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Undun

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For other uses, seeUndun (disambiguation).
Undun
Studio albumby
the Roots
ReleasedDecember 6, 2011(2011-12-06)[1]
StudioA House Called Quest, daCrib, and The Boom Room inPhiladelphia;Downtown Music Studios andMSR Studiosin New York
GenreAlternative hip hop[2]
Length38:08
LabelDef Jam
ProducerRay Angry, Rick Friedrich,D.D. Jackson,Khari Mateen,Richard Nichols(exec.),James Poyser,Brent "Ritz" Reynolds,Sean C&LV,Sufjan Stevens,Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson
the Rootschronology
Betty Wright: The Movie
(2011) 		Undun
(2011) 		Wise Up Ghost
(2013)
SinglesfromUndun
  1. "Make My"
    Released: November 1, 2011

Undunis the twelfthstudio albumby Americanhip hopbandthe Roots.It was released on December 6, 2011, byDef Jam Recordings.

The album was recorded in sessions at several studios in Philadelphia and New York City. Production was handled primarily byQuestlove,the band's record producer and drummer. They were joined by guest contributors, including vocalistBilaland rappersBig K.R.I.T.,Dice Raw,andPhonte.

Musically,Undunincorporates influences fromneo soulandindiemusic. Thematically, it is anexistentialconcept albumabout the short, tragic life of fictional character Redford Stevens, set in urban poverty and told through areverse-chronologicalnarrative.

The album performed modestly onmusic chartsand sold 112,000 copies in the United States. It was a greater success with critics, being widely praised for its existential subject matter, production quality, and the band's musicianship.Undunwas included on several critics' year-end lists of best albums.

Writing and recording

[edit]

At the time of recording, the Roots comprised lead rapperBlack Thought,drummer and producerAhmir "Questlove" Thompson,keyboardistsKamal GrayandJames Poyser,percussionistF. Knuckles,guitaristCaptain Kirk Douglas,sousaphonist Damon Bryson, and bassist Mark Kelley.[3]The band also worked with other rappers for the album, includingBig K.R.I.T.,Dice Raw,Phonte,and Truck North, as well as vocalists such as Aaron Livingston andBilal.[2]

Questlove said that the band benefited from the security and practice time provided by their job as the house band onLate Night with Jimmy Fallon.Working for NBC, the band is expected to write "short, concise songs, even if they don't get used on air. We have to create three to seven songs every day." Many of these short pieces were used forUndun.Questlove said the new practice space refocused the band's songwriting style, which was previously dependent on jamming during soundchecks on tour. Questlove said the financial stability of the new job also allowed the Roots to be more musically adventurous: "we could finally follow all those crazy ideas that we've had without fear of being dropped by our label... Now we have a safety net. Our Def Jam life is now an evening job. We now have the comfort and confidence to start making the albums we want to make. That's whyundunfeels like our second album. There's no pressure. "[4]

The album was recorded andmixedprimarily at Downtown Music Studios in New York City and the Philadelphia recording locations A House Called Quest, daCrib, and The Boom Room.[5]The track "Will to Power (3rd Movement)" was recorded and mixed atMSR Studiosin New York City.[5]Undunwasmasteredat The Mastering Palace in New York City.[5]

Music and lyrics

[edit]

Undunis an existentialconcept albumabout the fictional character Redford Stevens,[6]who is named after aSufjan Stevenssong.[7]Itsreverse-chronologicalnarrative discusses his short, tragic life set in urban poverty.[8][9]Expanding on theindieinfluence of the band'sHow I Got Over(2010),[10][11]the album's music is characterized bysnare-driven beats,neo soulelements,[12]keyboard soundscapes, strings, choral arrangements, and tightdynamics.[13]

Plot outline

[edit]

"Illegal activity controls my black symphony
Orchestrated like it happened incidentally
Oh, there I go, from a man to a memory
Damn, I wonder if my fam will remember me "

—Black Thoughton "Sleep"

The plot of the album takes place in reverse over the course of a day in Redford's life,[14]with the multiple featured rappers all speaking from Redford'sfirst-person perspective.[15]The album opens with the sound of a flatlinedEKGon the instrumental track "Dun", signifying Redford's death.[16]This leads into the second track, "Sleep", where Black Thought's verse portrays Redford's dying thoughts on his life, fate and whether he will be remembered.[17]"Make My" depicts the killing of Redford,[18]with an extended outro modeled onMobb Deep's "Shook Ones (Part II)"that conveys Redford's spirit beginning to leave his body.[19]

