Rising Down

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Rising Down

Rising Down is the eighth studio album by Philadelphia-based hip hop band The Roots

The Roots

The Roots is a Grammy award-winning United States hip hop music band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals....
, released on Def Jam on April 29 2008. It is the band's second album with the label, following 2006's Game Theory
Game Theory (album)

Game Theory is the seventh studio album by Philadelphia, PA-based Hip hop music group The Roots, their first on Def Jam Records, which like the group's previous label, Geffen Records, is part of the Universal Music Group....
. The album's title presumably comes from William T. Vollmann

William T. Vollmann

William Tanner Vollmann is an United States novelist, journalist, short story writer and essayist. He lives in Sacramento, California, California, with his wife and daughter....
's 2004 book Rising Up and Rising Down: Some Thoughts on Violence, Freedom and Urgent Means.
album contains a large number of guest vocalists, particularly in comparison to previous Roots albums. The album features many of the same guest vocalists as Game Theory.

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Encyclopedia

Rising Down is the eighth studio album by Philadelphia-based hip hop band The Roots

The Roots

William T. Vollmann

Collaborations

The album contains a large number of guest vocalists, particularly in comparison to previous Roots albums. The album features many of the same guest vocalists as Game Theory. Peedi Crakk, Malik B.

Malik B.

Malik Abdul Basit-Smart is a Hip hop music artist associated with The Roots from their founding to their 2000-2001 tour. He has released one EP, entitled Psychological....
, Dice Raw

Dice Raw

Dice Raw is a Hip hop music artist associated with The Roots, and one of the founding members of musical group Nouveau Riche.In 2000, Dice Raw left the group to record his solo debut album, Reclaiming the Dead on MCA Records....
, P.O.R.N. and Mercedes Martinez all make repeat appearances. DC

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
rapper Wale

Wale (rapper)

Wale Folarin, better known simply as Wale , is a hip hop artist from Washington, D.C....
appears on the album, following an invite stemming from a Black Thought-tribute track called "Work" featured on his 100 Miles & Running

100 Miles & Running

100 Miles & Running is a mixtape by Washington, D.C. rapper Wale . It is Wale's third mixtape, released on July 11, 2007. The mixtape was mixed by Nick Catchdubs and featured remixes of songs by Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Justice ....
mixtape. Other notable emcees making appearances on the album include Native Tongues Posse

Native tongues

Native Tongues is a book by the linguist Charles BerlitzIt is a list of words in different languages, etymology and questions with speculations far and wide about words....
members Mos Def

Mos Def

Dante Terrell Smith , is an American MC and actor known by the stage name Mos Def. Mos Def started his hip hop music career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul....
, Talib Kweli

Talib Kweli

Talib Kweli Greene , better known as Talib Kweli, is an United States MC from Brooklyn, New York. He is one of the best-known and critically, if not commercially, successful rappers in alternative hip hop....
, and Common

Common

Common may refer to:*COMMON, a users group*Common , fictional language used in sci-fi and fantasy literature*Common , Chicago based MC, actor, and author formerly known as Common Sense...
, as well as Styles P

Styles P

David Holiday Styles , better known as Styles P, is an Grammy Award-winning American rapper and member of Hip hop music group The L.O.X....
and Saigon

Saigon (rapper)

Brian Daniel Carenard, better known by his stage name Saigon, is an United States rapper.Saigon is currently signed to Just Blaze's Fort Knocks Entertainment record label and is awaiting the release of his label debut entitled The Greatest Story Never Told....
.

Sound

According to the band's producer Questlove, Rising Down, "is an electric record, more synthy. The darks are darker and the lights are lighter. But all I know is making quality hip-hop stylistically. We tried to do something we never did before. Kamal had to be the sacrificial lamb this time. The one instrument that has defined the Roots has been the Fender Rhodes. This is the first year he's had to change his instrumentation and try other sounds out. We have a bunch of keyboards and synthesizers we're using on this record. It feels like the musical equivalent of 'Blade Runner' sometimes. We've also added a horn section."

More specifically, the album's themes will be following in the darkness established in Game Theory

Game theory

Game theory is a branch of applied mathematics that is used in the social sciences , biology, engineering, political science, international relations, computer science , and philosophy....
, with Questlove referring to this album as "the most incendiary, political album of our career to date." In the same interview, he explains: "Add up the crime and high school drop-out rates in Philadelphia, plus being in your mid-30s and working 300 nights a year and this being an election year — yeah, all that’s what this album’s about.”

Singles

The first track leaked from the album was "75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)", was posted on Okayplayer

Okayplayer

Okayplayer.com is an online Hip hop music and alternative music website and community. The group was co-founded by The Roots' drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson as a loose musical collective in 1987, and evolved into an online community in 1999....
on 22 February 2008. The first single was initially confirmed as "Birthday Girl", which features Fall Out Boy

Fall Out Boy

Fall Out Boy is a Grammy-nominated alternative rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of Patrick Stump , Joe Trohman , Pete Wentz , and Andy Hurley ....
's Patrick Stump

Patrick Stump

Patrick Martin Stumph was born on April 27, 1984, in Glenview, Illinois. He is an American musician, composer, record producer and music critic....
, and which leaked via Youtube

YouTube

YouTube is a Video hosting service website where users can upload, view and share video clips. Three former PayPal employees created YouTube in February 2005....
, a song described by Questlove as "An easy pop song". However, the song has gone from single to being an iTunes exclusive (bonus track), because the song didn't fit with the album's motif. “It was just sticking out like a sore thumb...Then we were going to have a 'halftime' thing where it was gonna come in the middle of the record as a break from the political thing, but that didn't work, either. Then we tried to make it the last song on the record, and that wasn't working. Then we tried to make it the hidden track, and that wasn't effective. Basically the album was complete; it starts with 'Rising Down' and it ends with 'Rising Up,' so that makes more sense to me."

