TAG: Wake Up!

Oct12

The Roots Plan “Concept Album” For Holiday Release

When hip-hop mainstays The Roots became the house band for Jimmy Fallon‘s late night TV show in 2009, it was a safe bet that the bands recorded output would slow down. But that assumption was proven false when the group released 2010′s How I Got Over, and quickly followed it up with Wake Up!, a collection of classic soul covers recorded with John Legend that same year.

Now, ?uestlove and Co. are preparing to release their 13th proper studio album, Undun, on Dec. 6 on Def Jam. Details are slim so far. The only thing known is that Undun will be a “concept album” and is widely rumored to include a guest spot by post-dubstepper James Blake. …MORE

Sep20

John Legend & The Roots – Wake Up! (Review)

John Legend & The Roots

Wake Up!

Released by Sony


Perhaps it’s the feeling that this album came about two years too late. Perhaps it’s the fact that The Roots already made an album this summer that encapsulated the political, social and economic unrest felt across our nation in How I Got Over. Either way, there’s simply something off about the consciously enlightening album from John Legend & The Roots, Wake Up! The idea behind Wake Up! is pretty simple – and rather admirable to boot. Cover a handful of emotionally charged soul and funk tracks from the ‘60s and ...
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Aug21

John Legend & The Roots @ The Troubadour, LA (08.20.10) (Video)

Last night, John Legend and The Roots brought their recent collaboration the intimate state of West Hollywood’s Troubadour, the 54-years-young legendary music venue that has hosted more historical moments than many notorious venues—CBGBs, The Filmore and neighboring Whiskey A Go-Go—combined. And while this inspired pairing might not rank with Elton John’s first U.S. appearance or Mookie Blaylock’s first ever gig under their new name, Pearl Jam, last night’s performance threatened to rip the old wooden ceiling off. Showcasing their new overtly conscious album of soul covers, Wake Up!, the five-piece crew (no Black Thought, no Tuba Gooding Jr.) ripped through a majority of the record, including the title track which found Common making an unscheduled appearance onstage. But other than this hip-hop interlude, it was near impossible to place a date …

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Jul19

The Roots + John Legend ft. Common & Melanie Fiona (MP3)

?uesto and Co. Working With John Legend, Booker T, Biz Markie, Amy Winehouse, Mos Def and lots more in Q4 

When The Roots signed on as Jimmy Fallon’s house band last year, we knew they’d be trading a whole lot of air time for a whole lot less time on the road. But one thing no one really anticipated was how much Fallon fallow time would allow ?uestlove and Co. to hti the studio. Not only does the band have their own album, How I Got Over, still in the charts, but they’ve teamed up with John Legend for the upcoming full-length, Wake Up!

[audio:http://thefader.cachefly.net/john-legend-roots-everybody.mp3]
Download: The Roots + John Legend f. Common and Melanie Fiona, “Wake Up Everybody”

Then there’s the session with instrumental R&B legend Booker T., with The …