"One Time" finds Redford feeling remorse and contemplating the course of his life; he reflects on the time that he stopped caring about school.[20]"Kool On" and "The OtherSide" depict Redford living successfully as a drug dealer.[21]"Kool On" hints that Redford is deluding himself, and the song's lyrics are about "how successful street hustlers might fool themselves in believing they are living the 'good life' but, in reality, 'living on borrowed time.'"[22]"Stomp" is meant to be the song on which "he's either gonna live or he’s gonna die with whatever path he has chosen to go down."[23]While Redford feels that he has been forced into crime, he is also decisively choosing his path.[23]On "Lighthouse", Redford contemplates suicide,[20]and the song's hook "there’s no one in the lighthouse/Face down in the ocean" is a metaphor for Redford being caught up in crime and questioning the direction of his life.[23]Redford recalls his life before crime on "I Remember".[21]"Tip the Scale" explores "how the odds are already stacked against a black man growing up in the ghetto even before he is born".[22]

The album is concluded with a four-part instrumentalmovement.[24]Part one isSufjan Stevensperforming his "Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)", originally from the albumMichigan;part two has astring quartetreinterpret the song. Part three is afree jazzperformance by Questlove and pianistD. D. Jackson.[4]The album concludes with the fourth part, another string quartet piece that ends abruptly with anunresolvedpiano chord.[16]Roots manager Richard Nichols described the final four tracks as a "birth-cycle" and said "It’s almost like he was undone upon birth... your outcome of your life is definitely gonna be affected by your surroundings, statistically."[23]

Redford Stevens

[edit]

The concept of following the story of a central character, Redford Stevens, on the album was the idea of band manager Richard Nichols.[25]According to Questlove, the album's protagonist Redford is "the prototypical urban kid — young, gifted, black, and unraveling before our eyes,"[26]and is based on "a combination of maybe four to five people that we know in Philadelphia."[14]Regarding the character, Black Thought said, "Redford's story isn't uncommon in Philadelphia... I remember not being able to imagine being alive as a 30-year-old. I didn't know many people who had lived to 30."[27]Inspiration for Redford was also culled from theSufjan Stevenssong "Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)" from his albumMichiganand the characterAvon Barksdalefrom TV seriesThe Wire.[14]Some sources have interpreted Redford as an African-Americaneveryman,[11]though others have cautioned against this view, emphasizing his individual characteristics. For instance, Hilary Brown ofDown Beatcalled Redford "a romantic, not a thug; a philosopher, not an everyman,"[28]and Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah wrote "The mistake is to read Redford as being like anyone who has their back to the wall, or to see the album’s narrative as a universal story."[29]

By focusing the narrative on an ordinary middleman in the drug trade, Questlove said the band attempted to subvert rap music genre conventions, which often glamorize a life of crime with a powerful "Don Corleone"figure.[14]Pitchfork's Nate Patrin said the album "isn't a sprawling, rise-and-fall crime story, not a condemnation or a veneration of a man living outside the law, not a bullet-riddledgrand guignolheavy on explicit details of soldiers getting cut down. It's a character study of a man whose existential crisis ends only with his death—a death gone largely unspecified, the glamor and tragedy washed over with a doomed resignation. "[30]Asad Khawaja wrote that the willingness to stray from genre norms enhanced the album's dramatic realism: "Rather than fall prey to the hip-hop illusions of high life grandeur, the Roots weaves a tale of spiralling downward, made all the more poignant by a character wholly self-aware of hisFaustian bargain."[31]

Cover

[edit]

The cover art is a black-and-white rendering of the photo "Flying High" bydocumentary photographerJamel Shabazz,[32]which depicts a child flipping on a mattress outdoors.[33]The cover art has been compared to the 1978Charles BurnettfilmKiller of Sheep.[34]

Release and sales

[edit]

