The Roots  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

Related e

Wikipedia Wiktionary Tumblr Wikisource YouTube Shop Featured: A Scheme for abolishing all Words is one of the wittiest and smartest comments on semantics. (Illustration: extreme close-up from the movie "The Big Swallow" (1901), produced and directed by James Williamson (1855-1933)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcz2E4Rs2OU "Get Busy"

The Roots are an American hip hop band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, famed for a heavily jazzy sound and live instrumentation. They made their debut in 1993 and have gone on to collaborate with artists from a range of genres, such as Roy Ayers and Cody Chesnutt. Inspired by the "hip-hop band" concept pioneered by Stetsasonic, The Roots themselves have garnered critical acclaim and influenced later hip-hop and R&B acts.

Studio

• Organix
  • Released: May 19 1993

• Do You Want More?!!!??!
  • Released: January 17 1995
  • Chart positions: 104 U.S.
  • RIAA Certification:

• Illadelph Halflife
  • Released: September 24 1996
  • Chart positions: 21 U.S.

• Things Fall Apart
  • Released: February 23 1999
  • Chart positions: 4 U.S.
  • RIAA certification: Gold

• The Roots Come Alive (live album)
  • Released: November 2 1999
  • Chart positions: 50 U.S.

• Phrenology
  • Released: November 26 2002
  • Chart positions: 28 U.S.
  • RIAA certification: Gold<ref name=riaa/>

• The Tipping Point
  • Released: July 13 2004
  • Chart positions: 4 U.S.

• Game Theory
  • Released: August 29 2006
  • Chart positions: 9 U.S.
  • Sales: 300,000 copies

• Rising Down
  • Released: April 29 2008