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Things Fall Apart is a studio album
Studio album

A studio album is an original collection of new tracks by a recording artist.It usually does not contain live recordings and/or remixes, and if it does, those tracks do not make up majority of the album and are often "bonus tracks"....
 by the hip hop
Hip hop

Hip hop is a cultural movement built largely around the music genre of hip hop music, which developed in New York City during the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latino Americans....
 group 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 February 23, 1999, on Geffen Records
Geffen Records

Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group....
. The album is considered to be The Roots's breakthrough album, earning praise from major publications and critics, while becoming the group's first record to sell over 500,000 copies. It includes the song "You Got Me", which won the group a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group
Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group

The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group has been awarded since 1991, alongside the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance....
. Things Fall Apart was also nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album
Grammy Award for Best Rap Album

The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album has been awarded since 1996. Grammy Awards of one year are presented for works released between October 1 two years previously and September 30 of the preceding year....
, which was won by Eminem
Eminem

Marshall Bruce Mathers III , known by his primary stage name Eminem, or by his alter-ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer and actor....
 for The Slim Shady LP
The Slim Shady LP

The Slim Shady LP is the commercial debut and second overall studio album from American rapper Eminem, released in 1999. It was Eminem's first album released under Dr....
.






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Encyclopedia


Things Fall Apart is a studio album
Studio album

A studio album is an original collection of new tracks by a recording artist.It usually does not contain live recordings and/or remixes, and if it does, those tracks do not make up majority of the album and are often "bonus tracks"....
 by the hip hop
Hip hop

Hip hop is a cultural movement built largely around the music genre of hip hop music, which developed in New York City during the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latino Americans....
 group 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 February 23, 1999, on Geffen Records
Geffen Records

Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group....
. The album is considered to be The Roots's breakthrough album, earning praise from major publications and critics, while becoming the group's first record to sell over 500,000 copies. It includes the song "You Got Me", which won the group a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group
Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group

The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group has been awarded since 1991, alongside the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance....
. Things Fall Apart was also nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album
Grammy Award for Best Rap Album

The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album has been awarded since 1996. Grammy Awards of one year are presented for works released between October 1 two years previously and September 30 of the preceding year....
, which was won by Eminem
Eminem

Marshall Bruce Mathers III , known by his primary stage name Eminem, or by his alter-ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer and actor....
 for The Slim Shady LP
The Slim Shady LP

The Slim Shady LP is the commercial debut and second overall studio album from American rapper Eminem, released in 1999. It was Eminem's first album released under Dr....
. Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J....
 called it a "top-flight record", while Allmusic.com cited it as "one of the cornerstone albums of alternative rap." The album takes its title from Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe , born Albert Chin?al?m?g? Achebe on 16 November 1930, is a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor and critic. He is best known for his first novel, Things Fall Apart , which is the most widely read book in modern African literature.....
's novel of the same name
Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart is a 1958 in literature English-language novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world....
. As of April 5, 1999, Things Fall Apart has been certified gold in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America

The Recording Industry Association of America is the trade group that represents the recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of a large number of private corporate entities such as record labels and distributors, which the RIAA claims "create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 90% of all legitimate sound recor...
.

Recording

The recording of Things Fall Apart began in 1997 and was completed in early 1999. Questlove has stated that during this period, the group recorded upwards of around 145 songs, later whittling down their choices to 14 songs (intros and interludes withstanding). The last song to be included to the final selection was "Double Trouble", featuring 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....
. Initially, the song was supposed to feature a guest appearance from Mos' Black Star
Black Star (hip hop group)

Black Star is a rap group formed by MCs Mos Def and Talib Kweli. Affiliated with the group is DJ Hi-Tek, who formed producer/MC duo Reflection Eternal with Kweli for the album Train of Thought and produced a portion of Black Star ....
 partner, 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....
 but due to the format of the track, it was decided to make it a throwback to the Run D.M.C./EPMD
EPMD

EPMD is an United States hip hop group from Brentwood, New York, New York. The group's name is an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars" , referencing its members, rappers Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith ....
 tag-team style of rap, with just two MCs.

The album's opening track, "Act Won", contains an excerpt from the Spike Lee
Spike Lee

Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated United States film director, Film producer, screenwriter, and actor, noted for his films dealing with controversial Society and Politics issues....
 film, Mo' Better Blues
Mo' Better Blues

Mo' Better Blues is a 1990 drama film starring Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, and Spike Lee, who also film director. It follows a period in the life of a fictional jazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam as a series of bad decisions result in his jeopardizing both his relationships and his playing career....
. The excerpt is from a scene where Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington

Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. is an United States actor and film director. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, Melvin B....
 and Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes

Wesley Trent Snipes is an United States actor, film producer and martial artist. He has starred in action-adventures, thrillers, and dramatic feature films but is best known for his role as Blade in the Blade ....
 are discussing the current state of African American music (or culture in general) after a gig. The track "Act Too (The Love of My Life)", originally an interlude that evolved into a full song, features 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....
, whose verse is a continuation of his song "I Used to Love H.E.R.
I Used to Love H.E.R.