Undunwas released byDef Jam Recordings,first on December 2, 2011, in continental Europe,[35]then on December 5 in the United Kingdom,[8]and on December 6 in the United States.[36]The album'slead single,"Make My" featuring Big K.R.I.T., was first released on November 1 toiTunes.[3]Whenundunwas released in the US, it debuted at number 17 on theBillboard200and sold 48,200 copies in its first week.[37]By January 2012, it had sold 112,000 copies there.[38]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.9/10[39]
Metacritic88/100[40]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The A.V. ClubA[41]
Chicago Tribune[42]
The Daily Telegraph[43]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[44]
The Independent[24]
MSN Music(Expert Witness)B+[45]
Pitchfork7.3/10[30]
Rolling Stone[46]
Spin7/10[11]

Undunwas met with widespread critical acclaim. AtMetacritic,which assigns anormalizedrating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received anaveragescore of 88, based on 32 reviews.[40]

Reviewing the album forAllMusic,Andy Kellman praised its "existential rhymes" and found its ideas "grave and penetrating".[2]James Lachno fromThe Daily Telegraphwas highly impressed by its music and how The Roots avoid "over-moralising or glorification".[43]Los Angeles Timeswriter Ernest Hardy said the record offers "a psychological depth and complexity rarely afforded black folks in modern pop culture, including (or especially) the borough of contemporary hip-hop."[9]Jon Pareles,writing inThe New York Times,said it is "complete in itself... made brief to be listened to as a whole."[47]Andy Gill ofThe Independentsaid the record is possibly the group's best, offering "opportunities for more considered reflection on the values we choose in life" instead of "the sense of inevitability and the tragic bravado found in comparable hip-hop tragedies".[24]In theChicago Tribune,Greg KotcitedUndunas The Roots' best work and called it "both chilling and beautiful at once".[42]At the end of 2011, Kot named it the year's second best album,[48]whileAnn PowersfromNPR Musicranked it tenth on her year-end list.[49]

Some reviewers expressed reservations. InRolling Stone,Jody Rosensaid Black Thought's "skilled but stolid rapping adds nothing new to the idiom" of the "morally ambiguous gangster tale", even thoughundunsucceeds musically.[46]Patrin found the storyline's "inevitable familiarity" to be "almost an end in itself" and that it "feels almost relentless in its singleminded dejection".[30]Ian Cohen ofSpinsaid Black Thought's reading of Redford Stephens sounded "business-like" and "consummately bland".[11]Robert Christgauwas also critical of the concept in his review forMSN Music,feeling that thesong cyclelacks a feel for its fictional character, although he added that the album showcases a sound from The Roots "that shows no sign of standing pat". Of Black Thought's performance, he said the rapper offered "flashes of insight and articulated feeling" rather than wisdom.[45]

Track listing

[edit]

Track numbers continued fromHow I Got Over.

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
157."Dun"Ray Angry,Ahmir ThompsonQuestlove,Angry1:16
158."Sleep"Nicolas Koenig-Dzialowski, Thompson,Tariq Trotter,Aaron LivingstonQuestlove,Hot Sugar2:15
159."Make My" (featuringBig K.R.I.T.&Dice Raw)Khari Mateen, Trotter, Thompson, Angry,Justin Scott,Karl JenkinsQuestlove, Mateen, Angry4:27
160."One Time" (featuringPhonte& Dice Raw)Brent Reynolds, Jenkins, Trotter, Thompson,Phonte ColemanQuestlove, Reynolds3:55
161."Kool On" (featuring Greg Porn & Truck North)Gregory Spearman, Jamal Miller, Trotter, Dewayne Julius Rogers Sr.Questlove3:48
162."The OtherSide" (featuringBilal& Greg Porn)Thompson, Betty Wright, Jenkins, Trotter, Spearman,James Poyser,Angelo Morris,Sean McMillion, Ralph JeantyQuestlove, Poyser, Richard Nichols4:03
163."Stomp" (featuring Greg Porn)Trotter, Spearman,Deleno Matthews,Levar CoppinSean C&LV2:23
164."Lighthouse" (featuring Dice Raw)Richard Friedrich, Thompson, Jenkins, TrotterQuestlove, Friedrich3:43
165."I Remember"Mateen, Trotter, ThompsonQuestlove, Mateen3:15
166."Tip the Scale" (featuring Dice Raw)Thompson, Angry, Wright, Jenkins, Trotter, MorrisQuestlove, Angry, Nichols, Mateen4:17
Redford Suite
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
167."Redford" (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)Sufjan StevensStevens1:52
168."Possibility" (2nd Movement)Angry, Thompson, NicholsQuestlove, Angry, Nichols0:55
169."Will to Power" (3rd Movement)D.D. Jackson,ThompsonQuestlove, D.D. Jackson1:03
170."Finality" (4th Movement)Angry, Thompson, NicholsQuestlove, Angry, Nichols1:31

