Music : Do You Want More?!!!??!

Rating: - classic
add this to your collection if you don't already have it. i love every track on it.

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Rating: - I Do Want More!!??!!?!
I bought this the day it came out, like it states on the page, January 17, 1995. I was 16. I played this everywhere. School, parties, chillin' in the car. This was the tipping point for any rap that year. 1995, don't get me wrong, was THE year for hip-hop; East/West rivalry, every artist battling out to who is the best, when being the best, was what it was all about.

This is the second album of THE ROOTS, the first being ORGANIX. Which was also a dope album. But for any album produced that year, that is the one people can say," Hey remember Do You Want More!!??!!?!" Everyone will remember.

Proceed, was on everyones stereos, or t.v. and it is the one song, that if I were stranded on a desert Island, I would have with me, because I could not be able to stop listening to it.

As the tracks go...they are all great, but my DOPE TRACKS are...

1. Intro/There's Something Goin' On
2. Proceed DOPE TRACK
3. Distortion To Static DOPE TRACK
4. Mellow My Man DOPE TRACK
5. I Remain Calm
6. Datskat DOPE TRACK
7. Lazy Afternoon DOPE TRACK
8. ? Vs. Rahzel
9. Do You Want More?!!!??! DOPE TRACK
10. What Goes On Pt. 7
11. Essaywhuman?!!!??!
12. Swept Away
13. You Ain't Fly DOPE TRACK
14. Silent Treatment
15. The Lesson Pt. 1
16. The Unlocking

I see it as this is their best, then Illadelph Halflife, then Things Fall Apart, then Organix, then the rest just kinda loop together.

Anyway Peace.

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Rating: - One of my favorites
I love this group. I love the jazz infused hip hop verses. If you're looking for something mellow with a little edge, then this is the CD for you.

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Rating: - Pretty good
As a musician, DJ and a hip hop afficianado, I enjoy listening to these guys. Tariq is a top-shelf, A-class lyricist, while Amhir is wondrous on the percussion. My complaint with this album is the same as my complaint with the first one, Organix. It just doesn't grab me like the rest of the catalog does. To me it seems as though they are still finding themselves creatively. There some excellent tracks here (e.g. Distortion to Static, Silent Treatment) but the coherence isn't quite there. That said, this is STILL a necessary part of the collection, as it offers itself as a prelude to their excellence in the years to come.

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Rating: - "Yo Philly In The House Yall, Do You Want More?!!!??! (4.5 stars)
This was the second album that I picked up from The Roots (the first was The Tipping Point) and it has to be a real nice album to enjoy from beginning to end. It sounds like that they are at a live secession when recording this, with the instruments and the vocals. The second song gets the album going with the lead single "Proceed I" (There are about 5 different versions of this song on a bunch of 12" singles somewhere) as lead member Black Thought spits two verses, then Malik B finishes up the song. "Distortion To Static" is a song that features a bunch of laughter as the background vocals as the chorus. A standout track would be the song "Mellow My Man" as Black Thought passes the mic to Malik B on both verses. "I Remain Calm" is a loud track with drums. I couldn't decipher what the woman was saying in the back until a previous reviewer said she was saying "What the hell is this?", but Malik B and Black Thought come correct on this one. "Lazy Afternoon" as many people should have realized Black Though spits the same verse 3 times, each with a little more attitude than the previous. Rahzel would do his thing on the interlude "? vs. Rahzel". Another hot track is the title song "Do You Want More?!!!??!" as Black Thought rhymes over some bagpipes and drums that are played throughout the song. My only knock on this song is that Black Thought spits one solid verse and the track closes out with the title repeated with a few ad-libs. I was hoping he or Malik B would add another verse to the song. "What Goes On Part 7" is another laid back Roots style track with some tounge clicking curteosy of Rahzel. "Essaywhumam?!!!??!" gives me a somewhat of a confirmation that this was a live secession being recorded as instruments play and Black Thought handles the vocals, eventhough he doesn't rap. "Swept Away" is a song with a with a snare being played with a soft horn being played through the song, making it another standout. "You Ain't Fly" is a song about dissing some girl that rejected them, and yes ?uestion (now ?uestlove) raps on this song too, so its something worth hearing. "Silent Treatment" is a long song by Black Thought about a female that he liked (The group City High would sample this for that hit song "Carmel" about 4 years ago), as the music gives a relaxing feel. The listener should get out of that relaxed mode as the next track "The Lesson Part 1" as Black Thought and Dice Raw freestyle the entire track (Dice goes on for a good minute). Ursela Rucker would come by and drop a spoken word poem, that you have to listen real hard to understand what shes [really] saying other than the graphic words. I like it, because its somethig different that I've never heard on a hip hop album (whats funny is that Yvette's cell rings interrupting the poem somewhere in the middle). A great way to close the album off with something like this (I don't know and won't get into what the heck Rahzel does after the long silence following the spoken word.)

Overall this is a nice album, and a great experience to listeners to those who like hip hop with the help of live instruments. My only knock is that some songs they can give me a headache such as "Daskat" because of its loudness, but it doesn't take away from the album. I recommend this to all fans of Hip Hop, fans of live music and fans of the Roots, you can't go wrong.

Lyrics: A-
Production: A+ (live instruments)
Musical Vibes: A
Overall: A

Standout tracks: Proceed I, Mellow My Man, Swept Away, Do You Want More?!!!??!, and The Lesson Pt. 1