group in Philadelphia. Eve (at the time, signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath label, and known as Eve of Destruction) also made her debut appearance on Things Fall Apart, on the smash hit, "You Got Me".

"You Got Me" was co-written by Jill Scott who recorded vocals for the song's chorus and bridge. Her part was subsequently re-recorded by Erykah Badu at the insistence of MCA, who wanted a higher profile collaboration for the album's official lead single (at the time, Scott was relatively unknown outside of Philadelphia). When the group later went on tour, Scott joined them during performances of the song. "You Got Me" caught on quickly with radio and later MTV, giving the group a much needed boost in terms of sales and exposure. Its Grammy win provided a second round of success. The outside musicians who contributed to the album (mainly D'Angelo, James Poyser, and Jay Dee) went on to form the Soulquarians collective with ?uestlove and Pino Palladino.

[edit] Reception

The album was widely regarded as the group's most fully realized work. Critics praised it for its sobering themes, sonic quality, and fluid, cohesive sequencing, with Rolling Stone calling it a "top-flight record" and lead MC, Black Thought a "lyricist's lyricist with a hard, earnest voice that doesn't flow like water but bobs and weaves with less-predictable rhythms".[3] UK magazines such as Q gave it 4 out of 5 stars and Mojo says that the album is "the stunner they've always promised: the first candidate for hip hop album of 1999....in a hip-hop world dominated by well-worn pop samples and rap rewrites of 80's chart hits, such risk-taking should be cherished".[4] Fans responded with as much enthusiasm, and the album shipped Gold in sales.[5]

[edit] Album Covers

For a limited time period, Things Fall Apart was made available with a choice of five different front covers. One such cover (fourth picture below) displays a photograph taken during a riot in the Civil Rights Movement era. In the stark black and white photo, riot police are seen chasing two black teenagers on the streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant. In 2005, this cover was included in the book, The Greatest Album Covers Of All Time by Barry Miles, Grant Scott & Johnny Morgan, and published by Collins & Brown.

[edit] Trivia

  • The album's opening track, "Act Won," contains an excerpt from the Spike Lee film, Mo' Better Blues. The excerpt is from a scene where Denzel Washington and Wesley Snipes are discussing the current state of African American music (or culture in general) after a gig.[6]

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Act Won (Things Fall Apart)" :55
  2. "Table of Contents (Parts 1&2)" – 3:37
  3. "The Next Movement" – 4:10 (featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff)
  4. "Step Into The Realm" – 2:50
  5. "The Spark" – 3:52
  6. "Dynamite" – 4:46
  7. "Without A Doubt" – 4:13 (featuring Lady B)
  8. "Ain't Sayin Nothin' New" – 4:34 (featuring Dice Raw)
  9. "Double Trouble" – 5:50 (featuring Mos Def)
  10. "Act Too (The Love of My Life)" – 4:55 (featuring Common)
  11. "100% Dundee" – 3:54
  12. "Diedre Vs. Dice" :47 (featuring Dice Raw)
  13. "Adrenaline!" – 4:27 (featuring Dice Raw & Beanie Sigel)
  14. "3rd Acts:? Vs. Scratch2...Electric Boogaloo" :52
  15. "You Got Me" – 4:19 (featuring Erykah Badu & Eve)
  16. "Don't See Us" – 4:30 (featuring Dice Raw)
  17. "The Return To Innocence Lost" – 11:55 (performed by Ursula Rucker)
    • "Act Fore (The End?)" (Hidden track)

[edit] Album singles

Single cover Single information
"Adrenaline!" (Promo only)
  • Released: 1998
  • B-side: Don't See Us
"You Got Me"
  • Released: 1999
  • B-side: "Adrenaline!"
"The Next Movement"
  • Released: 1999
  • B-side: "Without A Doubt"

[edit] Album chart positions

Year Album Chart positions
Billboard 200 Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums Top Canadian Albums
1999 Things Fall Apart #4 #2 #7

[edit] Singles chart positions

Year Song Chart positions
Billboard Hot 100 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Hot Rap Singles Rhythmic Top 40
1998 "Adrenaline" - #73 #29 -
1999 "You Got Me" #39 #11 #19 #35

[edit] Credits

Performance credits
The Roots - Primary Artist
D'Angelo - Keyboards
Marie Daulne - Background Vocals
Larry Gold - Viola
Bob Power - Synthesizer
James Poyser - Keyboards
Scott Storch - Keyboards
Dice Raw - Vocals
Erykah Badu - Background Vocals
Igor Szwec - Violin
Anthony Tidd - Guitar
Common - Vocals
Mos Def - Vocals
Ursula Rucker - Poetry
Eve - Vocals
Beanie Sigel - Vocals

[edit] References

  1. ^ Santana's Grammy glory. BBC News. Retrieved on December 18, 2006.
  2. ^ Welte, Jim. The Roots Things Fall Apart. Ink Blot Magazine. Retrieved on December 16, 2006.
  3. ^ Toure. Things Fall Apart. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on December 16, 2006.
  4. ^ Things Fall Apart. Tower records. Retrieved on December 18, 2006. Editorial reviews product notes.
  5. ^ The Roots The Paybacks. XXL magazine. Retrieved on December 18, 2006.
  6. ^ Landy, Ben. The Roots's Things Fall Apart. The Yale Herald. Retrieved on December 16, 2006.

[edit] External links

The Roots
Black Thought | Captain Kirk Douglas | Kamal Gray | Hub | F. Knuckles | ?uestlove

Malik B. | Ben Kenney | Kid Crumbs | Martin Luther | Rahzel | Scratch | Scott Storch | Josh Abrams | Maimouna Youssef a.k.a Luna E. | Dice Raw | Wadud Ahmad | Peedi Peedi
Discography
Organix (1993) | From the Ground Up (1994) | Do You Want More?!!!??! (1995) | Illadelph Halflife (1996) | Things Fall Apart (1999) | The Legendary (1999) | The Roots Come Alive (1999) | Phrenology (2002) | The Tipping Point (2004) | Game Theory (2006)
Related articles
Okayplayer | Ursula Rucker
This box: view • talk • edit
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../t/h/i/Things_Fall_Apart_%28album%29_7b78.html"
In other languages