Personnel

[edit]

Credits forUndunadapted from liner notes.[5]

Charts

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^"The Roots Say 'Undun' Taught 'Patience,' TV 'Made Us Better'".
  2. ^abcdKellman, Andy."Undun – The Roots".AllMusic.Rovi Corporation.RetrievedDecember 3,2011.
  3. ^ab"The Roots Present: an undun performance..."(Press release). Jill Newman Productions. November 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-12-03.Retrieved2011-12-03.
  4. ^abGoodman, William (November 1, 2011)."?uestlove Explains How SPIN and Sufjan Inspired the Roots' 'undun'".Spin.Retrieved2013-04-28.
  5. ^abcdUndun(CD liner).The Roots.New York City:Def Jam Recordings.2011. B0016282-02.{{cite AV media notes}}:CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^Fox, Killian (December 6, 2011)."The Roots: Undun – review".The Observer.Guardian News and Media Limited.Retrieved2011-12-04.
  7. ^Boles, Benjamin (December 1, 2011)."The Roots - Undun".NOW.NOW Communications.Retrieved2011-12-03.
  8. ^abMoore, Marcus J. (December 1, 2011)."Review of The Roots - undun".BBC Music.BBC.Retrieved2011-12-03.
  9. ^abHardy, Ernest (December 5, 2011)."Album review: The Roots' 'undun'".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved2011-12-06.
  10. ^Karlsson, Jens (November 29, 2011)."The Roots: Undun".Sonic(in Swedish). Sampler Media.Retrieved2011-12-03.
  11. ^abcdCohen, Ian (December 6, 2011)."The Roots, 'undun' (Def Jam)".Spin.SPIN Media. Archived fromthe originalon December 8, 2011.RetrievedDecember 6,2011.
  12. ^Deviant (December 9, 2011)."The Roots - undun (staff review)".Sputnikmusic.Retrieved2011-12-13.
  13. ^Capobianco, Ken (December 6, 2011)."The Roots, 'Undun' - Arts".The Boston Globe.The New York Times Company.Retrieved2011-12-06.
  14. ^abcdCheers, Imani M. (November 30, 2011)."The Roots Get Conceptual on 'undun'".PBS NewsHour.PBS.RetrievedApril 27,2013.
  15. ^Richards, Chris (December 5, 2011)."The Roots' 'undun' is filled with evocative hip-hop".Washington Post.Archived fromthe originalon June 30, 2013.RetrievedApril 28,2013.
  16. ^abMadden, Mike (December 6, 2011)."The Roots Have Made A Concept Album. And It's Good!".Time.Time Inc.RetrievedApril 27,2013.
  17. ^Touré(November 30, 2011)."Who Killed It: Don't" Sleep "On Black Thought".Complex.RetrievedApril 27,2013.
  18. ^Houghton, Edwin (December 6, 2011)."?uestlove Breaks Down The Roots undun".Okayplayer.RetrievedApril 27,2013.
  19. ^Murphy, Keith (November 25, 2011)."The Roots Say 'Undun' Taught 'Patience,' TV 'Made Us Better'".The Boombox.AOL.RetrievedApril 27,2013.
  20. ^abMoon, Tom (December 6, 2011)."The Roots: A Song Cycle For a Life Cycle".NPR Music.NPR.RetrievedApril 27,2013.
  21. ^abBoshomane, Pearl (December 7, 2011)."Album review: The Roots - Undun".The Sunday Times.Times Media Group.RetrievedApril 27,2013.
  22. ^abSemon, Craig (January 19, 2012)."Roots come 'undun' in spectacular fashion".Telegram & Gazette.RetrievedApril 27,2013.
  23. ^abcdKenner, Rob (November 25, 2011)."Album Preview: The Roots" Undun "".Complex Networks.RetrievedApril 27,2013.
  24. ^abcGill, Andy (December 1, 2011)."Album: The Roots, Undun (Mercury)".The Independent.Independent Print Limited. Archived fromthe originalon December 5, 2011.RetrievedDecember 3,2011.
  25. ^Stairiker, Kevin (May 29, 2012)."Even After 25 Years, The Roots Are Still Pushing Boundaries".Jumpphilly.RetrievedApril 29,2013.
  26. ^Questlove(November 21, 2011)."'undun': The Story Of A Gifted Black Youth Unravels ".Huffington Post.RetrievedApril 29,2013.
