And of course the concert was still their bread and butter.
The Roots incorporated much of their
Things Fall Apart material
into their shows, sometimes at the expense of their older catalogue.
The band remained unchanged from the
Illadelph days: Black Thought
on vocals, Rahzel and Scratch beatboxing, ?uestlove on drums,
Hub on bass, and Kamal on keys. Unfortunately, Rahzel would stop
touring with The Roots shortly after the release of his solo album
in 1999.
It wasn't uncommon for a Roots show to commence with all the band
members emerging from the shadows of the crowd pounding cowbells as
Black Thought tore through new track, “Without A Doubt”, once
reaching the stage. Scratch assisted vocally on crowd-favorite
“The Next Movement”, still a staple of almost every Roots show to
this day.
“Step Into The Realm” featured a more lush soundscape in
concert than in studio-form, with Black Thought drastically adjusting
his volume as he tackled both his and Malik's verses. The band would
position themselves low to the stage, and slowly rise up as Thought's
voice grew louder. “Don't See Us”, “Double Trouble” (sans Mos Def) and
“Adrenaline!” (with Black Thought often handling vocals for himself, Malik,
Dice Raw, AND Beanie Sigel) were other Things Fall Apart
songs performed
often. “Dynamite”, which entered the setlist later in the
Things Fall Apart
touring era, was often interlaced with Doug E. Fresh's classic “The Show”,
and “100% Dundee” was usually performed with a different chorus, a new key
melody by Kamal, and a Hub bassline replacing the studio version's Rahzel
beatbox.
The Roots often had friends with them in concert during this era. It was not
uncommon for Common to pop up for “Act Too... Love of My Life”, Dice Raw to show up
for “Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New”, or “You Got Me” to feature the presence of Erykah
Badu, Jill Scott or other up-and-coming female soul
singers. During this time, The Roots also started performing new tracks,
some of which have never found their way to a Roots studio LP. The call-and-response
insanity of “The Ultimate” has never seen the light of day in studio form, but was
featured on both The Legendary and The Roots Come Alive. Then unreleased songs like
“Y'all Know Who” were often used to jump-start shows, while the
popular single from The Best Man soundtrack, “What You Want” was oft-performed in
this era.
In 2000, The Roots embarked on the first Okayplayer Tour, featuring Guru, Reflection
Eternal, dead prez, Jill Scott, Jaguar Wright, and The Jazzyfatnastees, with The
Legendary playing house band. During the later Things Fall Apart-based shows, Ben
Kenney handled bass duties as Hub embarked on a tour with Jaguar Wright. Upon Hub's
return, Kenney remained with the band, becoming the group's first long-term guitarist.
This, along with the incorporation of songs from Black Thought's upcoming solo release,
Masterpiece Theatre, such as “Hardware” and “Water”, would set the tone for the next evolution
in The Roots' sound...
Next (Phrenology)
