Rising Down
Encyclopedia
Rising Down is the eighth studio album
by American hip hop
band The Roots
, released April 28, 2008 on Def Jam Recordings
. The album's title is adapted from William T. Vollmann
's book Rising Up and Rising Down: Some Thoughts on Violence, Freedom and Urgent Means (2004). Expanding on the dark, dense production and political tone of Game Theory
(2006), Rising Down features lyrical themes concerning issues of contemporary society, including violence, poverty, social and environmental climate, drugs, police corruption, and the music industry.
The album debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200
chart, selling 54,000 copies in its first week. It charted modestly in other countries and achieved moderate sales success. Upon its release, Rising Down received generally positive reviews from most music critics. Music critic Robert Christgau
named it the ninth best album of 2008. The album has sold 171,000 copies in the United States.
The album's themes are dark, as on the preceding Game Theory
, with Questlove referring to this album as "the most incendiary, political album of our career to date." In the same interview, he explains: "Add up the crime and high school drop-out rates in Philadelphia, plus being in your mid-30s and working 300 nights a year and this being an election year — yeah, all that’s what this album’s about.” The album's title comes from William T. Vollmann
's 2004 book Rising Up and Rising Down: Some Thoughts on Violence, Freedom and Urgent Means. Similar to the book, the role of violence
in human society is a central theme on the overtly-political album; the album's political message reflects the violence in The Roots' home city of Philadelphia.
The album contains a large number of guest vocalists, particularly in comparison to previous Roots albums. The album features many of the same guest vocalists as Game Theory. Peedi Crakk, Malik B.
, Dice Raw
, P.O.R.N. and Mercedes Martinez all make repeat appearances. DC
rapper Wale
appears on the album, following an invite stemming from a Black Thought-tribute track called "Work" featured on his 100 Miles & Running
mixtape. Other notable emcees making appearances on the album include Native Tongues Posse
members Mos Def
, Talib Kweli
, and Common, as well as Styles P
and Saigon
.
on 22 February 2008. The first single was initially confirmed as "Birthday Girl", which features Fall Out Boy
's Patrick Stump
, and which leaked via Youtube
, a song described by Questlove as "An easy pop song". However, the song has gone from single to being an iTunes exclusive (bonus track), because the song didn't fit with the album's motif. “It was just sticking out like a sore thumb...Then we were going to have a 'halftime' thing where it was gonna come in the middle of the record as a break from the political thing, but that didn't work, either. Then we tried to make it the last song on the record, and that wasn't working. Then we tried to make it the hidden track, and that wasn't effective. Basically the album was complete; it starts with 'Rising Down' and it ends with 'Rising Up,' so that makes more sense to me." "Birthday Girl" has been included as a bonus track on iTunes and some international versions of the album, along with "The Grand Return"
. The album debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200
chart and became the highest-selling hip hop album of its debut week, with first-week sales of 54,000 copies. It spent five weeks on the Billboard 200. The album also entered at number one on Billboard
s Top Rap Albums
, ultimately spending 12 weeks on the chart, and at number three on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
, ultimately spending 22 weeks on the chart, Internationally, the album peaked at number 95 in France, at number 34 in Norway, at number 10 in Switzerland, and at number 14 in Canada. As of October 2009, Rising Down has sold 171,000 copies in the United States.
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
score of 80, based on 27 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Allmusic writer Marisa Brown gave it 4 out of 5 stars and wrote that it "acts as a powerful statement on contemporary society". Blender
s Hsu Hua commended its concise production and called it "an excellent, punchy album full of youthful swagger and anything-goes experimentation". About.com
writer Shannon Barbour called it "arguably the most thoroughly listenable album since Things Fall Apart
, yet effusively lighter than Game Theory, but with the equally hard-hitting lyrical content of the latter". Delusions of Adequacy's Bryan Sanchez gave it a rave review and wrote that it "bristles and brims with intensity, an abundance of hooks and most of all, that exceptional musicianship". Tom Horan of The Daily Telegraph
cited Rising Down as "the best album of their long career". Chicago Tribune
writer Greg Kot
lauded the album's socially-conscious themes and viewed its sound as "bleaker, grimier and harder-edged" than The Roots' earlier work. Will Dukes of Spin
complimented its socially relevant themes and called the album "a thematically, unified, musically propulsive statement about the decline of contemporary society". Rolling Stone
s Jody Rosen complimented its dark, dense production, stating "It's a sound that fits the dark subject matter". Tyler Munro of Sputnikmusic
stated "Dark, dense and paranoid, Rising Down is surprisingly better for it".