"Birthday Girl" has been included as a bonus track on iTunes and some international versions of the album, along with "The Grand Return"

Reception

Following its release, the album debuted at number 6 on the U.S. Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling Albums and extended play in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine....
, selling about 54,000 copies in its first week. The album was included in HipHopDX.com's Top 25 Hip Hop Albums of 2008 after being given 4.5 out of 5.

Tracklisting

#	Title	Producer(s)	Performer (s)
1	"The Pow Wow"
2	"Rising Down"	Questlove	Black Thought Black Thought Tariq Trotter, better known as Black Thought, is an United States hip-hop artist who is the lead MC of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based hip-hop music group The Roots and occasional actor.... , Mos Def Mos Def Dante Terrell Smith , is an American MC and actor known by the stage name Mos Def. Mos Def started his hip hop music career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul.... , Styles P Styles P David Holiday Styles , better known as Styles P, is an Grammy Award-winning American rapper and member of Hip hop music group The L.O.X.... , Dice Raw Dice Raw Dice Raw is a Hip hop music artist associated with The Roots, and one of the founding members of musical group Nouveau Riche.In 2000, Dice Raw left the group to record his solo debut album, Reclaiming the Dead on MCA Records.... (chorus)
3	"Get Busy"	The Roots, Ritz Reynolds	Black Thought, Dice Raw Dice Raw Dice Raw is a Hip hop music artist associated with The Roots, and one of the founding members of musical group Nouveau Riche.In 2000, Dice Raw left the group to record his solo debut album, Reclaiming the Dead on MCA Records.... , Peedi Peedi Peedi Peedi Pedro Zayas, known as Peedi Crakk and also Peedi Peedi, is an American rapper. He is a member of State Property and is currently signed to Amalgam Digital.... DJ Jazzy Jeff DJ Jazzy Jeff Jeffrey Townes , also known as DJ Jazzy Jeff or simply "Jazz," is an American hip hop music and R&B record producer and turntablism. He is best known for his early career with Will Smith as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince.... (DJ scratches)
4	"@15"		Black Thought
5	"75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)"	Questlove	Black Thought
6	"Becoming Unwritten"	The Roots, Tahir Jamal, Radji Mateen, Khari Mateen	Black Thought
7	"Criminal"	The Roots, Khari Mateen	Black Thought, Truck North, Saigon Saigon (rapper) Brian Daniel Carenard, better known by his stage name Saigon, is an United States rapper.Saigon is currently signed to Just Blaze's Fort Knocks Entertainment record label and is awaiting the release of his label debut entitled The Greatest Story Never Told....
8	"I Will Not Apologize"	The Roots, Richard Nichols	Black Thought, P.O.R.N., Dice Raw, Talib Kweli
9	"I Can't Help It"	The Roots, Richard Nichols	Black Thought, Malik B, P.O.R.N., Dice Raw, Mercedes Martinez
10	"Singing Man"	The Roots, Khari Mateen	Black Thought, P.O.R.N., Truck North, Dice Raw
11	"Unwritten"	The Roots, Tahir Jamal, Radji Mateen, Khari Mateen	Black Thought, Mercedes Martinez
12	"Lost Desire"	The Roots, Khari Mateen	Black Thought, Malik B., Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene , better known as Talib Kweli, is an United States MC from Brooklyn, New York. He is one of the best-known and critically, if not commercially, successful rappers in alternative hip hop....
13	"The Show"	The Roots, Tahir Jamal	Black Thought, Common Common (rapper) Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. , better known by his stage name Common , is an United States rapper and actor.Common debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow a Dollar? and maintained a significant underground following into the late 90s, after which he gained notable mainstream success through his work with the Soulquarians.... , Dice Raw
14	"Rising Up"	Questlove, James Poyser James Poyser James Poyser is a Grammy Award winning songwriter, record producer, and keyboardist from Philadelphia, known for his R&B, hip-hop music, gospel and pop productions....	Black Thought, Wale Wale (rapper) Wale Folarin, better known simply as Wale , is a hip hop artist from Washington, D.C.... , Chrisette Michele Chrisette Michele Chrisette Michele Payne , known professionally as Chrisette Michele, is a Grammy Award-winning United States R&B singer on the Def Jam Recordings record label....
15	"Birthday Girl" (bonus track)*	The Roots, Richard Nichols, Shane Clark	Black Thought, Patrick Stump Patrick Stump Patrick Martin Stumph was born on April 27, 1984, in Glenview, Illinois. He is an American musician, composer, record producer and music critic.... , Shane Clark, Kelli Scarr
16	"The Grand Return" (bonus track)*		Black Thought, Dice Raw, Wadud Ahmad
17	"Pow Wow 2"

Bonus tracks included on International versions of the album.