Aww yeah! A new Roots album for the masses! Rising Down is the follow-up album to the Def Jam certified “Game Theory” and follows that dark sinister vibe similar to the last album. The Roots remain one of the last great bands of our time holding together their creative control within the big business of commercial media. “Rising Down” is a step above commercial radio voicing awareness within the groups sense of maturity. The album has some serious issues centered upon each cut. “Rising Down’s” release date also falls on the 16th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots sparked by the acquittal of the police officers accused of beating Rodney King. Guest appearances include Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Saigon, Dice Raw, Wale and Chrisette Michele with the majority of the production held down by ?uestlove and company.

Listen to the album with an open mind. Don’t shut the music off just because there isn’t any party tracks. While we have been blessed with The Roots open mic wizardry, this one goes a little bit deeper from where Game Theory had left off. I’ll be honest, at first glance, I would flip from tack to track in search of that hot track but later realized the message Black Thought and company were putting out dealing with issues within your society. Their first single Get busy may not receive radio play, but ?uestlove’s beats on the single just couldn’t get any nastier. While it may not be the album I expected… than again we’re always blessed with grand releases from this bunch… above all, I gotta say this album’s got maturity written all over it, and with a conscious message on hand- listeners will get to see the whole picture.