This review was excerpted and published by The All Music Guide: see the review on their site.

The Roots Organix album coverArtist: The Roots
Genre: Hip-Hop
Album Title: Organix
Label: remedy Recording, Inc./ Cargo Records America
Catalog Number: CRGD81100
Release Date: 1993
Rating: 2.5
Review:

Although to knowledgeable natives of Philadelphia they may have originally been known as The Square Roots, the sound of this group on this album was only occasionally square. When first listening to Organix, The Roots first commercial release, it seems a little hard to digest, especially at this vantage point in time: late 1999.

 

At this point, The Roots have released 4 decidedly strong albums including an album of live performance recordings. (Their creative flow has even survived all of the drama that went on during the merge of Universal Music Distribution and PolyGram Distribution, which saw their label, Geffen Records, shed all of its urban music projects which were mostly picked up by MCA Records.) The sound, feel, and quality of Organix is much less developed than their subsequent recordings, but that is only to be expected.

The Roots sound (at any point in time) is an instrumental sound. But it’s instrumental Hip-Hop and there’s no confusing that issue. It is therefore somewhat surprising to realize the degree of success they’ve enjoyed in the nineties: a time when “plastic,” prepackaged, and electronics/computer based music was all the rage in urban music. Perhaps it was the fact that The Roots have always been very creative and just plain good. The introductory song “The Roots Is Comin’,” is short at 1 minute and 17 seconds. But it’s a song that exemplifies The Roots with a funky bassline (here played by Leonard Hubbard), dreamy and emotional chords from the organ (thanks to Scott Storch), and ferociously swift yet clear rhymes from the group’s focal MC, Black Thought. The song that follows, “Pass the Popcorn” is what would have been called a “posse cut” in 1993 (when Organix was originally recorded). That descriptive term is scarce in 1999. This song features Black Thought rhyming, as well as the group’s drummer, Ahmir Thompson, and fellow group member and bassist Joshua Abrahms, with cohort Kenyatta Warren each getting a turn on the mic. Everyone could’ve used a little more practice before stepping to the mic on this song, but the fun and the spirit of the song are not at all lost in the amateurishness. “Writers Block” is an example of just the opposite as Black Thought flows with spoken word, comically and creatively expressing the experience of a day in the life of a Philadelphian using mass transit. The instrumentation is appropriately frantic and punctuated by [cymbal] crashes (like any mass transit system). A creative venture.

I would take Ahmir Thomspson, a/k/a Brother Question’s advice when, in the beginning of “Good Music”, he suggests that you “sit back, relax, and dig the groove.” The chorus let’s you know exactly what it is your relaxing and grooving to: “does anyone like real music, sweet music, soul music? You know The Roots is a group that’ll choose it - just to use it to make you move it.” The organ chords that run underneath the chorus and the rest of the song do much to allow your relaxation, as they are gentle and fade out with a great sounding decay. One is sure to find some “good music” in this selection. “Grits” begins with a conversation between the performers about how they like their grits prepared, or at least that’s what you first think. The chorus does a good job at sounding southern while a whole slew of MC’s take turns at the microphone. Again, it is easy to hear that this was an early recording effort due to a few reasons, most notably, the imperfection of the performers breathing techniques. If you listen closely, you’ll hear that they’re not only talking about the cereal food.

Fans of Do You Want More (The Roots album released immediately following Organix) will recognize the music of “I’m Out Deah,” “Leonard I-V,” and “Essawhamah?” There are shorter bits to this album that help to break up a monotony that might have occurred if this album were just full length songs running back to back. For example, “There’s A Riot Going On” sounds like a recording of someone snoring, I’m guessing it’s Ahmir Thompson, but I’m not sure why I’m making that guess. Anyway, “Peace” is another selection that pleasantly differs from the other 4 minute songs on Organix. It’s one minute and 16 seconds of a beat box instrumentation with Black Thought performing spoken word focused around play on the word “peace.” Black Thought’s words are intelligent and genuine. Another track of note is “The Session (Longest posse cut in history),” which is no false claim at 12 minutes and 43 seconds in length. This album should be an important part of the collection of someone considering themselves a Roots fan. But, not really because it is an example of their artistry at its best, but because it allows you to see where they came from and how long and fruitful a journey that has been.

 

Track Listing

  1. THE ROOTS IS COMIN’ (1:17)
  2. PASS THE POPCORN (5:32)
  3. THE ANTI-CIRCLE (3:48)
  4. WRITERS BLOCK (1:45)
  5. GOOD MUSIC (Prelude) (1:00)
  6. GOOD MUSIC (4:32)
  7. GRITS (6:36)
  8. Leonard I-V (4:06)
  9. I’M OUT DEAH (4:11)
  10. ESSAWHAMUH? (Live at the Soulshack) (4:21)
  11. There’s a RIOT goin on (0:13)
  12. POPCORN REVISITED (4:06)
  13. PEACE (1:16)
  14. COMMON DUST (5:04)
  15. THE SESSION (Longest posse cut in history, 12:43) (12:45)
  16. SYREETA’S HAVING MY BABY (0:42)
  17. CARRYIN’ ON (1:26)