In contrast to the easy-going attitude of many hip-hop artists, the soulful hip-hop crew The Roots can boast a fine live reputation. The same conclusion could be drawn from their Amsterdam Paradiso gig last fall. NRC Handelsblad reported ' a swaying hip-hop bacchanal, in which instrumentations, nevertheless, remained transparent: sometimes all together like a clenched fist, sometimes more loose and collage-like. Starting with ?uestlove's awesome funk drumming and ending with Capt Kirk's rock riffs - everything is played live. With the album Game Theory, The Roots, ten years after they were founded, prove that they are still a band that is happening right now. Lyricist/rapper Tariq Trotter (a.k.a. Black Thought), drummer Ahmir Thompson (a.k.a. ?uestlove) and keyboardist Kamal form the kernel of a band that was initially ignored by the hip-hop audience when their sample-free debut Do You Want More? was released. Although they succeeded in making a name for themselves with albums like Illadelph Halflife and Things Fall Apart, it must be stressed that the hit single You Got Me featuring singer Erykah Badu and subsequently the track The Seed, taken off the album Phrenology, paved the way to a bigger audience.
