http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14386-how-i-got-over/

I really like the back half of this record, but damn does it ever start out slow. Much of it reminds me of the Fashawn record from last year (even down to the J. Newsom sample!!) except not as good.

this record is a snooze. I'll credit the Roots for finding a way to grow old and stay in hip-hop. But that just means they're smooth rap, Norah Jones for people who grew up with Native Tongues. Black Thought has just never excited me as a rapper. I think I'd rather have heard an album of their Late Night collaborations.

this might be my favorite since Phrenology, but it's not without its flaws (too many guest artists for one)

What the heck does "sell-out" even mean anymore?

I don't think this is a sell-out record at all. Can you honestly see any of these tracks breaking through to a larger audience? The beginning is a little rough, but it allows them to pivot from the heavy stuff on the last two albums to the more upbeat cuts.

And Black Thought is one of the top five MCs of all time - right up there with Dylan.

Black Thought? You mean that guy from the Roots?

i know some "true" hip hop fans who also say that about Black Thought. i haven't listened enough but i do know that anybody with a real love for the artistry, deep down loves the roots.

i haven't heard this album yet, will check it out.

but seriously this band is incredibly underrated. organix, illadelph halflife, things fall apart, phrenology, game theory, it just seems like this stuff does not get enough respect

they're the blunted version of outkast

one might see them as gods

god ... game theory is my love right now

"now or never" is the joint..

how is this a "sellout" record? I'm not sure that adding Joanna Newsom and Jim James is a formula for commercial success.

Nonetheless, The Roots doesn't put out bad albums. This is no exception. "Radio Daze" is a serious jam. Also the two songs with John Legend are pretty solid. Between this, Big Boi and potentially Kanye, could be a really good summer for hip-hop.

Well, yeah it's a sellout album if you consider making it more palatable for the NPR music types by way of collaborations. But how many more albums/tickets are they really going to sell? And yeah, there are a lot of collaborations, but collaborations are an accepted part of hip-hop for better or worse. I just don't like collaborations when they're used for marketing purposes, e.g. john mayer & Jay-Z.

When hasn't this been an NPR band.

I think NPR began trending towards being a Roots medium more than the Roots have moved towards NPR.

is it too late to start this thread over?

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it bod

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i fuck you in the ass you FUCKING idiots

satire

"dis band is good"

"di band playing music like pitchfork!"

"u are inferior"

"wit"

fucking retards

facepalm gif in 3...2...

getting on this album nearly 1.5 years late, but i'll add the following two points...:

---starts out slower, the back half is definitely superior.

---hustla, the album's closer, might be the best song the group has written since 1999. they've obviously written a ton of great stuff since then, but i'd really love to hear them do a whole album of tunes that sound +/- just like this. great great stuff, i've been listening to that track at least 5x/day for the past week or so.