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Originally Posted by noisereductions
The Roots... I don't know, I worship those guys. Quest is on my short list of dudes I'd kill to have a beer with. And when I read his book he talks about what you already mentioned - that basically Fallon has allowed The Roots to do the SY thing, which is have the freedom to do whatever the F they want. And let's be straight: they've done some very interesting things since (like an album w/ John Legend... or Elvis Costello... or Then You Shoot, etc).
Also something to think about: Fallon convinced ATCQ to come on his show for the first time in over 15 years. This immediately led to the new album. I'd be willing to bet that The Roots (or at least Questlove) had a hand in that.
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Right. The Roots are not offenders of the Flava Flav/Rza/Dre variety. Not at all. They serve a purpose, and it may be that without the friendly household-name status the Fallon gig has given them, they wouldn't be able to make albums like Undun or ...And Then...
I still might argue that Sonic Youth did the "Sonic Youth" thing without ever being anyone's sidekick/lap dog/house band, and they sold WAY fewer records than the Roots, and never even approached the level of "household namedom" that the Roots had a decade before they joined Fallon. So... to me, it kinda seems like the Roots could do this too. BUT... truth remains that they have continued to experiment and broaden their sound, living kind of a double life and still doing plenty of awesome things on record.
So, no, they're not Prophets of Rage/Once Upon a Time in Shaolin level offenders, and I really don't think any less of them all things considered.
But Tribe still dumped all over every legacy hip-hop group's heads with thier Fallon spot, the album and the upcoming tour.
Did I mention Tribe's planning to tour? Not that it's really "Tribe" anymore.. not fully. But still... that would be pretty sweet, and if it's happening I'm there.