"I Used to Love H.E.R." is a hip hop music song by the Chicago-born rapper Common . Released on the 1994 album Resurrection , "I Used to Love H.E.R." has since become one of Common's best known songs....
", off his 1994 album Resurrection
Resurrection (Common album)

Resurrection is the second album by United States Rapping Common . Released in 1994 , the album received a great deal of critical acclaim, but not a significant amount of mainstream attention....
, in which Common speaks of hip hop
Hip hop

Hip hop is a cultural movement built largely around the music genre of hip hop music, which developed in New York City during the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latino Americans....
 as a woman. However, Questlove has stated that this is not "I used to love H.E.R. (the daughter), rather it is a "reflection on the evolution of hip hop, through our eyes." Beanie Sigel
Beanie Sigel

Dwight Grant , also known as Beanie Sigel, is an United States rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, signed to Damon Dash and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records in 1998....
 made his debut on the track "Adrenaline!", after tagging along to a weekly jam session held by the group in Philadelphia. Eve
Eve (rapper)

Eve Jihan Jeffers , better known as Eve, is a grammy winning rapper, singer, actress, and musician. She has sold millions of albums during her musical career....
 (at the time, signed to Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre

Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records, also having produced albums for and overseeing the careers of many rappers signed to tho...
's Aftermath label, and known as Eve of Destruction) also made her debut on Things Fall Apart, on the track, "You Got Me".

"You Got Me" was co-written by Jill Scott
Jill Scott

'Jill Scott' is an United States soul music and contemporary R&B singer-songwriter, poet, and actor. In 2007, Scott made her theatrical debut in the films Hounddog and in Tyler Perry's feature film, Why Did I Get Married? That same year her third studio album, The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol....
 who recorded vocals for the song's chorus and bridge. Her part was subsequently re-recorded by Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu

Erica Abi Wright better known by her stage name Erykah Badu, is a multiple Grammy-winner American Soul music singer and songwriter, whose work encompasses elements of rhythm and blues, hip hop music and jazz....
 at the insistence of MCA
MCA Records

MCA Records was an United States-based record label owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part....
, who wanted a higher profile collaboration for the album's official lead single (at the time, Scott was relatively unknown outside of Philadelphia). When the group later went on tour, Scott joined them during performances of the song. "You Got Me" caught on quickly with radio and later MTV
MTV

MTV is an United States cable television network based in Media of New York City. Launched on August 1, 1981, the original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJ ....
, giving the group a much needed boost in terms of sales and exposure. Its Grammy win provided a second round of success. The outside musicians who contributed to the album (mainly D'Angelo
D'Angelo

Michael D'Angelo Archer , better known by his stage name D'Angelo, is a Grammy Award winning United Statessoul music singing, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer....
, 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....
, and Jay Dee) went on to form the Soulquarians
Soulquarians

The Soulquarians was a neo soul-informed hip hop music musical collective with members from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New York, Detroit, Michigan, Richmond, Virginia, Brooklyn, New York, Chicago, Illinois, Dallas, Texas, and Oakland, California....
 collective with Questlove and Pino Palladino
Pino Palladino

Pino Palladino, is a Wales bass guitarist of Italy. Palladino rose to public notice playing primarily rock music, Blues rock, and Rhythm and blues music, becoming one of the most sought-after session players on the bass in the music industry, playing various styles on a late 1970s fretless bass Music Man StingRay and after a decade, switchi...
.

Reception

The album was widely regarded as the group's most fully realized work. Critics praised it for its sobering themes, sonic quality, and fluid, cohesive sequencing, with Rolling Stone calling it a "top-flight record" and lead MC, Black Thought a "lyricist's lyricist with a hard, earnest voice that doesn't flow like water but bobs and weaves with less-predictable rhythms". UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 magazines such as Q
Q (magazine)

Q is a music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, with a circulation of 130,179 as of June 2007.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology — from artists suc...
 gave it 4 out of 5 stars and Mojo
Mojo (magazine)

Mojo is a popular music magazine published by Bauer Verlagsgruppe, monthly in the United Kingdom.Following the success of the magazine Q , publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music....
 says that the album is "the stunner they've always promised: the first candidate for hip hop album of 1999....in a hip-hop world dominated by well-worn pop samples and rap rewrites of 80's chart hits, such risk-taking should be cherished". Marie Elsie St. Lιger of Barnes and Noble wrote in her review that the album had "Unfussy yet precise production, irresistible beats, and smooth rhymes. Few albums manage to simultaneously be this informative, political, and downright groovy." Fans responded with as much enthusiasm, and the album shipped Gold
Music recording sales certification

Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music Sound recording has shipped a certain number of copies.Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories, which are named after the precious materials gold, platinum and diamond ....
 in sales.

