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Article: On 'Tipping,' The Roots Lose Their Balance
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- July 14, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Contrarians by nature and innovators to their core, the Roots are
always zigging while the rest of hip-hop zags. Best-selling rappers
toast their good looks and their Bentleys; the Roots worry in rhyme
about drugs, crime and poverty. The standard concert gear for MCs has
always been a turntable (or two) and a microphone; the Roots have
always been a band, and the sort of band that nimbly darts over the
lines that separate rap from every other genre.
The aversion to formats and formulas has won Philly's best-known
rap collective a couple of Grammys, steady critical huzzahs and sales
just strong enough to keep them in the VIP section of the underground