Politics and addiction are among the topics explored as Philadelphia Hip-Hop collective The Roots prepares to unveil their 10th album for music fans.
The release, titled Rising Down, will feature musical appearances from Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Saigon, Dice Raw and Chrisette Michele as well as Fall Out Boy Patrick Stump, who is included on the first single “Birthday Girl.”
For Roots co-founder Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, the album’s subject matter is sure to give listeners something to think about, as well as move to.
“This is probably our most political album to date dealing with addiction, nihilism, hypocritical double standards in the prison system and overall life in Philadelphia,” said Roots co-founder Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson. “I’d say it’s more mature and intense than all of our efforts but not a ‘downer’ as most people expect us to do.”
Rising Down is the follow up to The Roots critically-acclaimed album Game Theory.
The new project’s name is taken from William T. Vollmann’s treatise on violence entitled Rising Up and Rising Down.
The Rising Down album is slated to hit stores on April 29.
Historically, the date marks the 16th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots, sparked by the acquittal of the police officers accused of beating Rodney King.
“To prepare fans for the album’s release, The Roots will embark on a U.S. tour and release videos for two songs, “75 Bars” (Black’s Reconstruction) and “Get Busy.”
The tour, which includes stops at several festivals and universities, will kick off March 29 at Millikin University in Decatur, IL.
The following is a list of confirmed tour dates for The Roots: March 29 Millikin University Decatur, IL March 30 Kool Haus Toronto, ON April 5 University of Texas Austin, TX April 7 Indiana University Bloomington, IN April 9 Higher Ground Burlington, VT April 11 Pickle Barrel Killington, VT April 12 Northeastern University Boston, MA April 16 Purdue University West Lafayette, IN April 17 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA April 18 Webster University St. Louis, MO April 20 Green Apple Festival Washington, DC April 23 Duke University Durham, NC April 24 The Music Farm Charleston, SC April 25 Amos’ Charlotte, NC April 26 Tigerfest, Towson University Towson, MD May 3 Jazz & Heritage Festival New Orleans, LA May 4 House of Blues New Orleans, LA May 25 UCLA Jazz & Reggae Festival Los Angeles, CA June 5 Marymoor Park/Paramount -June 13 City Stages Festival Birmingham, AL June 14 Mesa Amp-June 22 Rochester International Jazz Festival Rochester, NY July 4 Summerfest 2008 Milwaukee, WI July 19 Dick’s Sporting Goods Park w/ DMB and Tom Petty Commerce City, CO August 8 All Points West Jersey City, NJ
