How I Got Over [LP]

by The Roots

Overview

The not-very-hip-hop Dirty Projectors, Monsters of Folk, Patty Crash, and Joanna Newsom contribute one way or another to How I Got Over. Rest assured, the ninth studio album from the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon house band is very much its own, and skeptics should be reminded that hip-hop history is filled with figures as unlikely as Billy Squier (who probably did not bump into Run-D.M.C. backstage at The Alan Thicke Show). Very much in line with recent albums like Game Theory and Rising Down, neither of which was tailored for a good time, How I Got Over is the most subdued of the three. The blood doesn't really get pumping until the fifth track. Up to that point, however, the band creates some of its most downcast and alluring material, covering solitude, self-destruction, and just about every planetary ill. It's all vividly conveyed through pensive arrangements, sobering rhymes, spooky choruses, and even spookier backing vocals. Truck North, P.O.R.N., Dice Raw, and Blu make gripping contributions, but no one cuts to the chase quite like Black Thought, who can condense modern reality into one deftly delivered and commanding line, like "Got immunized for both flus, I'm still sick." From there, the spirit lifts a little, though the songs are still deeply planted in realism. The title track is modern soul-blues that cooks, assisted by some serious singing from Black Thought and an inspiring chorus from Dice Raw. On "Now or Never," Phonte's dejection ("My role was cast before I even auditioned for it") is tempered with Dice Raw's glints of determination. For good measure, or perhaps for the sake of a little balance, the back half also features a hardcore boast session between Thought, Peedi Peedi, and Truck North that cannot be disregarded. This is yet another Roots album that lends itself to repeated, beginning-to-end listening. It is gracefully and cleverly sequenced, from the way the tracks melt into each other to the way "Doin' It Again" utilizes John Legend's anguished "Again" prior to transitioning into the subtly anthemic "The Fire," which features a fresh collaboration withâ?¦John Legend. ~ Andy Kellman

Product Details

Release Date:	07/06/2010
Label:	Def Jam
UPC:	0602527094694

Tracks

1. A Peace of Light
2. Walk Alone
3. Dear God 2.0
4. Radio Daze
5. Now or Never
6. How I Got Over
7. DillaTUDE: The Flight of Titus
8. The Day
9. Right On
10. Doin' It Again
11. The Fire
12. Tunnel Vision
13. Web 20/20
14. Hustla

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Roots   Primary Artist
Truck North   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Dice Raw   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Phonte   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Amber Coffman   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Joanna Newsom   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
John Legend   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
PAttYCraSH   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Haley Dekle   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Angel Deradoorian   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Monsters of Folk   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Blu   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
STS   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
P.O.R.N.   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Peedi Peedi   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Tariq Trotter   Vocals
Larry Gold   Cello
Jim James   Vocals
Questlove   Drums
Kamal Gray   Keyboards
Porn   Featured Artist
Ahmir Thompson   Drums
Mercedes "Ooh Girl" Martinez   Vocals
Pedro Martinez   Keyboards

Technical Credits

Tariq Trotter   Composer
J. Barnes   Composer
Karl Jenkins   Composer,A&R,Composer,Producer
F. Walker   Composer
James Poyser   Composer
John Barnes   Composer
Jim James   Composer
Richard Nichols   Composer,Producer,Art Direction,Executive Producer
R. Nichols   Composer
The Roots   Producer
Questlove   Screams,Composer,Producer
Nick Banns   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Montez Roberts   Engineer
Phonte Coleman   Composer
Owen Biddle   Composer
Steve Mandel   Mixing,Engineer
Amber Coffman   Assistant Engineer
J. James   Composer
Joanna Newsom   Composer
Diplo   Producer
Jon Smeltz   Mixing,Engineer
Darren Price   Composer
J. Stephens   Composer
Jason Goldstein   Mixing,Engineer
Rick Friedrich   Engineer,Producer
Chris Soper   Engineer
Haley Dekle   Assistant Engineer
Kristen Yiengst   Artwork,Photo Coordination
Ben Watts   Photography
David Kutch   Mastering
Chris Atlas   Marketing
John Stephens   Composer
Frank Walker   Composer
Antoinette Trotman   Music Business Affairs
Kenny J. Gravillis   Art Direction
Todd Russell   Art Direction
Angel Deradoorian   Assistant Engineer
Deborah Mannis-Gardner   Sample Clearance
Don Price   Composer
Paul Resta   Marketing
Lenny S.   A&R
Rebecca Pietri   Stylist
Dame "Tuba Gooding Jr." Bryson   Composer
Tai Linzie   Artwork,Photo Coordination
James Gray   Composer
Ray Angry   Composer,Producer
Ahmir Thompson   Composer
Ian Allen   Music Business Affairs
K. Jenkins   Composer
Alectrick.Kom   Producer
Delon Lawrence   Composer,Engineer
Jeremy Grenhart   Composer,Producer
Pedro Martinez   Composer,Producer
Randy McMillan   Music Business Affairs
Rich Friedrich   Composer,Producer
The Sandwich Committee   Producer
Thomas Wesley Pentz   Composer
Damon Bryson   Composer
Gregory Spearman   Composer
Jamal Miller   Composer
Pedro Zayas   Composer
Kirk Douglas   Composer
Katrin Newman   Composer
Richard Friedrich   Composer