Track Listing

1. Star/Pointro
2. I Don't Care
3. Don't Say Nuthin'
4. Guns Are Drawn
5. Stay Cool
6. Web
7. Boom!
8. Somebody's Gotta Do It
9. Duck Down!
10. Why (What's Goin On?)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17443 in Music
• Brand: Roots
• Released on: 2004-07-13
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

Album Description
UK pressing of the alternative rap act's 2004 album includes one bonus track 'Melting Pot'. Universal.

Amazon.com
On their sixth album, the Roots backslide a bit on the creative promise they showed with 2002's Phrenology. Instead of expanding into more ambitious and experimental areas--the way Outkast has, for example--the Roots tend to fall back to basics with vigorous, but ultimately conventional, lyricism. There are definitely some truly great moments here: the album opens with near-magic on "Star," a mesmerizing song that is one of the finest of the group's career, and Black Thought is a one-man tour de force on "Boom!" where he mimics Big Daddy Kane and Kool G Rap down to their velour sweats. But The Tipping Point also has some of their blandest production ever, and, at 10 tracks (plus two hidden cuts), the compactness of the album makes the problem spots stand out more than usual. "I Don't Care" and "Duck Down!" in particular seem derivative and commercially tailored. The main thing missing here is an overall guiding concept, something the Roots have never lacked before. --Oliver Wang

Customer Reviews

Bittersweet (3.5 Stars)
Question: Have The Roots peaked?

This is the question I have been debating with myself after listening to The Roots amply titled seventh album, "The Tipping Point". Listen to "Do You Want More?!!!??!", "Things Fall Apart", and "Phrenology" back to back and you'll realize that they're literally polar opposites in terms of sound. Innovation was brought with each succeeding album... but now? Things seem very passive. Perhaps a better way of describing this album is to say that it's a "safe album". The lyricism is still intact, but the problem that I have is that Black Thought doesn't really have much to say. The production ranges from good to acceptable to "too by the books" or "been done"; much of the production in the second half of the album sounds like it was rehashed from "Phrenology" while the semi-annoying "Somebody's Gotta Do It" sounds more like an R&B song. Also a justifiable mention: ?uestlove isn't well utilized. But this is The Roots after all, so yes; the album does have shining moments, including the lead single "Don't Say Nothin'", "Star", "Web", "Why (What's Goin' On?)", and the best track on the album, the old-school throwback sound of "Guns Are Drawn". The two hidden tracks are questionable: The first one is generically stupid that has a horrid hook and David Chappelle riding on his Lil' Jon impression while the other should've been left in the "improvised-time killer" section of a jam session. In contrast, The Roots really have nothing to prove; they've done better things with one album than other artists do in an entire career. But in the end, all we can do is admire this album for what it is, and nothing more.

Can't Believe I Slept On This...
Now I've been a Roots fan for a while now, and before this week, I had every Roots album besides 'The Tipping Point' (yes, I even own 'Organix'). I hadn't really heard many good things about it, and was going to pick it up eventually, but it wasn't a priority. When I was at the CD store to buy the new Smif N Wessun album, I saw this CD sitting on the used shelf for only about $7.99, and I realized that under the used wrapping, it was brand new (factory sealed and all). So, I decided to buy it too (along with the 'He Got Game Soundtrack' used for only about $5.99), not with very high expectations. After listening to it 3 times, I can safely say it's definately up to par with all of the Roots other work.

For this album, the main criticism is that "the beats are too bland and boring". Although I don't think the beats are lacking at all, I think that The Roots made the beats a little more simplistic, so the album could center around Black Thought a bit more. I actually think this is a good thing, because Black Thought is one of my favorite MC's in the game, and one of the best of all time, and he truly shines on this album.

The production on the album is handled by The Roots, and affiliates, like all of their other albums. ?uestlove ('Star', 'Guns Are Drawn' & 'I Don't Care'), Anthony Tidd, Frank "Knuckles" Walker, & Richard Nichols ('Guns Are Drawn' & 'I Don't Care'), Scott Storch ('Don't Say Nuthin' & 'Duck Down'), Melvin 'Chaos' Lewis ('Stay Cool' & 'Boom!'), Robert 'LB' Dorsey ('Web'), Tahir Jamal ('Somebody's Gotta Do It'), & Zoukhan ('Why? (What's Goin' On?) all provide pretty much dope beats.

As for the album lyrically, its top notch. As I said, Black Thought drops hot verses throughout the entire album, that are good enough basically to carry the album if the beats were really lacking.

Top 5 Songs (In Order):

1. Star/Pointro - One of the smoothest rap songs I've ever heard, classic Roots production (with a great Sly The Family Stone sample) and Black Thought opens up the album with some of his best verses

2. Guns Are Drawn - Another that quickly became one of my favorite Roots songs. Love the beat here, and again one of Black Thought's highlights lyrically

3. Boom! - The best flow on the whole album, and as the Amazon Editorial Review said, it really does sound like a Kane or G Rap imitation. I even think he might have lifted a G Rap line: "Homonyms, synonyms good like M&M's"...Not sure but I think I recognize that from some G Rap & Polo song

4. Why? (What's Goin On?) - Love the production here, and Black Thought slows it down a bit to make a GREAT song

5. I Don't Care - Love the drums and bass, also the catchiest hook on here (do I even have to mention that Black Thought spits fire again?)

