The Roots “What You Want”

On the heels of their impending label switch to Def Jam (and 2006 release Game Theory), the Roots release today a career-spanning double disc collection (isn’t it a coincidence how these two events tend to correspond?) Home Grown! The Beginner’s Guide to the Roots–and we can all feel relieved that Questlove hasn’t lost his appreciation for the exclamation mark. It’s no secret to anyone who’s read my top 50 of the 90’s list that I’m a fan of the band, especially their opus, Things Fall Apart. I’ve always thought that that was the point where The Roots were finally able to reconcile their frequently meandering jazz vamping and their incontestably firm grasp on the best element of hip-hop–a distinct, memorable rhythm track. That combination steps to the fore on “What You Want,” (mp3–YouSendIt, til I fix my bandwidth probs), originally (unfortunately) featured on the soundtrack to that one film that features Taye Diggs as the handsome black man–How Stella Got Her Groove Back? No. Soul Food? No. The Best Man? There it is. This track is all rhythm–bass and synth march in lockstep, peppered by our man ?’s snapping, double-time drums and Black Thought’s musings on the vagaries of relationship life (I swear, the man says “yo” better than anyone alive). And they even manage to sneak in a lounge-jazz breakdown at the end.

Buy! Home Grown! The Beginner’s Guide to the Roots! here!

Filed under: The Roots