The Roots - Undun

1. Dun (Skit)
2. Sleep (4/5)
3. Make My f. Big K.R.I.T. (4.5/5)
4. One Time f. Phonte & Dice Raw (5/5)
5. Kool On f. P.O.R.N. & Truck North (4.5/5)
6. The Other Side (Feat. Bilal & P.O.R.N.) (4.5/5)
7. Stomp f. P.O.R.N. (4.25/5)
8. Lighthouse f. Dice Raw (4.75/5)
9. I Remember (4.5/5)
10. Tip The Scale (4.25/5)
11. Redford (For Yia Yia & Pappou) (11-14 all series of skits)
12. Possibility
13. Will To Power
14. Finality

There was a period of time where the best hip-hop band was in a period of decline. People, including myself, wrote them off as another struggling artists attempting to grasp onto one final shred of relevance in a society more concerned with LMFAO and posting rather unsavory videos to WorldStarHipHop. That's really what I felt HIGO was gonna be. But, I was proven very very wrong, and it became one of my favorites of 2010. Undun has the same effect on me. It's subtle, yet extremely powerful and leaves you feeling invigorated. It follows the same flowing, organic style that is slightly less focused on their famed live instrumentation seen in HIGO. According to the group, its concept followed the story and life of Redford Stephens - a 25-year-old fictional character that succumbed to the perils of the hood, as he looked back on his life. It's a different concept, especially for hip-hop, and they should be commended for innovating in a period where hip-hop has become somewhat stagnant. However, same with HIGO, the main selling point is how the music feels - how everything connects into one flowing masterful symphony. It's nice to listen to a Roots album more than once and understand each track deeper in terms of the whole concept after each rotation. In fact, this may be the most well-rounded Roots album of the decade.

Sample Tracks

"Make My"



"The OtherSide"



"Tip The Scale"



Beats & Production: 9/10

Rhymes & Lyricism: 9/10

Originality & Creativity: 9.5/10

Overall Grade: 92%

Download