Worst Track:

Duck Down! - The beat can get kinda annoying (its not BAD, but the worst on the CD). And Black Thought is decent on here...Just overall is an "OK" track

Lyrics/Substance/Subject Matter - 9/10
Flow/Delivery - 9/10
Production - 8.5/10
Overall Feel - 9/10

Guest Apperances - 6/10 - Riq Gees, Jean Grae & Mac - All on one song ('Somebody's Gotta Do It'), and the only one I'm actually a fan of is Jean Grae, but they all drop decent/pretty good verses. But, the song doesn't stand out, and they don't play an important role here at all.
Overall Rating - 8.5/10 - Highly reccomended, and a must have for any fan of The Roots...This one surprised me, and just might surprise you

Judge it based on its contemporaries, not the past
Before I say anything else about the album, if after listening to this album you still don't consider Black Thought a top 5 MC, you do not deserve to call yourself a hip hop head. This is The Roots' 7th Album (9th if you count "The Legendary" and "From the Ground Up" EPs), and Black Thought sounds as hungry as ever. It's like he got tired of hearing all the "I miss Malik B." cries from the OkayPlayer family, and since he couldn't release his solo album (Masterpiece Theatre, 2000), he put everything into this album.

Make no mistake, though this is The Roots' album, it's decidedly Black Thought's show. Whereas Phrenology was on the whole experimentation tip that was so prevalent among the more progressive elements in hip hop around '02 (showcasing now former member Ben Kinney and his rock roots), The Tipping Point is probably the most conventional Hip Hop album The Roots have made, reminiscent of Illadelph Halflife, which some consider The Roots best album.

The vocals were laid separately from the tracks, so though the instrumentation was for the most part live, it was essentially The Roots sampling themselves. You can think of this as a Black Thought solo album produced by The Roots. In doing this approach, it loses some of the feel and synergy of previous Roots albums. Whereas "Essaywhuman????!???" from Organix and Do You Want More was the epitome of band and MCs blending into one voice, this is the flipside...but I digress. Okay, track by track review time:

1-(103) Star/Pointro: This track sets the tempo and manifesto for this album, in a much more overt way than the previous albums' intros. From the top, Black Thought is killing it over a Sly and The Family Stone sample, "Everybody Wants to Be a Star"...then, much like De La Soul did on 1996's "Stakes is High," they lament the state of hip hop today and challenge themselves to change it.

2-(104) I Don't Care: Sick beat, guest appearance on the hook by Dom (who sounds like Cody ChesTTnutt), and Black Thought kicking it mid-tempo. Good track...

3-(105) Don't Say Nuthin': Okay, I admit, I didn't really dig this song too tough when I first heard it. It's grown on me, and for some reason, it sounds better on the album than the single or video. Scott Storch (original member of The Roots, now producer of tracks such as "Lean Back" and "Fast Lane") did production for this track. Oh, and BTW, Black Thought really isn't saying anything on the chorus.

4-(106) Guns Are Drawn: Nice beat, gives the feel of a cipher with Black Thought going a little political...think of a sonic rendition of "Bowling for Columbine"

5-(107) Stay Cool: This one samples the same song De La Soul sampled on '93's "Ego Trippin' Pt. 2" and has a real mellow feel. The dude on the hook sounds like Pharrell, but it's not (future collabo with the Neptunes coming in the future, though)

6-(108) Web: This joint sounds like "Thought at Work" Part II....he's kicking it double time over a simple drum and bass track....he has to go about 96 bars straight in this joint, no hook! Real old school feel....

7-(109) Boom!: This joint is sick! At this point, we've had no guest MCs, and you would think at first listen that BT has Big Daddy Kane and Kool G Rap trading bars with him, but it's only Black Thought! The track sounds like it's bringing '88 back...and Ice is in his world. :tied:

8-(110) Somebody's Gotta Do It: Mellowed out track with the first two guest MCs, who hold it down nice....Jean Grae is a criminally slept on female MC, who hopefully will parlay this exposure into more mainstream success....I don't know too much about Mac, but he shows promise on here

9-(111) Duck Down!: The other Scott Storch track on here, this one had to grow on me

10-(112) Why (What's Goin On?): Somber feel, Black Thought's back on some political/conscious tip here....standout track!

There are a couple of secret tracks with some, uh, unexpected guests, so I won't ruin that surprise for you

Overall, I think it's a very good album. The Roots are unmatched among groups with longevity and consistency and this continues the trend. As a fan since Organix, seeing them evolve is bittersweet, like a parent watching their child grow up. I don't want them to be like they were in '93, but at the same time, I miss the camraderie that was so obvious on "Do You Want More," the frustrated artist vibe obvious on "Illadelph Halflife," the confidence that they were about to have a breakthrough on "Things Fall Apart"....I miss Malik B., Rahzel, Dice Raw, Ursula Rucker, etc. It's kind of like missing college or something...you know you can't go back (and you'd be a joke if you did), but you still have a "Catcher in the Rye" type longing for it. In spite of all that, listen to this album for what it is, and I guarantee you won't be disappointed