In contrast, Entertainment Weekly
s Sean Howe expressed a mixed response towards its "bad vibes" and lyrical "gripes", calling it "a socially conscious creation overseasoned with discontent". Harry Allen of The Village Voice
perceived its dense production as overwhelming Black Thought's rapping and questioned, "is zealous love for the track submerging the band's vocalist?", but commended "the nuances of the Roots' dystopia; the rather painterly way they use sound, in the compositional modes that hip-hop affords, to render a world not only under duress, but, in fact, permanently diseased: Dhalgren
on wax". Los Angeles Times
writer Oliver Wang viewed that it "doesn't replicate the balanced charm" of Game Theory, but ultimately commended its "musical uniformity" and called it "the more provocative effort". PopMatters
writer Zeth Lundy wrote that it "does prove to be an provocative peer of cultural riot-acting and pragmatic contextualization--though, as contemporary pop music, it provides a much more immediate delivery of social ethics from a street-level perspective". Nate Patrin of Pitchfork Media
commended Black Thought's rapping and the album's articulation of lyrical themes concerning contemporary society's issues, stating:
Nate Chinen of The New York Times
complimented the album's socially-relevant themes and "crisp musicianship", stating "Spiked with dire intensity and stocked with head-spinning rhymes by Black Thought and nearly a dozen guest rappers [...] it’s the most potent Roots release since the one-two punch of Things Fall Apart
and its predecessor, Illadelph Halflife
". Vibes Keith Murphy commended The Roots' musical ambition and production on the album. USA Today
s Steve Jones gave the album four out of four stars and described its sound as "industrial-strength funk that demands to be turned up loud". Slant Magazine
's Dave Hughes called it "the most urgently malevolent modern funk record the band has assembled to date". Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club
gave it a B+ rating and praised "the electric chemistry between Black Thought's unrelenting lyrical assault and ?uestlove's epic drums". The Washington Post
s Sarah Godfrey viewed that the album's ominous sound "tempers heady subject matter with much-needed thump" and cited it as The Roots' best work since Things Fall Apart. In his consumer guide for MSN Music
, critic Robert Christgau
gave Rising Down an A rating and called it "as pleasurable as prime OutKast
or Kanye West
", while citing it as "the most accomplished pure hip-hop album in years". Christgau ranked Rising Down number nine on his list of 2008's best albums. The Boston Globe
s Sarah Rodman named it the third best album of 2008.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
band The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
, released April 28, 2008 on Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings is an American record label, focused primarily on hip hop and urban music, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Motown Music Group...
. The album's title is adapted from William T. Vollmann
William T. Vollmann
William Tanner Vollmann is an American novelist, journalist, short story writer, essayist and winner of the National Book Award...
's book Rising Up and Rising Down: Some Thoughts on Violence, Freedom and Urgent Means (2004). Expanding on the dark, dense production and political tone of Game Theory
Game Theory (album)
Game Theory is the seventh studio album by American hip hop band The Roots, released August 29, 2006, on Def Jam Recordings. The group's first release for the label after leaving Geffen Records, the album was recorded by the Roots mostly using the Apple-developed software application GarageBand...
(2006), Rising Down features lyrical themes concerning issues of contemporary society, including violence, poverty, social and environmental climate, drugs, police corruption, and the music industry.
The album debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, selling 54,000 copies in its first week. It charted modestly in other countries and achieved moderate sales success. Upon its release, Rising Down received generally positive reviews from most music critics. Music critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
named it the ninth best album of 2008. The album has sold 171,000 copies in the United States.
