Track Listing

1. Act Won (Things Fall Apart)
2. Table Of Contents (Parts 1 & 2)
3. The Next Movement - DJ Jazzy Jeff, Jazzyfatnastees, The Roots
4. Step Into The Relm
5. The Spark
6. Dynamite!
7. Without A Doubt
8. Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New
9. Double Trouble
10. Act Too (Love Of My Life)
11. 100% Dundee
12. Diedre Vs Dice
13. Adrenaline - The Roots, Dice Raw, Beanie Sigel
14. 3rd Act: ? Vs Scratch 2...Electric Boogaloo
15. You Got Me - The Roots, Erykah Badu
16. Don't See Us
17. The Return To Innocence Lost
18. Act Fore (...)Table Of Contents Part 2

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29955 in Music
• Released on: 1999-03-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Explicit Lyrics, Original recording reissued
• Dimensions: .23 pounds
• Running time: 70 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Very few hip-hop groups make it to their fourth full-length recording, and perhaps only the Roots have made it to that level while still ascending. Although lyrical and musical vision is sorely lacking from most hip-hop (as Puff and Master P have proved, vision isn't necessary to bum-rush the mainstream goldmine), such qualities are cornerstones of the Roots' music. Their second recording, 1995's Do You Want More?, and its follow-up, 1996's Illadelph Halflife, intelligently linked hip-hop to its musical forebears funk and jazz, and their lyrics provided unique, post-nationalist hip-hop critiques. On Things Fall Apart (named for the Chinua Achebe novel) the sextet takes on a more sombre tone, but at no cost to their musical innovations. "If we had to depend on black people to eat, we'd starve to death," says Denzel Washington, sampled from Mo' Better Blues, at the outset of the recording. It's not self-pity--rather, the group frequently returns to the theme of how many African Americans confuse uniformity with unity. Musically, the group is at its best with guests such as Mos Def and Talib Kweli from Black Star contributing some old-school fun and technique to "Double Trouble". Erykah Badu's supple vocals on "You Got Me" are offset by innovative percussion, including an organically developed jungle beat. At a point when most rappers are running on fumes, the Roots are synthesising new ideas. --Martin Johnson

CD Description
Hip-hop is about presence. Whether party- or street-oriented, it tends to keeps its listeners firmly centred in their own skin: hands in the air, guard your grill, watch your back. In spite of the blunted ethos of the late '90s and the emergence of trip-hop, it's a rare hip-hop record that causes your eyes to go out of focus and your brain to operate freelyin that space that makes us describe music as "deep".
THINGS FALL APART achieves that distinct sort of transcendenceperhaps because it is not trying to save, reinvigorate, or resurrect the artform. As the title (taken from Chinua Achebe's novel on the loss of traditional African culture during colonisation) suggests, the record takes the death of hip-hop as its starting point. Where earlier Roots albums capturedthe live feeling of the open mic/jam sessions for which they are now internationally famous, TFA adds a newer wrinkle of arrangement and studio mastery. The layers and echoes occasionally (as on "100% Dundee") give you the sensation that you're wandering through one of those jam sessions in a detached, even feverish state--a perfect snapshot of hip-hop on the eve of the millennium.

Customer Reviews

Organic HipHop
For fans of Phrenology and the Tipping Point this might come as quite a shock. They are, what I would consider to be, the Roots two most commercial albums. Things Fall Apart is the most cohesive of their first era, amazing rhymes, fantastic beats and just some of the finest hip-hop you're ever likely to hear.

The thing that attracts me to their music most is their sheer musical ability - they play virtually all the instruments, and their music truly is organic, a far cry from the decks/samples of modern hip hop.

Malik B's last album with the band is undoubtedly his best, and I urge you to buy it...

Fans of Talib K, Common, Hi Tek, etc, this should suit you

Utterly Brilliant
Dear God, this album is so good. It blends sharp, inventive, commercially appealing beats with superb, cutting hardcore raps.

The Roots are like a strange mix of Oukast and Gravediggaz, hardcore, but catchy, funky. This is real underground hip hop, there are no sexist or racist sentiments, here. Nor do they pretend to be pimps or gangsters, they are real, and they carry real messages.

'Thing Fall Apart' will certainly bless my CD player for many years to come - it is a modern hip hop classic. Buy it, borrow it, steal it, whatever, just get it! You'll love it trust me. If you love hip hop, you'll love this.

Oh My Gosh!!!
I've been listening to The Roots for awhile and have only just read the reviews. This is one of the best albums I've EVER had the pleasure of owning/listening to! I bought it when it first came out and am still listening to it today, I never get bored of it and it never feels outdated!Seriously this is heavy heavy music and i'm someone that has listened to hip hop from waaaay back in the day. If you haven't already got it...BUY IT!!!