Customer Reviews

Illadelph Halflife

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is truly one of the most underrated hip hop albums to ever be recorded. It could reasonably be compellingly argued that this is truly The Roots' best album. All of their albums are great, but this is certainly their most focused effort. Black Thought and Malik B consistently display some of the most outstanding examples of mcing that have ever been recorded. Dice Raw holds his own, Q-tip hits you with some really soulful and heartful rhymes and Common kills it with his usual wit and clever observations on his song. All of the mc's touch on many different subjects throughout the album; dealing with everything from everyday life in urban America to controversial takes on Religion and Politics. And that's just the lyrics, the music itself is a cornucopia of sounds. There are many different styles of music represented in hip hop form on this album. They hit you with everything from jazz to opera all in the form of minimalist hip hop beats. This is basic purist hip hop at its best. For all of you who have grown tired and weary of the sad state that hip hop is in today, allowing yourself to indulge in this album will remind you of exactly what is that is so great about hip hop music. I encourage you all to take a listen.

for any true hip hop hope you would need to see a live roots performance when you start to say that this cd is so phenominal

In 1994, The Roots dropped their amazing second album entitled "Do You Want More?!!!??!". It was jazzy, featuring Steve Coleman playing the saxophone in many songs with a few other guest horn appearances. Rahzel even vocally beatboxed for Dice Raw's debut as a 15-year-old freestyling for over 2 minutes nonstop on "The Lesson, Pt. 1".

1999 came with The Roots' fourth album, "Things Fall Apart". It had futuristic jazz melodies in songs such as "The Next Movement" (featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff) and "Act Too: The Love of My Life" with old school hits like "Dynamite!" and "Double Trouble".

In between all of this was their "transition album," known as "Illadelph Halflife". This CD is when they first showed their permenant white-boy keyboardist, Kamal, and when Scratch made his debut.

The album starts off with "Respond/React" and "Section", which are excellent tracks to open up the album. "Respond/React" is more of the modern type of hip-hop that you hear on TFA, while "Section" is a lighter, jazzier song that could have fit on "Do You Want More?!!!??!" very easily. The two styles mix together on the track "Push up ya Lighter" (featuring Bahamadia), which is one of the top tracks on the album. "Clones" is a fun and wild song, probably the best on the CD. It has two of The Roots' friends Dice Raw and Mars Co.-Op, which makes those 5 minutes as interesting as "Essaywhuman?!!!??!". "The Hypnotic" is a jazzy, slow track that makes this CD legendary. "One Shine" has no real rapping, just a few vocals not very noticable put in by Black Thought. "No Great Pretender" is Rahzel's traditional vocal beatbox song, and "? vs. Scratch (the Token DJ's Cut)" is where Scratch gets his first shot at being with The Roots.

Overall, this CD is what you should get to see how the Legendary Roots Crew transitions from baby group to grown-up, mature band. Kamal's keys are laid-back and relaxed, Hub's basslines are sweet (I've been trying to play some off this album since I can finally afford one of the damn instruments), and ?uestlove's beats are tight as usual. For all you downloaders out there, get "Clones", "Concerto of the Desperado", "The Hypnotic", "Push up ya Lighter", "Ital (the Universal Side)" (featuring Q-tip of ATCQ), and "No Alibi".

PS: "The Tipping Point" comes out July 13th!

PPS: Okayplayer True Notes Vol. 1 comes out tomorrow! Buy it!!!

Personally, Illadelph Halflife is my favorite album by The Roots, and that's saying a lot because The Roots have a very strong discography.

This album mixes a lot of different styles of music into one. The first half of the album is a bit more guitar-oriented, while the other half is more jazz influenced, and there are DJ shorts in between. Black Thought doesn't disappoint with his lyrics as usual. Personally, I'm feelin the jazz tracks more. 'No Great Pretender', 'The Hypnotic', 'Ital', and 'One Shine' are my favorite tracks and in my opinion worth the purchase.

Definitely recommended.

The Roots have dropped many dope albums over the years, but this was the CD that put me on. To me, the Roots are to the mid to late 90's what ATCQ was to the early 90's. I sincerely hope this type of music once again becomes prevalent in hip-hop. There are a few cats that's holding it down (Little Brother, Kweli, etc.), but I guess I won't hold my breath though. Cop this CD immediately. Oh yeah, Black Thought is probably the most underrated MC ever.

Illadelph Halflife is not the first Roots cd that I heard but it might as well be the last. As an owner of this cd as well as "Do You Want More?!!!??!", and "Things Fall Apart", I can safely say that 'Halflife' is my personal favourite. Track after track of genuine real and seemingly unpolished hiphop this album just doesnt quit. If you're looking to find advice on which roots cd you should pick up next, I think I'm answering that question and hopefully without doubt. This album belongs in a hiphop hall of fame along with Resurrection by Common Sense. We all remember commons views on why he 'Used to love H.E.R.' and the same morals lie within 'Halflife' as well. Track 7 "UNIverse at War" features com' spittin' back and forth with Black Thought for some of thee best flowing lyrics I have EVER heard. The message behind track 5 "It Just Dont Stop" is an exlpicit version of what should be taught in schools. Lesson being, hear with your ears and leave your eyes out of it. Easily one of the best hiphop albums ever created if not albums period.