Music
According to the band's producer Questlove, Rising Down "is an electric record, more synthy. The darks are darker and the lights are lighter. But all I know is making quality hip-hop stylistically. We tried to do something we never did before. Kamal had to be the sacrificial lamb this time. The one instrument that has defined the Roots has been the Fender Rhodes. This is the first year he's had to change his instrumentation and try other sounds out. We have a bunch of keyboards and synthesizers we're using on this record. It feels like the musical equivalent of 'Blade Runner' sometimes. We've also added a horn section."The album's themes are dark, as on the preceding Game Theory
Game theory
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
, with Questlove referring to this album as "the most incendiary, political album of our career to date." In the same interview, he explains: "Add up the crime and high school drop-out rates in Philadelphia, plus being in your mid-30s and working 300 nights a year and this being an election year — yeah, all that’s what this album’s about.” The album's title comes from William T. Vollmann
William T. Vollmann
William Tanner Vollmann is an American novelist, journalist, short story writer, essayist and winner of the National Book Award...
's 2004 book Rising Up and Rising Down: Some Thoughts on Violence, Freedom and Urgent Means. Similar to the book, the role of violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
in human society is a central theme on the overtly-political album; the album's political message reflects the violence in The Roots' home city of Philadelphia.
The album contains a large number of guest vocalists, particularly in comparison to previous Roots albums. The album features many of the same guest vocalists as Game Theory. Peedi Crakk, Malik B.
Malik B.
Malik Abdul Basit is a hip-hop artist who was a member of The Roots from the early 1990s to their 2000-2001 tour. He has released one EP, entitled Psychological on emcee Haak Blast's publishing company "Future Blast Publishing"....
, Dice Raw
Dice Raw
Dice Raw is a hip-hop artist associated with The Roots, and one of the founding members of musical group Nouveau Riche.In 2000, Dice Raw recorded his solo debut album, Reclaiming the Dead on MCA Records....
, P.O.R.N. and Mercedes Martinez all make repeat appearances. DC
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
rapper Wale
Wale (rapper)
Wale Victor Folarin , better known by his stage name Wale , is an American rapper from Washington, D.C. Wale was born to Nigerian parents. He rose to prominence in 2006, when his song "Dig Dug " became popular in his hometown. Wale became locally recognized and continued recording music for the...
appears on the album, following an invite stemming from a Black Thought-tribute track called "Work" featured on his 100 Miles & Running
100 Miles & Running
100 Miles & Running is a mixtape by DC rapper Wale.It was Wale's third mixtape, released on July 11, 2007. The mixtape was mixed by Nick Catchdubs and featured remixes of songs by Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Justice. The mixtape also includes appearances from Daniel Merriweather, Mark Ronson,...
mixtape. Other notable emcees making appearances on the album include Native Tongues Posse
Native tongues
Native Tongues is a book by the linguist Charles Berlitz.It is a list of words in different languages, etymology and questions with speculations far and wide about words....
members Mos Def
Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
, Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli Greene , better known as Talib Kweli, is an American hip-hop artist and poet from Brooklyn, New York. His first name in Arabic means "student" or "seeker" ; his in Swahili means "true"...
, and Common, as well as Styles P
Styles P
David Styles better known by his stage name, Styles P, is an American rapper, author, and entrepreneur. He is prominently known as a member of Hip Hop group The LOX and is also a part of the Ruff Ryders hip-hop group, and in addition has released multiple albums and mixtapes as a solo...
and Saigon
Saigon (rapper)
Brian Daniel Carenard, better known by his stage name Saigon, is an American rapper and occasional actor.Saigon is currently signed to Suburban Noize Records and Just Blaze's Fort Knocks Entertainment record label. After years of delay due to former record label interference, his album The Greatest...
.
Singles
The first track leaked from the album was "75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)", was posted on OkayplayerOkayplayer
Okayplayer.com is an online hip-hop and alternative music website and community, described by Rolling Stone as a "tastemaker" and "an antidote to dull promotional Web sites used by most artists". The group was co-founded by The Roots' drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson as a loose musical...
on 22 February 2008. The first single was initially confirmed as "Birthday Girl", which features Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...
's Patrick Stump
Patrick Stump
Patrick Vaughn Stump is an American singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, and music critic. He is the composer, lead singer, and multi-instrumentalist of Fall Out Boy, an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, and is also a solo artist...
