| Game Theory | ||||
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| Studio album by The Roots | ||||
| Released | August 29, 2006 | |||
| Recorded | March–May 2006 The Studio, The Boom Room, A House Called ?uest (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Encore Studios (Burbank, California) Conway Studios, Glenwood Studios (Los Angeles, California) Integrated Studios, Quad Studios, Platinum Studios, Electric Lady Studios (New York, New York) |
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| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 46:58 | |||
| Label | Def Jam/IDJMG/Universal 170 409 |
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| Producer | Owen Biddle, J Dilla, Richard Nichols, The Randy Watson Experience, The Roots | |||
| The Roots chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Game Theory | ||||
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Game Theory is the seventh studio album by American hip hop band The Roots, released August 29, 2006, on Def Jam Recordings. The group's first release for the label after leaving Geffen Records, the album was recorded by the Roots mostly using the Apple-developed software application GarageBand.[1] A darker, grittier album with minimal emphasis on hooks in comparison to their previous work,[2][3] Game Theory features a stripped-down sound similar to the work of Public Enemy, with lyrics that concern sociological themes and the late hip hop producer J Dilla.[4][5][6]
The album debuted at number nine on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 61,000 copies in its first week. It produced two singles and achieved moderate sales success. Upon its release, Game Theory received general acclaim from most music critics and earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album. To date, the album has sold over 200,000 copies in the United States.
Contents |
In an interview for Rolling Stone magazine, Questlove expressed his view on contemporary black music and described the concept of Game Theory, comparing it to previous works:
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... 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.[7]—Questlove
Described by Questlove as "very mature, serious, and very dark",[8] the album, unlike the band's previous two efforts Phrenology (2002) and The Tipping Point (2004), combines The Roots's 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 experimental band, The Roots sample Radiohead's "You and Whose Army?" for 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. Questlove was quoted as saying "There was too much going on that we couldn’t just sit back and not speak on it."[8] 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".
The album debuted at number nine on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with first week sales of 61,000 copies.[9] It also debuted at number five on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and at number four on its Top Digital Albums chart.[10][11] According to Nielsen SoundScan, the album has sold over 200,000 copies in the United States.[12]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [13] |
| Blender | [14] |
| Entertainment Weekly | (A-)[15] |
| The Guardian | [16] |
| The New York Times | (mixed)[4] |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.7/10)[17] |
| Rolling Stone | [18] |
| Stylus Magazine | (A)[19] |
| USA Today | [20] |
| The Village Voice | (favorable)[21] |
Game Theory received general acclaim from music critics.[14] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 83, based on 26 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[14] It is listed as the site's twenty-fourth best-reviewed album of 2006.[22] Allmusic writer Andy Kellman gave the album 4½ out of 5 stars and praised its musical quality and lyrical themes, writing "Spinning turbulence, paranoia, anger, and pain into some of the most exhilarating and startling music released in 2006,... Game Theory is a heavy album, the Roots' sharpest work. It's destined to become one of Def Jam's proudest, if not most popular, moments".[13] USA Today's Steve Jones gave it a rave review and lauded The Roots' thematic approach, stating "A broad range of issues is weighing on the Philadelphia band — war, poverty, corruption, Katrina — and they attack them with a ferocity they haven’t displayed in years".[20] The New York Times writer Nate Chinen viewed the album's production as inconsistent, but found Black Thought's performance more focused and engaged that on previous efforts, while writing that "?uestlove infuses 'Game Theory' with a hard sonic logic, so that the music often sounds as tough as the lyrics".[4] Vibe's Thomas Golianopoulos gave it 4 out of 5 stars and called it "a masterfully crafted, sobering wake-up call".[23] Jeff Vrabel of PopMatters dubbed it "The Roots' darkest, grimiest, most unrelenting and possibly most focused effort to date".[24]
Los Angeles Times writer Oliver Wang gave the album three out of four stars and commented that it "moves coherently as a whole and not just assemblage of spare songs".[25] Rolling Stone's Peter Relic viewed the album as a progression over their previous work and wrote "For every head-nodding beat (and ?uestlove brings plenty of 'em), Game Theory has a head-turning treat".[18] In his consumer guide for MSN Music, critic Robert Christgau gave Game Theory a rating of honorable mention (),[3] indicating "an enjoyable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well treasure."[26] Will Dukes of The Village Voice called it The Roots' "most radical record to date" and commended Black Thought for his lyricism on the album, writing "Raw, emotive, and urgent as a motherfucker, his flow—on songs like opener 'False Media,' whose gangly steel snares give way to plush orchestration—is bleak and expansive and seething with wrath".[21] Giving it 5 out of 5 stars, About.com writer Henry Adaso cited the album as "their heaviest and strongest release since Things Fall Apart", and wrote "Part of what makes Game Theory succeed is the Roots' ability to mirror current/personal events on their music. Themes about confusion, loss (inspired by tragedies like hurricane Katrina and J Dilla's death), corporate woes, double standards and war pervade throughout this album".[27]
In its end-of-year list, Rolling Stone named it the eighteenth best album of 2006, calling it "classic studio Roots".[28] It was named one of the top ten albums of the year by URB.[22] The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, ultimately losing to rapper Ludacris's Release Therapy (2006) at the 49th Grammy Awards.
| # | Title | Producer(s) | Performer (s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Dilltastic Vol Won(derful)" | J Dilla | J Dilla *Instrumental* | 0:28 |
| 2 | "False Media" | Kamal Gray, The Randy Watson Experience |
Black Thought, Wadud Ahmad |
2:34 |
| 3 | "Game Theory" | The Roots, Khari Mateen |
Black Thought, Malik B |
4:01 |
| 4 | "Don't Feel Right" | The Roots, Tahir Jamal |
Black Thought, Maimouna Youssef |
4:08 |
| 5 | "In the Music" | The Roots, Richard Nichols, Pedro Martinez, Owen Biddle, Kevin Hansen |
Black Thought, Malik B |
4:06 |
| 6 | "Take It There" | The Roots, Questlove, Richard Nichols, Pedro Martinez, Adam Blackstone, Kevin Hansen |
Black Thought, Wadud Ahmad |
2:50 |
| 7 | "Baby" | The Roots, John McGlinchey |
Black Thought, John-John |
2:50 |
| 8 | "Here I Come" | The Roots, Richard Nichols, Owen Biddle, Pedro Martinez, Brook D'Leau |
Black Thought, Dice Raw, Malik B |
4:11 |
| 9 | "Long Time" | The Roots, Kevin Hansen, Owen Biddle, Darryl Robinson, Richard Nichols, Omar Edwards |
Black Thought, Peedi Peedi, Bunny Sigler |
4:21 |
| 10 | "Livin' in a New World" | The Roots, Khari Mateen |
Black Thought, John-John |
1:47 |
| 11 | "Clock with No Hands" | The Roots, Khari Mateen, Brook D'Leau |
Black Thought, Mercedes Martinez |
4:23 |
| 12 | "Atonement" | The Roots, The Randy Watson Experience |
Black Thought, Jack Davey |
2:35 |
| 13 | "Can't Stop This" | J Dilla, The Roots, The Randy Watson Experience |
Black Thought | 8:35 |
| * | "Bread & Butter" (UK, Japan, iTunes bonus track) |
Black Thought, Truck North | 3:40 |
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| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200[9] | 9 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Digital Albums[11] | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[10] | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums[27] | 4 |
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