Well this is my second installment of 4 reviews that i am writing about all of the Roots' studio albums (excluding phrenology which i haven't heard).

Illadelph Illadelph Illadelph...good ol' Illadelph. This was the second album by The Roots that i got (the first being "Things Fall Apart"). At first i thought it was good but not great. But, after hearing all their albums i understood the problem. As stated in my other reviews...each album has a different feel and a method in which to be listened. i did what everyone does when they first get a new album...put it in search for the hottest beat they can find then if they find little or none of these songs, they are skeptical to listen again. read closely...ROOTS ALBUMS ARE TO BE LISTENED TO IN THEIR ENTIRETY IN ORDER FOR MAXIMUM SATISFACTION! after doing this multiple times i realized this album is great when you're calm and is great for relaxing, it's almost got the feel of dark jazz club but with hip-hop. overall, it is a must have for Roots fans, or people that like hip-hop not hip-pop (AKA anything you see on TV or hear about a lot). All in all, this is a great album.

In '95 I borrowed a cd off one of my managers, (Stolen Moments, Red Hot & Cool) a jazz compilation which was put together for Aids Awareness. It had a live version of 'Proceed' which was recorded in France, it didn't sound anything like the version on the 'Do You Want More' or the 'Roots Come Alive' albums. However, I thought it was a fantastic track and because of the 'Proceed' track alone I hunted high and low for this cd compilation and as usual no joy and I have come to the conclusion that it is highly unlikely that I will ever get a copy of this compilation. No disrespect to the other artists on this compilation (they are just as brilliant in their own way).

The typical High Street Record Shops in the West End of London were selling thr Roots albums for extortionate sums of money which kept me from buying anything of theirs. It was only when I bought Common (Sense)'s albums I decided to take a further interest in them I decided to take the plunge and buy the FPA album in March this year as it was going so cheap at my local record shop. I was lost for words, these guys are just first class, I wished that I bought their albums all those years ago. I cannot believe what I have missed out on. Then I bought the DYWM album and then the Phrenology albums.

It was only at the end of September I bought this album (Illadelph Halflife), what a classic this is, there is not one bad track on this album. The Hypnotic track stands out more than anything, a week later I discovered the Live Album which I snapped up.

Ever since I bought their albums I don't play anything else as I am positively hooked on these guys. These guys have not received enough recognition because what they play is TRUE ORGANIC HIP HOP JAZZ.

I just hope that if there is a true hip hop jazz fan out there they should at least have one of their albums.

Great Stuff!!

i feel obligated to praise what has become my favorie hip-hop cd of all time. anyone who appreciates quality, concious hip-hop either knows about this already or would otherwise be thrilled to hear it. it changed my view of rap. i can't listen to rap on the radio anymore, because i'm confronted by how bankrupt the mainstream scene is compared to the likes of the roots and this genre of hip-hop. in that sence illadelph ruined the radio for me. i should thank the roots, it was inevitable.

"what they do" is the song that will catch you on the first listen. black thought's delivery in "respond/react" will teach you what good rap should sound like, and the epic "concerto of the desperado" will expand your notions of how far hip hop can go. "no alibi" and "the great pretender" are now my favorites- the first is somber the second is very dark, both very hypnotic. the album is dark hip-hop at its best. the definition of authentic.

don't be satisfied with downloading a few tracks. buy the cd, so you can listen to it in its whole- this cd is more than the sum of its parts, its an experience that lasts over 70 minutes. when i start listening to this cd, i actually get upset if i'm interrupted and have to press stop. i'm not exaggerating, if anything i'm not giving it enough praise.

Being appointed with the moniker of the 'best band in hip hop' is a blessing and curse for the roots. on one hand it gives them a unique and original gimmick, but on the other it gives some unrealisitic expectations to live up to.

illadelph halflife is one of the more creative cd's i've ever listened to, and if my rating was based solely on the creativity of the lp, it would recieve five stars. also, the roots are one of the most talented rap groups out there, and if the lyrics were the only thing reviewed the lp would recieve 4.5 stars. the production is also great, recieving 4 or 4.5 stars. but the reason the lp recieves a 4 star rating is the tracks that DONT have lyrics on them. to list a few, 'dave vs u.s.' 'one shine,' and 'the adventures in wonderland' don't have any lyrics at all. (wonderland has spoken word by a female voice'

imho, illadelph halflife shines with the emcee's placing intelligent flows over well produced, creative beats. without the raps, it is a creative soul album.

however, when the songs DO include flows, they are outstanding. the lp begins with 'respond and react,' great lyrics laced over a simple and repetitive beat. 'section' is one of my favorite songs on the album, showing the creativity. 'episodes' is a really mellow song that shows the emcee's lyrical versatility. 'clones' is a song that grew on me over the second and third times through the cd. at first, it seems abrasive, but the beat is something that can grow on some. my fav song on the album though has to be 'no alibi', in which i am not alone in thinking so. its a mellow song that is equally able to bump in a car full of people. the lyrics are heartfelt and original.

the bottom line: a great cd, especially the first half. strike the tracks w/o the rapper's flows and it would be a 4.5-5 star effort