THE ROOTS- "...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin"

The Roots are a hip hop mainstay- the Philly-bred group's eclectic mix of pensive lyricism and live-instrumentation has continuously left the Clear Channel radio rap fodder decades behind in the dust.  With the founding fathers Tariq "Black Thought Trotter and Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson at the helm, the group has released over a dozen records, landed the role of house band for The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, and easily remained a must-see live-act. Their latest release, entitled "...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin", sees them raising the bar (yet again) and giving the hip hop community a run for their money.

Since the release of 2002's "Phrenology", The Roots have cleverly managed to slip in their jazz tendencies and avant garde detours increasingly with each record. "...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin" is choked-full of disjointed instrumentation and film score-worthy production that makes it  hard to believe this is the same band that gets drowned out by the sound of applause nightly on your television when it would seem more at home serving a residence at MoMA. Serving as a matured companion piece to last year's "Undun", this is the welcomed logical next step for The Roots.

Get your copy of The Roots' "...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin" HERE!