Art for Ears

The Roots, for the uninitiated, is a live hip hop band that has been challenging the status quo of Hip Hop for more than 25 years.  You may know them from their most recent gig as Jimmy Fallon’s house band on his show and the new Tonight Show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHogg7pJI_M

With skits like these, it’s easy to see The Roots are more than just a backing band, they’re an intricate part of the show.  Likewise, they are more than a Hip Hop act, they have been an intricate part of the Hip Hop landscape for decades.    Sadly, if you are using wikipedia to see if I’m right, you will miss out on some of their oldest, amazing work on Do You Want More and Illadephia Half-life .

This week, The Roots release their 17th album, …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin.  Once again, they ask us to reconsider what Hip Hop is, and can be.  The album is by turns deeply emotional, unexpected, and solid head-nod-inducing.  Well worth a listen.  Check out their live performance of the operatic  …And then You Shoot Your Cousin, from their NYC Public Theater performance below.

 

Unknown's avatar

Author: Susan X Jane

Susan X Jane, Principal of Navigators Consulting, has over 30 years of experience exploring race and representation in both the public and private sectors.  Susan is a transracial adoptee—a Black woman raised in a White family and community—an experience that created an early focus on the way race shapes our concept of ourselves and each other. Susan has worked to address race and racism as a community organizer, nonprofit program developer, professor of communications, and consultant to corporations and impact-focused institutions.  As Principal of Navigators Consulting, she draws on decades of experience to work with organizations in the public and private sectors. To any who seeks to build a better world, she offers her skills as a teacher, coach, and strategic partner to help create diverse and inclusive environments where the humanity of all is respected and protected.

Leave a comment