Guccio said, its very boring posted on december 2nd, 2011 at 3. The albums first single is make my featuring big k. Through the use of emotives and redford s internal dialogues the album seeks to illustrate the intersection of free will and prescribed destiny as it plays out on the corner. Dec 06, 2011 undun is the story of a man, redford stevens, dying in reverse, rewinding from the moment he became a statistic and hitting the points in his life where hes at his most selfaware. Download undun explicit by the roots at juno download. It is an existential concept album about the short, tragic life of fictional character redford stevens, set in urban poverty, and is told through a reversechronological narrative. Dec 02, 2011 sleep is first vocal track on the roots concept album undun. The album is in reverse chronological order, and begins with redfords death, gradually moving towards the beginning of the last day of his life. Nov 28, 2011 the roots new album undun is a concept album about a man named redford stephens, and as it turns out, that particular concept comes from another concept album a very celebrated one at that. Dec 12, 2011 well, undun is especially interesting due to the fact that it is the roots very first concept long play. I drew a 2 of hearts from a deck of cards a stock trick from my empty repertoire another hopeless story never read at all iam better off looking.
Undun is based on the life of redford stephens, a fictional product of innercity new york who was born in the mid70s and tragically passed in 1999, the point at which the album begins. It tells the story of redford stephens, a smalltime streetlevel drug dealer who meets the inevitable. Jan 18, 2012 16 videos play all the roots undun iza moe howard of the three stooges on the mike douglas show duration. Courtesy of the artist the hiphop band the roots might currently be the hardestworking band in. The roots umpteenth album is titled after a guess who song mutilated by countless lounge bands since 1969. On the roots new album, undun, the philadelphia octet tells the story of that character, depicting the demise of semifictional character redford stephens through a series of sparse soul.
Undun is the story of a man, redford stevens, dying in reverse, rewinding from the moment he became a statistic and hitting the points in his. Redford stevens, told backwards from the point of his death thus avoiding both the sense of inevitability and the tragic bravado found in. Shop vinyl and cds and complete your the roots collection. Stream adfree with amazon music unlimited on mobile, desktop, and tablet. At 39 minutes, undun feels like a lifetime, because it is one. The story of a gifted black youth unravels huffpost. The roots undun one time album download link youtube. The app is currently available as a free download for both. The album chronicles redford stephens, a young man growing up in the streets who is caught up in a life of crime due largely to. Undun is an existential retelling of the short life of one redford stephens 19741999. The album chronicles redford stephens, a young man growing up in the streets who is caught up in a. Undun chronicles the life and death of redford stephens who embraces some bad choices in his life and ends up paying the ultimate price for it, and tells said story in reverse. Philadelphia has one of the top murder rates in the country, averaging about 300 per year. If the album is understood as the telling in reverse of redford s life up until his suicide then this song represents his soul after.
Dec 05, 2011 listen to your favorite songs from undun clean by the roots now. Undun is an existential retelling of the short life of one redford. This is the closing track of american hiphopneo soul band, the roots eleventh long player, undun. Undun est le onzieme album studio des roots, sorti le 2 decembre 2011.
And what i did came back to me eventually, narrator redford stephens, transcendently. Produced primarily by band members black thought, questlove, dice raw, and rick friedrich, how i got over features a subtle, somber sound and lyrics concerning themes of selfdetermination, existentialism, and africanamerican middleclass angst. With undun we hoped to give voice to an imagined internal dialogue that could take place as a deceased black youth looks forward into our postmodern void. How i got over is the ninth studio album by american hip hop band the roots. It was released on june 22, 2010, by def jam recordings. Redford stevens, told backwards from the point of his death thus avoiding both the sense of inevitability and the tragic bravado found in comparable hiphop. Dec 06, 2011 undun incorporates neo soul and indie music elements. Here is the first of four videos from the roots undun, the next three to be released at 12. The first conceptuallybased album from the roots featuring big kirt and sufjan steven. Reviews of undun by the roots, tenth studio recording from the philadelphia hip hop innovators is a concept album about the life of fictional redford stephens.
