Cruelly, The Roots are sometimes referred to as the hip-hop group it's okay for middle-class white people to like. The group's stint since 2009 as the house band for Jimmy Fallon (of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and more recently The Tonight Showwith) probably hasn't damaged their commercial appeal either.
But And Then You Shoot Your Cousin proves The Roots still know how to artistically challenge their fans and listeners.
At little more than 30 minutes long, And Then is a concept album taking a poke at violence in modern society.
Highlight The Dark rolls along on a two-note organ melody, split into three vocal rants courtesy of two rappers/vocalists. It ends with a sinister would-be-gangsta's reflection that rhymes "gold chain and some Jordans" , "all I want from her is an abortion". That's a whole lotta contemplation in just 5 minutes and 17 seconds. Claymation video When The People Cheer is worth checking out on Youtube, by the way. It may not be the most catchy single the collective have ever released, but And Then isn't about the easy hooks.
Although, as if to reinforce that, And Then isn't all conceptual doom and gloom; album-closer Tomorrow is a piano-led ditty with an "everything will be all right" tone that cheerfully bookends The Roots latest intriguing chapter.