, and which leaked via Youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, a song described by Questlove as "An easy pop song". However, the song has gone from single to being an iTunes exclusive (bonus track), because the song didn't fit with the album's motif. “It was just sticking out like a sore thumb...Then we were going to have a 'halftime' thing where it was gonna come in the middle of the record as a break from the political thing, but that didn't work, either. Then we tried to make it the last song on the record, and that wasn't working. Then we tried to make it the hidden track, and that wasn't effective. Basically the album was complete; it starts with 'Rising Down' and it ends with 'Rising Up,' so that makes more sense to me." "Birthday Girl" has been included as a bonus track on iTunes and some international versions of the album, along with "The Grand Return"
Commercial performance
Rising Down was released April 28, 2008 in the United Kingdom and April 29, 2008 in the United Staes on Def Jam RecordingsDef Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings is an American record label, focused primarily on hip hop and urban music, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Motown Music Group...
. The album debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart and became the highest-selling hip hop album of its debut week, with first-week sales of 54,000 copies. It spent five weeks on the Billboard 200. The album also entered at number one on Billboard
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
s Top Rap Albums
Top Rap Albums
Top Rap Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks Rap and hip-hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart began publication for the week of November 13, 2004....
, ultimately spending 12 weeks on the chart, and at number three on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
, ultimately spending 22 weeks on the chart, Internationally, the album peaked at number 95 in France, at number 34 in Norway, at number 10 in Switzerland, and at number 14 in Canada. As of October 2009, Rising Down has sold 171,000 copies in the United States.
Critical response
Rising Down received positive reviews from most music critics. At MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 80, based on 27 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Allmusic writer Marisa Brown gave it 4 out of 5 stars and wrote that it "acts as a powerful statement on contemporary society". Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
s Hsu Hua commended its concise production and called it "an excellent, punchy album full of youthful swagger and anything-goes experimentation". About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
writer Shannon Barbour called it "arguably the most thoroughly listenable album since Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart (album)
Things Fall Apart is the fourth studio album by American hip hop band The Roots, released February 23, 1999 on Geffen Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at Electric Lady Studios during 1997 to 1999, coinciding with recording for other projects of the Soulquarians collective,...
, yet effusively lighter than Game Theory, but with the equally hard-hitting lyrical content of the latter". Delusions of Adequacy's Bryan Sanchez gave it a rave review and wrote that it "bristles and brims with intensity, an abundance of hooks and most of all, that exceptional musicianship". Tom Horan of The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
cited Rising Down as "the best album of their long career". Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
writer Greg Kot
Greg Kot
Greg Kot is an American writer and journalist. Since 1990, Kot has been the music critic at the Chicago Tribune, where he has covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and business issues...
lauded the album's socially-conscious themes and viewed its sound as "bleaker, grimier and harder-edged" than The Roots' earlier work. Will Dukes of Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
complimented its socially relevant themes and called the album "a thematically, unified, musically propulsive statement about the decline of contemporary society". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s Jody Rosen complimented its dark, dense production, stating "It's a sound that fits the dark subject matter". Tyler Munro of Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
stated "Dark, dense and paranoid, Rising Down is surprisingly better for it".
In contrast, Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
s Sean Howe expressed a mixed response towards its "bad vibes" and lyrical "gripes", calling it "a socially conscious creation overseasoned with discontent". Harry Allen of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
perceived its dense production as overwhelming Black Thought's rapping and questioned, "is zealous love for the track submerging the band's vocalist?", but commended "the nuances of the Roots' dystopia; the rather painterly way they use sound, in the compositional modes that hip-hop affords, to render a world not only under duress, but, in fact, permanently diseased: Dhalgren
Dhalgren
Dhalgren is a science fiction novel by Samuel R. Delany. The story begins with a cryptic passage:to wound the autumnal city.So howled out for the world to give him a name.The in-dark answered with wind....
