Author Topic: ?uestlove talks about Vh1 HH tour and The Roots new album  (Read 130 times)

Elano

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?uestlove talks about Vh1 HH tour and The Roots new album
« on: September 01, 2007, 07:13:35 AM »
Being up for a new challenge is how Roots drummer ?uestlove explains the act's involvement with the first VH1 Hip-Hop Honors tour, which kicks off Sept. 13 in San Francisco.

"This is a hip-hop celebration," ?uestlove tells Billboard.com. "I'm going to take the biggest risk I've ever taken on any tour. I'm going to make this a Roots song-free tour. We're going to rely on the classics that our guests are giving us, and we're also going to cover some classic material and do some new routines that we've never done before.

"A Roots show isn't really a Roots show unless half the audience walks away shocked like, 'Oh (expletive), I wasn't expecting that.' So the onus is, how do you rock a two-and-a-half-hour show and not rely on one of your songs?"

Basically an expansion of the Roots' normal in-concert medley dubbed "Hip-Hop 101," which includes snippets of rap classics, the upcoming tour will feature the Philadelphia-based act, MC Lyte and Big Daddy Kane. The set list includes songs from legends such as Special Ed, Wu-Tang Clan, Biz Markie, Public Enemy and more.

"Kind of like the 'Scream Tour' was for the black tweeners, we want the 'VH1 Hip Hop Honors' tour to sort of be our platform," ?uestlove says. "We'll have special guests come and rock with us. This year is sort of like a testing period. We're only doing a month's worth of dates."

?uestlove says he expects a full-blown tour to be booked next year. Also in the mix for the drummer is the completion of a new Al Green album later this year. As a producer, ?uestlove says he views the project as a follow-up to the legendary R&B and soul singer's 1977 release "The Belle Album."

n addition, the Roots' tenth studio album, "Rising Down," is penciled in for an April 29, 2008 release. Songs in the mix are the Afrobeat-leaning "I Will Not Apologize" and the pop-ish "Birthday Girl."

"We're about 60 percent finished," ?uestlove says. "To me, it's an electronic feel. It's not synthetic all of the way, like with drum machines and synths, but as far as our keyboard textures are concerned, we use a lot of old vintage synthesizer sounds. It's something we haven't done on past Roots records."
 

jeromechickenbone

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Re: ?uestlove talks about Vh1 HH tour and The Roots new album
« Reply #1 on: September 01, 2007, 09:54:44 AM »
Wow that sounds fucking dope as hell!!!  Roots doin classic Hip Hop joints.  Don't get me wrong, I want a show of just them doing their shit, but this sounds pretty fuckin interesting.  I need to see this show.

And great to hear that they are working on a new album right now.  They're not still on Def Jam are they?
 

Elano

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Re: ?uestlove talks about Vh1 HH tour and The Roots new album
« Reply #2 on: September 02, 2007, 04:35:18 AM »
I'm very curios about the new album and to hear his work with al green...
 

Elano

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Re: ?uestlove talks about Vh1 HH tour and The Roots new album
« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2007, 03:24:08 AM »
The Roots' ?uestlove has a lot on his plate, but the top priorities are clear: masterminding the 10th Roots album, Rising Down, and overseeing a yet-untitled Al Green album.

"I know Justin wants to be a part of this project," ?uest said of Justin Timberlake's probable contribution to Green's LP. "Anthony Hamilton did some honorary background vocals. Corinne Bailey Rae wrote two songs. She's a monster songwriter. We also have been talking to Justin's people now. Both he and Al are from Memphis. D'Angelo will be a part of this record as well."

?uest said he's been working on Green's album for three years, but due to their conflicting schedules, only about three months' worth of work has been done.

"It's been putting gray hair in my afro," 'Love laughed. "I'm not producing, I'm reducing it. I'm trying to take him back to 1974 — very dry, very dirty, very grassroots sound. One of the biggest mistakes of modern technology, it doesn't sound gritty, doesn't sound raw. A lot of the favorite records we sample from today, those were recorded in studios that were very lackluster. Those weren't the best studios in the world. Pretty much, I want this album to sound very cheap, very dirty ... the vibe the Amy Winehouse album gave you. More than just the song, the creative aspect. I wanted the engineering to feel like it was made 30 years ago."

The Philadelphia producer said Green's album should be out next spring, around the time the Roots' next project launches on April 29 .