  27. ^Vozick-Levinson, Simon (November 15, 2011)."The Roots Set to Deliver Their 'Most Realized' Album Yet".Rolling Stone.RetrievedApril 28,2013.
  28. ^Brown, Hilary (January 2012)."The Roots,Undun(Def Jam) ".Down Beat.Archived fromthe originalon April 11, 2013.RetrievedApril 28,2013.
  29. ^Ghansah, Rachel Kaadzi (December 14, 2011)."Don't let the green grass fool you: The Roots are one of the most respected hip-hop acts in the world; why can't they leave the sad stuff alone?".Capital.RetrievedApril 28,2013.
  30. ^abcPatrin, Nate (December 6, 2011)."The Roots: Undun".Pitchfork.RetrievedDecember 6,2011.
  31. ^Khawaja, Asad (February 5, 2012)."Reviews previews: Undun by The Roots".Dawn.Dawn Group of Newspapers.RetrievedApril 27,2013.
  32. ^Moore, Jacob (2011-11-01)."Album Cover: The Roots" Undun "".Complex.Retrieved2013-04-26.
  33. ^DeLuca, Dan (2011-12-04)."Roots reach a creative height in 'undun'".Philly.Philadelphia Media Network.Retrieved2013-04-26.
  34. ^Mahfix, Alif Omar (2012-01-11)."The Roots: Undun".Juice Online.MSN.Archived fromthe originalon 2013-07-21.Retrieved2013-04-26.
  35. ^"The Roots - Undun".lescharts. Hung Medien.Retrieved2011-12-04.
  36. ^"Undun / [Explicit]: The Roots: Music".Amazon.Retrieved2011-12-03.
  37. ^Montana, Gina (December 14, 2011)."Drake's Take Care Drops to No. 7 on 200 Chart, Roots Undun Debuts at No. 17".XXL.Harris Publications.Retrieved2011-12-21.
  38. ^Jacobs, Allen (February 1, 2012)."Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 1/29/2011".HipHopDX. Archived fromthe originalon June 15, 2012.RetrievedFebruary 1,2011.
  39. ^"undun by The Roots reviews".AnyDecentMusic?.RetrievedJanuary 26,2017.
  40. ^ab"Reviews for Undun by The Roots".Metacritic.CBS Interactive.RetrievedDecember 3,2011.
  41. ^Rabin, Nathan(December 6, 2011)."The Roots: Undun".The A.V. Club.Onion, Inc.RetrievedDecember 6,2011.
  42. ^abKot, Greg(December 2, 2011)."Album review: The Roots, 'Undun'".Chicago Tribune.Tribune Company.RetrievedDecember 29,2019.
  43. ^abLachno, James (December 2, 2011)."The Roots: Undun, CD review".The Daily Telegraph.RetrievedDecember 3,2011.
  44. ^Anderson, Kyle (December 2, 2011)."undun".Entertainment Weekly.RetrievedSeptember 26,2016.
  45. ^abChristgau, Robert(December 6, 2011)."The Roots/Action Bronson".MSN Music.Microsoft.RetrievedDecember 7,2011.
  46. ^abRosen, Jody(December 6, 2011)."undun".Rolling Stone.Wenner Media.RetrievedDecember 6,2011.
  47. ^Pareles, Jon(December 7, 2011)."The Roots - 2 Albums, One Quest".The New York Times.Retrieved2011-12-21.
  48. ^Kot, Greg (December 2, 2011)."Top albums of 2011; Wild Flag top album of 2011".Chicago Tribune.Tribune Company.Retrieved2011-12-02.
  49. ^Powers, Ann(December 7, 2011)."Ann Powers' 10 Favorite Albums of 2011: All Songs Considered Blog".NPR Music. NPR.Retrieved2011-12-10.
  50. ^"Swisscharts – The Roots – Undun".Hung Medien. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  51. ^"The Roots Chart History (Billboard200) ".Billboard.Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  52. ^"The Roots Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)".Billboard.Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  53. ^"The Roots Chart History (Top Rap Albums)".Billboard.Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  54. ^"Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2012".Billboard.2 January 2013.RetrievedJuly 31,2020.
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