on wax". Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
writer Oliver Wang viewed that it "doesn't replicate the balanced charm" of Game Theory, but ultimately commended its "musical uniformity" and called it "the more provocative effort". PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
writer Zeth Lundy wrote that it "does prove to be an provocative peer of cultural riot-acting and pragmatic contextualization--though, as contemporary pop music, it provides a much more immediate delivery of social ethics from a street-level perspective". Nate Patrin of Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
commended Black Thought's rapping and the album's articulation of lyrical themes concerning contemporary society's issues, stating:
Nate Chinen of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
complimented the album's socially-relevant themes and "crisp musicianship", stating "Spiked with dire intensity and stocked with head-spinning rhymes by Black Thought and nearly a dozen guest rappers [...] it’s the most potent Roots release since the one-two punch of Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart (album)
Things Fall Apart is the fourth studio album by American hip hop band The Roots, released February 23, 1999 on Geffen Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at Electric Lady Studios during 1997 to 1999, coinciding with recording for other projects of the Soulquarians collective,...
and its predecessor, Illadelph Halflife
Illadelph Halflife
The New York Times writer Neil Strauss called the album "one of the year's best rap offerings" and wrote that "The Roots move indiscriminately from politically conscious lyrics to silly rhymes "...
". Vibes Keith Murphy commended The Roots' musical ambition and production on the album. USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
s Steve Jones gave the album four out of four stars and described its sound as "industrial-strength funk that demands to be turned up loud". Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
's Dave Hughes called it "the most urgently malevolent modern funk record the band has assembled to date". Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
gave it a B+ rating and praised "the electric chemistry between Black Thought's unrelenting lyrical assault and ?uestlove's epic drums". The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
s Sarah Godfrey viewed that the album's ominous sound "tempers heady subject matter with much-needed thump" and cited it as The Roots' best work since Things Fall Apart. In his consumer guide for MSN Music
MSN Music
MSN Music was a part of the MSN web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. In 2004, Microsoft created an MSN Music download store to compete with Apple's iTunes Music Store, though its sales in comparison were...
, critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
gave Rising Down an A rating and called it "as pleasurable as prime OutKast
OutKast
Outkast is an American hip hop duo based in East Point, Georgia, consisting of Atlanta native André "André 3000" Benjamin and Savannah, Georgia-born Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. They were originally known as Two Shades Deep but later changed the group's name to OutKast...
or Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
", while citing it as "the most accomplished pure hip-hop album in years". Christgau ranked Rising Down number nine on his list of 2008's best albums. The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
s Sarah Rodman named it the third best album of 2008.
Track listing
| # | Title | Producer(s) | Performer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Pow Wow" | ||
| 2 | "Rising Down" | Questlove | Black Thought Black Thought Tariq Trotter , better known as Black Thought, is an American hip-hop artist who is the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group The Roots and occasional actor... , Mos Def Mos Def Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which... , Styles P Styles P David Styles better known by his stage name, Styles P, is an American rapper, author, and entrepreneur. He is prominently known as a member of Hip Hop group The LOX and is also a part of the Ruff Ryders hip-hop group, and in addition has released multiple albums and mixtapes as a solo... , Dice Raw Dice Raw Dice Raw is a hip-hop artist associated with The Roots, and one of the founding members of musical group Nouveau Riche.In 2000, Dice Raw recorded his solo debut album, Reclaiming the Dead on MCA Records.... (chorus) |
| 3 | "Get Busy" | The Roots, Ritz Reynolds |
Black Thought, Dice Raw Dice Raw Dice Raw is a hip-hop artist associated with The Roots, and one of the founding members of musical group Nouveau Riche.In 2000, Dice Raw recorded his solo debut album, Reclaiming the Dead on MCA Records.... , Peedi Peedi Peedi Peedi Pedro Zayas, known as Peedi Crakk and also Peedi Peedi is an American rapper of Puerto Rican descent. He is a member of State Property and is currently signed to Amalgam Digital.-Career:... DJ Jazzy Jeff DJ Jazzy Jeff Jeffrey Allen Townes , also known as DJ Jazzy Jeff or simply Jazz, is an American hip hop, R&B record producer, turntablist and actor. He is best known for his early career with Will Smith as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince... (DJ scratches) |