Jan 01, 2011 undun is the twelfth studio album by american hip hop band the roots, released on december 2, 2011, by def jam recordings. Beginning with a beeping flatline and ending with a fourpart instrumental suite, undun tells the tragedy of redford stevensaccording to. Discover, buy and download high quality mp3 music of undun 2011 by the roots at mp3caprice. Sleep is first vocal track on the roots concept album undun.
The album performed modestly on music charts and sold 112,000 copies in the united states. Despite being rap veterans at the time, the roots maintained a sense of artistic urgency, crafting this conceptual album with a loose narrative that follows undun s imaginary protagonist, redford stevens, through a journey of imbalance, selfreflection, and triumph. Undun is based on the life of redford stephens, a fictional product of innercity new york who was born in the mid70s and tragically passed in 1999, the point at which the album begins with a quiet ekg flatline. Undun quickly reaffirms the creativity of the outfit that are notorious for pushing the envelope. The roots undun kool on album download link youtube. The roots were among several performers on the 2006 film dave chappelles block party, whose event took place on september 18, 2004 and was released on film two years later. Dec 27, 2011 as lamenting the story of redford stephens is on undun, its also a beautiful tragedy that in turn exposes the plight of human nature. The roots do a tremendous job of painting a vivid picture of an honest and flawed character, and as the narrative unfolds backward, the roots channel raw emotion without jeopardizing his relevance to the story. Listeners will get the fascinating story of a person named redford stephens, and there is no a single doubt that the roots will narrate it in a truly interesting way. In the age of the 99cent download, undun is a concept album that almost requires beginningtoend listening. Undun is an existential concept album about the fictional character redford stevens, who is named after a sufjan stevens song. It is the groups first ever concept album and is essentially a biographical narrative about a fictional character called redford stephens who died in 1999 at the age of 25. Undun profiles a character named redford stevens, a young black man living in urban poverty. Undun the roots to stream in hifi, or to download in true cd quality on.
Never more clear than on their newest album undun which in a first for the legendary roots crew, is a concept album. The search for scratch 05 the next movement live the roots the roots come alive limited edition 1999 01 live at the tconnection. Juxtaposing black thoughts bittersweet bars with indie folk, the groups tenth album encompasses wordless, heartwrenching sufjan stevens samples redford. Through the use of emotives and redford s internal dialogues the album seeks to illustrate the intersection of free will and prescribed destiny as. Its reversechronological narrative discusses his short, tragic life set in urban poverty. The roots undun sleep album download link by undunroots2. Nov 21, 2011 redford is the personification of the nietzchean abyss gazing into my generational cohorts and me. Undun is the sound of a band taking an artistic risk and coming back with something that is transcendent of anything else released in 2011, maybe since the start of their career. Undun incorporates neo soul and indie music elements. The roots 10th studio album, undun, is a concept record chronicling the downfall of its narrator. The roots undun limited edition limited edition smoky clear vinyl. And what i did came back to me eventually, narrator redford stephens, transcendentally portrayed by black thought, posthumously intones in sleep, the first track from the roots th album undun. Through the use of emotives and redford s internal dialogues the album seeks to illustrate the. It incorporates a sufjan stevens recording, mixtapestyle, for the purpose of starting a fourpart instrumental suite that closes a program lasting only 40 minutes.
Official the roots i remember lyrics at cd universe. Undun was mastered at the mastering palace in new york city. The roots the legendary ep 1999 01 introjusufckwithis. By using our website and our services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our coo. Jun 06, 2017 the roots the legendary ep 1999 01 introjusufckwithis. Now, on undun, the roots push the musical boundaries of hiphop and the storytelling potential of rap rhymes to their very limits. Courtesy of the artist audio for this feature is no longer available. The roots new album undun is a concept album about a man named redford stephens, and as it turns out, that particular concept comes from another concept album. And what i did came back to me eventually, narrator redford stephens, transcendently portrayed by black thought, posthumously intones in sleep, the first track from the roots th album undun.