How I Got Over
Album | The Roots
Wounded optimism over laid-back soul-jazz grooves.
When The Roots were announced as Late Night With Jimmy Fallon's house band, Questlove matter-of-factly explained why they took the gig: with their record sales declining and most of the band in the married-with-children stage of life (and therefore uninterested in life on the road), it was either that or split up. But the increased exposure has both brought the veteran band a new audience and reminded those who stopped paying attention after 1999's Things Fall Apart that they're still among the most vital groups in hip-hop. Following the increasingly bleak Game Theory and Rising Down, How I Got Over feels suffused with a sense of wounded but resolute optimism from the gospel-derived title onwards. Musically, the twilit, often minor-key tunes offer a parade of guest stars ranging from old friends Dice Raw, John Legend and Blu to indie-rock darlings Joanna Newsom, Jim James and the female singers from Dirty Projectors, whose wordless harmonies on the opening "A Peace of Light" set the album's laid-back, vaguely spacey mood. There probably aren't any massive hits here, but it doesn't sound like the Roots were aiming for the charts: set up with a satisfying day job, they only had to please themselves.
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