Game Theory (album)

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Game Theory
Game Theory cover
Studio album by The Roots
Released August 29, 2006
Recorded March - May 2006 at The Studio, Philadelphia; Encore Studios, Burbank, California; A House Called ?uest, Philadelphia; The Boom Room, Philadelphia; Conway Studios, Los Angeles, California; Electric Lady Studios, New York City; Glenwood Studios, Los Angeles, California; Platinum Studios, New York City; Quad Studios, New York City; Integrated Studios, New York City
Genre Hip Hop
Length 46:58
Label Def Jam
Producer The Roots
The Randy Watson Experience
Khari Mateen
Tahir Jamal
Richard Nichols
Pedro Martinez
Owen Biddle
Kevin Hansen
Adam Blackstone
John McGlinchey
Brook D'Leau
Darryl Robinson
Omar Edwards
J Dilla
Professional reviews
The Roots chronology
The Tipping Point
(2004)		 Game Theory
(2006)		 Rising Down
(2008)

Game Theory is the seventh studio album from Philadelphia hip hop band The Roots, their first on Def Jam Records, which like the group's previous label, Geffen Records, is part of the Universal Music Group. It was released on August 29, 2006 to a great deal of critical acclaim.[1] The first single, "Don't Feel Right," was released online in May 2006 and is available for free download on the group's MySpace page. The album features guest appearances from Peedi Peedi and returning Roots MCs Malik B. and Dice Raw. The album closes with a song titled "Can't Stop This", an eight minute tribute to the late J Dilla.

Described by Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson as "very mature, serious, and very dark"[2]. Unlike their two previous efforts, Phrenology and The Tipping Point, Game Theory combines The Roots progressive tendencies and lush, jazz influenced hip-hop into a more homogenous and cohesive recording than past efforts had shown. In what could be a salute to a fellow progressive band, The Roots sample Radiohead's "You and Whose Army?" on the track "Atonement".

The subject material for Game Theory follows the more serious tone of the album, with topics ranging from the war in Iraq to violence in music. ?uestlove was quoted as saying "There was too much going on that we couldn’t just sit back and not speak on it."[2] In accordance with its more-serious tone, the album heavily references Public Enemy's highly-political It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back on its lead track "False Media".

Quoted from Rollingstone.com: "In this day and age, I'm kind of noticing that nobody in urban music really has the balls to just stop partying for one second," says ?uestlove. "I mean, partying is good and whatnot, and it's cool to get down, but I really think that 2006 called for a very serious record. This ain't the Debbie Downer record, or the political, save-the-world record, but this is definitely not the MC-based, battle-themed album that the Roots have been known for. This is our most serious record to date."[3]

The album was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2007 Grammy Awards, but lost to Release Therapy by Ludacris.

Contents

[edit] Track listing

# Title Producer(s) Performer (s)
1 "Dilltastic Vol Won(derful)" J Dilla *Instrumental*
2 "False Media" Kamal Gray,
The Randy Watson Experience		 Black Thought,
Wadud Ahmad
3 "Game Theory" The Roots,
Khari Mateen		 Black Thought,
Malik B
4 "Don't Feel Right" The Roots,
Tahir Jamal		 Black Thought,
Maimouna Youssef
5 "In the Music" The Roots,
Richard Nichols,
Pedro Martinez,
Owen Biddle,
Kevin Hansen		 Black Thought,
Malik B
6 "Take it There" The Roots,
?uestlove,
Richard Nichols,
Pedro Martinez,
Adam Blackstone,
Kevin Hansen		 Black Thought,
Wadud Ahmad
7 "Baby" The Roots,
John McGlinchey		 Black Thought,
John-John
8 "Here I Come" The Roots,
Richard Nichols,
Owen Biddle,
Pedro Martinez,
Brook D'Leau		 Black Thought,
Dice Raw,
Malik B
9 "Long Time" The Roots,
Kevin Hansen,
Owen Biddle,
Darryl Robinson,
Richard Nichols,
Omar Edwards		 Black Thought,
Peedi Peedi,
Bunny Sigler
10 "Livin' in a New World" The Roots,
Khari Mateen		 Black Thought,
John-John
11 "Clock With No Hands" The Roots,
Khari Mateen,
Brook D'Leau		 Black Thought,
Mercedes Martinez
12 "Atonement" The Roots,
The Randy Watson Experience		 Black Thought,
Jack Davey
13 "Can't Stop This" J Dilla,
The Roots,
The Randy Watson Experience		 Black Thought
14 "Bread & Butter"
(UK, Japan, iTunes bonus track)		 Black Thought, Truck North

[edit] Samples

  • The intro track "Dillatastic Vol Won(derful)" used a sample of Slum Village's first album, Fantastic Vol.1's intro track, "Fantastic", which J Dilla produced. ("Fantastic" incorporates elements of a Herbie Hancock composition "You'll Know When You Get There," from VSOP (album).)
  • The track "Game Theory" contains a sample of Sly and the Family Stone's "Life of Fortune and Fame".
  • The track "False Media" contains interpolations of Public Enemy's "Don't Believe The Hype".
  • The track "Don't Feel Right" samples Kool & The Gang's "Jungle Boogie" & The Ohio Players's "Ecstasy".
  • The track "Atonement" samples Radiohead's "You and Whose Army?"
  • The track "Cant Stop This" contains a sample of The Jackson 5's "All I Do Is Think Of You". It should be noted that this song's backing track is an extended version of J Dilla's "Time: The Donut of the Heart" from his second solo album Donuts.

[edit] Trivia

  • The track "Here I Come" is featured in the 2007 comedy Superbad and the Xbox 360 title Project Gotham Racing 4.
  • The track "In The Music" is featured in a scene from "Stomp The Yard"
  • The track "In The Music" is featured in a scene of an episode of the show, "CSI"

[edit] Singles

Single cover Single information
"Don't Feel Right"
"In The Music"
  • Released: 2006
  • B-side: "Here I Come"

[edit] Album chart positions

Year Album Chart positions
Billboard 200 Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums Top Internet Albums
2006 Game Theory #9 #5 #9

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Game Theory at MetaCritic. MetaCritic. Retrieved on 2007-08-25.
  2. ^ a b The Roots Get Serious About Their "GAME THEORY". Retrieved on September 22, 2006.
  3. ^ The Roots' New Album: Heavy But No Debbie Downer. Retrieved on September 22, 2006.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
The Roots
Owen Biddle · Black Thought · Captain Kirk Douglas · Damon "Tuba Gooding Jr." Bryson · F. Knuckles · Kamal Gray · ?uestlove
Hub · Ben Kenney · Malik B. · Rahzel · Dice Raw · Scratch · Scott Storch
Studio albums
Live albums
EPs