The Roots - How I Got Over (Album Review)

Lyrics reflect the thoughts and feelings of whoever is writing it. That's why Eminem's newest release was all about getting back to normal after being on drugs; why Kanye's is surely going to be all about Kanye being great; and why Gucci Mane's entire catalogue is built around stupidity. While listening to the Roots' newest album, How I Got Over, it's clear that Black Thought was looking out at the world we live in and wondering about his role in it.

How I Got Over seems almost to be some kind of very loose concept album, about somebody seeing the world for how shitty it is (and yes, it is shitty), getting over it, and preparing to grab the world by the horns. The first half is dark and ominous, while the second is optimistic and bursting with hope. Despite the antithetical moods, the shift from one to the other is far from jarring. All of the members of the Roots not named Black Thought are primarily the ones deserving credit for this, creating an album that is cohesive, filled with sounds that have similar characteristics throughout, but with (almost) every song establishing it's own identity: the first song is primarily comprised of somber pianos and some moody wind work; while the last heavily features an auto-tuned version of a baby's cry. And both are dope.

As excellent as the instrumental work is, the lyrics make it a whole, and the Roots have one of the best of all time - Black Thought - handling that end. The first half of How I Got Over features emcees surveying the world and seeing it for all it's worst qualitie. The first line of the LP, delivered by Truck North, captures the feeling and sentiment expressed throughout the first third of the album: "Trapped, no shield, no sword." Each track manages to expand on this feeling of being trapped without beating a dead horse, and while the different tracks are similar musically, they each have their own separate defining qualities. Lyrically, Black Thought sounds more than capable of matching the darkness. Although these opening tracks are filled with guest spots, Black still manages to stick out and be the main player on each track. His opening verse on "Dear God 2.0" is a shining example of why this is:

They said he's busy, hold the line please

Call me crazy, I thought maybe he could mind read

Who does the blind lead? Show me a sign please

If everything is made in China, are we Chinese?

And why do haters separate us like we siamese?

Technology turning the planet into zombies

Everybody all in everybody's dirty laundry

Acid rain, earthquakes, hurricane, tsunamis

Terrorists, crime sprees, assaults and robberies

Cops yelling "stop freeze", shoot him 'fore he try to leave

Air quality so foul, I gotta try to breathe

Endangered species, and we running out of trees

If I could hold the world in the palm of these

hands, I would probably do away with these anomalies

Everybody checking for the new award nominees

Wars and atrocities, look at all the poverty

Ignoring the prophecies, more beef than broccoli

Corporate monopoly, weak world economy

Stock market toppling, mad marijuana

OxyContin and Klonopin, everybody out of it

From here, things get more upbeat. "Now or Never" and the titular track signify the transition, and from here the songs feature much more light and inspirational lyrics. But not in a corny way. The end of Black's first verse on the excellent "The Fire," featuring John Legend, is a perfect example:

Something in my eyes say I'm so close

To having a prize

I realize I'm supposed to reach for the sky

Never let somebody try to tell you otherwise

The entire second half of the beat is home to similar lyrics, based more around accepting the fact that life's a bitch and then trying to treat her the right way.

The closing duo of tracks feature the strangest instrumentals and cockiest lyrics. They both feel completely natural where they are thanks to the gradual progression from one sound to the next, which allows such risks. Hearing these braggadocios rhymes serves to illustrate the completion of Black Thought's "getting over" the harshness of reality and coming to dominate it. Take, for example, this clip from "Web 20/20:"

Jawns keep telling me I'm great like Gatsby

Caught like a felony, you can't slide past me

I'm low-key, kind of anti-flashy

Then I'm OG up in a black tie classy

Sun Tzu to Sun Rai, Gargemel, Mumm-Ra

Son of a shooter letting slugs from a gun fly

Should call a Mumbai with the bumbaclot

It's Black Thought, my sound's hard to come by

Last spotted on a yacht getting dumb high

Banging yacht rock with my squad from 215

Straight calling niggas out like the umpire

It's clear that Black Thought is on his shit. That being said, it's not until the sixth track that he holds the mic down by himself. On How I Got Over, it feels as if the Roots are a group filled with as many emcees as otherwise, given the abundance of guest spots. As usual, Dice Raw is on a good bit of tracks, this time four. The welcome additions of Blu, Phonte, Truck North, STS and P.O.R.N. all get two verses to shine each, with Peedi Peedi getting one appearance. Besides emcees, there are appearances (for hook purposes) from the aforementioned John Legend, Patty Crash, and Joanna Newsom. Thankfully, all of these guests hit their respective pitch out of the park. The singers brought in go perfectly with their song, and manage to take it to a place that Black Thought and most other people with vocal chords couldn't. Every emcee knows what they're doing as well, and although none actually manage to steal a track away from Black, a few come very close (most notably P.O.R.N. on "Radio Daze"). Each guest spot adds to the feeling of belonging the LP holds, never detracting from a song or feeling out of place.

Ultimately, as the auto-tuned sobs of the infant (and the vicious bassline that accompanies it) ends, one is left with a very cohesive effort. There's only one skippable track - "Doin' It Again," which is repetitive and unrewarding sonically - with the rest of the album being filled with superb material. How I Got Over is a hip-hop head's wet dream, filled with both lyrics and beats that are instantly enjoyable but also contain a depth that take multiple listens to fully enjoy. This is, so far, the best release of 2010.

Grade: 9.75/10