The Roots

The Roots

The Tipping Point (Geffen) Culled from 80 hours of studio jam sessions, The Tipping Point distills the instrumental prowess of the Roots through a filter of bare-bones rap sensibilities. Already heralded as Black Thought's coming out, TP finds the always-dependable MC stepping up his game with the hunger of a neglected thoroughbred. As with the relentless flow of "Boom!," Black Thought juxtaposes his own rhyming style with uncanny re-creations of classic verses from Big Daddy Kane and Kool G Rap. Taking up arms on "Guns Are Drawn" against those that "only wanna see us occupying a coffin," Black Thought confronts critics who accuse him of lyrical irrelevance. While a pair of tracks produced by former Roots keyboardist Scott Storch, "Don't Say Nuthin'" and "Duck Down!," veer electronically away from the organic Roots repertoire, a reinterpretation of Sly & the Family Stone's classic "Everybody Is a Star" epitomizes the Okayplayer standard beautifully. It's baffling why the group decided to showcase their abilities as beat programmers by recycling the same Al Hirt sample used by De La Soul 10 years ago on "Stay Cool," but for every question The Tipping Point poses, an answer such as the raw, neck-snapping "Web" quickly follows suit. Even with guest appearances by Devin, Jean Grae, and Skillz getting lost in the shuffle, ?uestlove's ferocious drumming on a cover of George Kranz's Eighties club classic "Trommeltanz (Din Daa Daa)" is worth the price of admission all on its own.