Hip-hop legends, the Roots, recently announced that they will be releasing their first concept album titled undun, on December 6! So what is a concept album? It is an album that is fused together by a single theme whether it be instrumental, lyrical, or narrative. Questlove (drummer, music journalist, DJ) of the Roots, explained to SPIN magazine that undun is:
"...basically a tale about someone who makes one decision that completely undoes their entire life. And we tell the story backwards, so when you hear the record it starts at the very end of this character's life. We wanted to tell a cautionary tale but didn't want to do the cliché tale of a 'hood kid who does the wrong shit and then just dies."
SPIN- "So who, exactly, is the protagonist Redford Stephens?"
"Well, the album's name is inspired by the Guess Who song "undun." But we named the character after the Sufjan Stevens song "Redford" from his Michigan record. We imagined Redford as being like Avon Barksdale from The Wire. He's a good guy who could have just gone to college and been a great engineer or something. But he makes a bad decision and pays for it. We tell that story in 10 songs, under 44 minutes. Actually, Sufjan makes an appearance on the album, too."
Wow, I'm excited, and you should be too! The dense talent and passion that flows throughout each member of the Roots assures me that this album is going to be awesome!
Also, check out Sufjan Stevens if you haven't already! His music is light and soothing, as something about it is very inspiring and touching.
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