Illadelph Halflife is the first great album from by The Roots. It drops most of the jazz aesthetic of their first two releases for a more hardcore and gritty production. It's a very dark album, both musically and lyrically. One of it's major flaws, however, is the length. Like a lot of their albums, this one clocks at over 70 minutes long, which is VERY long for a hip-hop, pop, or rock LP. Regardless of the excessive length, the great beats and the number of classics make it worthwhile.
"Respond/React" is a little too repetitive but the piano and keys working in conjunction sound great. Heavy bass as usual and Quest rocking those drums!
"Section" also has great keyboard playing and a good beat. The ominous keys and and the sound effects used for "Section" help make it one of the standout tracks. Also sorta jazzy...
"It Just Don't Stop" features nice keys as well. Powerful lyrics as well, epitomizing the conscious hip-hop movement.
"What They Do," co-written with Raphael Saadiq, is their first song to mix neo-soul/R&B and their first to be in the Top 40 on Billboard's chart. Great rapping, vocals, and beautiful guitar work. This song about never selling out is one of the best hip-hop songs ever, not just by The Roots. The guitar solo also serves as a reminder that they haven't turned their back on their jazz roots.
"Concerto of the Desperado" is another fav of mine. The orchestral feel of the song worked.
"Clones" is an interesting song. Part of the reason I like it so much is because it sounds very similar to ODB's "Shimmy Shimmy Ya." That piano loop is essentially the same in both songs and Ol' Dirty Bastard's song came out in 1995...
Ol' Dirty Bastard's "Shimmy Shimmy Ya'
"UNIverse at War" featuring Common has such an eerie and dark beat with my fellow Chicago boy Common rapping well.
"No Alibi" is one of the few songs on this album that wouldn't sound too out of place on their last album. The jazzy and prominent keyboard playing sounds good though.
"Dave vs. Us, featuring a saxophonist and The Roots jamming together would also work on either of the two previous albums. Very jazzy.
"No Great Pretender" is also jazzy and one of my favorites from this album
"The Hypnotic" featuring my R&B singer, D"Angelo, is another interesting neo-soul-influenced track on the album. Still very jazzy as well and D'Angelo's humming is utilized well.
"Ital (The Universal Side)" featuring Q-Tip is another favorite because of the keyboard loop. It's a little too repetitive for a nearly 5 minute song, but Q-Tip's presence alone makes this worth it.
"One Shine" is an interesting amalgamation of jazz, hip-hop, and R&B. No rapping at all.
"The Adventures in Wonderland" is another spoken word performance by Ursula Rucker. Deep shit and a cool jazzy vibe and xylophone/vibraphone. Truly a horrifying spoken word piece.
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