Track listing

All tracks produced by Grand Wizzards except where otherwise noted.
  1. "Act Won (Things Fall Apart)" :55
    • Contains excerpts from the motion picture Mo' Better Blues
      Mo' Better Blues

      Mo' Better Blues is a 1990 drama film starring Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, and Spike Lee, who also film director. It follows a period in the life of a fictional jazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam as a series of bad decisions result in his jeopardizing both his relationships and his playing career....
  2. "Table of Contents (Parts 1 & 2)" – 3:37
  3. "The Next Movement" – 4:10 (featuring 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....
    )
  4. "Step Into the Realm" – 2:50
  5. "The Spark" – 3:52
  6. "Dynamite!" – 4:46 (produced by Jay Dee)
  7. "Without a Doubt" – 4:13 (featuring Lady B
    Lady B

    Lady B is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania. She is one of the earliest female rappers in hip hop history, and one of the first to record a studio album....
    )
    • Contains samples of "Saturday Night" by Schooly D
  8. "Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New" – 4:34 (featuring 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....
    )
  9. "Double Trouble" – 5:50 (featuring 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....
    )
  10. "Act Too (The Love of My Life)" – 4:55 (featuring 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....
    )
  11. "100% Dundee" – 3:54
  12. "Diedre vs. Dice" :47 (featuring Dice Raw)
  13. "Adrenaline!" – 4:27 (featuring Dice Raw & Beanie Sigel
    Beanie Sigel

    Dwight Grant , also known as Beanie Sigel, is an United States rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, signed to Damon Dash and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records in 1998....
    )
  14. "3rd Acts: ? vs. Scratch 2...Electric Boogaloo" :52
  15. "You Got Me
    You Got Me

    "You Got Me" is a song by the hip hop music band The Roots, featuring vocals by Erykah Badu and Eve , then known as Eve of Destruction, who raps the second verse....
    " – 4:19 (featuring Erykah Badu
    Erykah Badu

    Erica Abi Wright better known by her stage name Erykah Badu, is a multiple Grammy-winner American Soul music singer and songwriter, whose work encompasses elements of rhythm and blues, hip hop music and jazz....
     & Eve
    Eve (rapper)

    Eve Jihan Jeffers , better known as Eve, is a grammy winning rapper, singer, actress, and musician. She has sold millions of albums during her musical career....
    )
  16. "Don't See Us" – 4:30 (featuring Dice Raw)
  17. "The Return to Innocence Lost" – 11:55 (performed by Ursula Rucker
    Ursula Rucker

    Ursula Rucker is an United States spoken word record industry artist. Rucker is known for a diverse repertoire, and for utilizing techniques that catch her listeners' attention, both of which have brought her critical acclaim and widespread praise from fans....
    )
    • "Act Fore (The End?)" (Hidden track)


Album covers

For a limited time period, Things Fall Apart was made available with a choice of five different front covers. One such cover displays a photograph taken during a riot in the Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement

The Civil Rights Movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring approximately between 1960 to 1980. It was accompanied by much civil unrest and popular rebellion....
 era. In the stark black and white photo, riot police are seen chasing two black teenagers on the streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant. In 2005, this cover was included in the book, The Greatest Album Covers Of All Time by Barry Miles, Grant Scott & Johnny Morgan, and published by Collins & Brown.

Chart history


Album

Year Album Chart positions
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....
 Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums Top Canadian Albums
1999 Things Fall Apart #4 #2 #7


Singles

Year Song Chart positions
Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard Single popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday....
 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Hot Rap Singles
Hot Rap Tracks

Hot Rap Tracks is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the most popular Hip hop music songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban contemporary radio stations and sales in hip hop-focused or exclusive markets....
 Rhythmic Top 40
1998 "Adrenaline" - #73 #29 -
1999 "You Got Me" #39 #11 #19 #35


Credits

Performance credits
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....
 - Primary Artist
D'Angelo
D'Angelo

Michael D'Angelo Archer , better known by his stage name D'Angelo, is a Grammy Award winning United Statessoul music singing, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer....
 - Keyboards
Marie Daulne
Marie Daulne

Marie Daulne was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to a Belgian who was killed that same year by Congo Crisis#Rural Insurgencies in Eastern Provinces, and to a local Bantu peoples woman....
 - Background Vocals
Larry Gold - Viola
Bob Power - Synthesizer
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....
 - Keyboards
Scott Storch
Scott Storch

Scott Storch is a Canada record producer. He has found success in many genres of music, particularly hip hop music, pop music, and Rhythm and blues....
 - Keyboards
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....
 - Vocals
Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu

Erica Abi Wright better known by her stage name Erykah Badu, is a multiple Grammy-winner American Soul music singer and songwriter, whose work encompasses elements of rhythm and blues, hip hop music and jazz....
 - Background Vocals
Igor Szwec - Violin
Anthony Tidd - Guitar
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....
 - Vocals
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....
 - Vocals
Ursula Rucker
Ursula Rucker

Ursula Rucker is an United States spoken word record industry artist. Rucker is known for a diverse repertoire, and for utilizing techniques that catch her listeners' attention, both of which have brought her critical acclaim and widespread praise from fans....
 - Poetry
Eve
Eve (rapper)

Eve Jihan Jeffers , better known as Eve, is a grammy winning rapper, singer, actress, and musician. She has sold millions of albums during her musical career....
 - Vocals
Beanie Sigel
Beanie Sigel

Dwight Grant , also known as Beanie Sigel, is an United States rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, signed to Damon Dash and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records in 1998....
 - Vocals

External links