| 4 | "@15" | Black Thought | |
| 5 | "75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)" | Questlove | Black Thought |
| 6 | "Becoming Unwritten" | The Roots, Tahir Jamal, Radji Mateen, Khari Mateen |
Black Thought |
| 7 | "Criminal" | The Roots, Khari Mateen |
Black Thought, Truck North, Saigon Saigon (rapper) Brian Daniel Carenard, better known by his stage name Saigon, is an American rapper and occasional actor.Saigon is currently signed to Suburban Noize Records and Just Blaze's Fort Knocks Entertainment record label. After years of delay due to former record label interference, his album The Greatest... |
| 8 | "I Will Not Apologize" | The Roots, Richard Nichols |
Black Thought, P.O.R.N., Dice Raw, Talib Kweli |
| 9 | "I Can't Help It" | The Roots, Richard Nichols |
Black Thought, Malik B, P.O.R.N., Dice Raw, Mercedes Martinez |
| 10 | "Singing Man" | The Roots, Khari Mateen |
Black Thought, P.O.R.N., Truck North, Dice Raw |
| 11 | "Unwritten" | The Roots, Tahir Jamal, Radji Mateen, Khari Mateen |
Black Thought, Mercedes Martinez |
| 12 | "Lost Desire" | The Roots, Khari Mateen |
Black Thought, Malik B., Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene , better known as Talib Kweli, is an American hip-hop artist and poet from Brooklyn, New York. His first name in Arabic means "student" or "seeker" ; his in Swahili means "true"... |
| 13 | "The Show" | The Roots, Tahir Jamal |
Black Thought, Common Common (rapper) Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. , better known by his stage name Common , is an American hip-hop artist and actor.... , Dice Raw |
| 14 | "Rising Up" | Questlove, James Poyser James Poyser James Poyser in Sheffield, England is a multi-Grammy winning songwriter, musician and multi-platinum producer.Poyser has written and produced songs for various legendary and award-winning artists including Erykah Badu, Mariah Carey, John Legend, Lauryn Hill, Common, Anthony Hamilton, D'Angelo,... |
Black Thought, Wale Wale (rapper) Wale Victor Folarin , better known by his stage name Wale , is an American rapper from Washington, D.C. Wale was born to Nigerian parents. He rose to prominence in 2006, when his song "Dig Dug " became popular in his hometown. Wale became locally recognized and continued recording music for the... , Chrisette Michele Chrisette Michele Chrisette Michele Payne , known professionally as Chrisette Michele, is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter.... |
| 15 | "Birthday Girl" (bonus track)* | The Roots, Richard Nichols, Shane Clark |
Black Thought, Patrick Stump Patrick Stump Patrick Vaughn Stump is an American singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, and music critic. He is the composer, lead singer, and multi-instrumentalist of Fall Out Boy, an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, and is also a solo artist... , Shane Clark, Kelli Scarr |
| 16 | "The Grand Return" (bonus track)* | Black Thought, Dice Raw, Wadud Ahmad |
|
| 17 | "Pow Wow 2" |
- Bonus tracks included on International versions of the album.
Personnel
Credits for Rising Down adapted from Allmusic.- A.J. Benson – A&R
- Jay Brown – A&R
- Jan Fairchild – vocal engineer
- Jason Goldstein – engineer, mixing
- Kenny J. Gravillis – art direction
- Kevin Hanson – choir, chorus
- Tahir Jamal – producer
- Karl Jenkins – A&R
- Anthony Kilhoffer – engineer
- David Kutch – mastering
- Talib Kweli – vocals, choir, chorus
- Malik B. – vocals
- Steve Mandel – engineer, mixing, drum recordings
- Deborah Mannis-Gardner – sample clearance
- Mel Marcelo – cover illustration
- Mercedes Martinez – choir, chorus
- Khari Mateen – producer, engineer
- Radji Mateen – producer
- Richard Nichols – producer, executive producer, art direction
- James Poyser – producer
- Montez Roberts – engineer
- Todd Russell – art direction, art coordinator, photo coordination
- Lenny Santiago – A&R
- Jon Smeltz – engineer
- John Stahl – engineer
- Tim Sturges – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
- Ahmir Khalib Thompson – drums, choir, chorus, producer, mixing
Chart history
| Charts (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
14 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
34 |
| French Albums Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
95 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
10 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
6 |
| US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
3 |
| US Billboard Top Rap Albums Top Rap Albums Top Rap Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks Rap and hip-hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart began publication for the week of November 13, 2004.... |
1 |
External links
- Rising Down at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Rising Down at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
- The Roots Issue Tracks of Their Fears, and Defiance at The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...