1999 Rewind: Remembering The Roots’ Things Fall Apart

Are y’all ready to party like it’s 1999? We all love the 90s here at Soul In Stereo, so it’s only right to revisit albums that are marking 25 years in 2024. 1999 Rewind looks back at all your old faves and see how well they hold up.

After a career that spanned more than half a decade, The Roots finally broke through in 1999 with Things Fall Apart, arguably their most memorable release to date. Ronald Grant stops by to reminisce. Is this The Roots’ best album? Let’s talk about it.

Before we get going, tell us about your early memories of this album.

Ron: I had a fleeting appreciation for The Roots due to Illadelph Halflife and the “What They Do” video, but I wasn’t a FAN fan. I went and got TFA on a whim from this store called Record Time up the street from the grocery store I worked at in Ferndale, Michigan in high school. Didn’t expect much. But after “Table of Contents (Pts. 1&2)” grabbed me by my entire throat and I listened to “Adrenaline!” and “Double Trouble” almost to the point of scratching my CD to high heaven, I was hooked. And I can’t say that the video for “You Got Me” didn’t play a part, because when it dropped, I was seeing it constantly! Seeing Thought walk through the sea of black bodies and then getting the curve ball that he was the one who got shot at the end with that cryptic drum pattern by Questlove? Just pure art.

Edd: Y’all know how it goes by now – this is usually the part of the post where I go into some wacky, convoluted 90s story, like how I stole this CD from Tower Music while guzzling a can of Surge in the winter of 99 or something, but surprisingly, I don’t have a lot for this one. I appreciated the Roots’ talent and I dug their singles but it was well into the next decade before I heard this album in full. Oh yeah, I do have one memory from this time – I had NO idea what Badu was saying on the second line of “You Got Me;” it baffled me for months. “If you are worried ’bout where, ibeena hoop of sorrows?” I was lost. Thankfully a friend broke it down – “I been or who I saw orrrrr” – and it made a lot more sense.

What’s your pick for best song?

Ron: “Dynamite!”

OK, being from Detroit and all, I admit that I’m probably biased due to Dilla’s production. Feel free to call me out if you do desire, Ed! But here’s another example of a song that could’ve served as another single. It’s velvety-smooth, it’s catchy as hell and it’s the perfect balance of energy: not too mellow but not off-the-charts frantic. And on top of all that, Questlove’s liner notes about “Dynamite!” are hilarious!

Edd: “You Got Me”

Nah, I’m not going to come for your neck on this one, Ron. “Dynamite!” is not my favorite, but it’s dope, no doubt. In fact, I found it very hard to rank the songs on this project, as nearly everything is equally fire. But, as basic as it might sound to some, I think the lead single still shines the hardest. Thought and Eve’s chemistry is so real and authentic – even in 99, it felt like a conversation between real partners, not the usual rap histrionics. It’s high on my list of best hip-hop love songs ever, along with the best Roots tracks.

What’s the most underrated song on the project?

Ron: “The Spark”

This is a genuine exercise in Malik B’s abilities. Now that he’s gone (RIP), listening to “The Spark” makes me realize how underrated both the song and the MC were. Even with the most mellow and dreamy of beats, Malik still tears this song to shreds and gives us one of the most memorable hooks in The Roots’ catalog. What more could you ask for?

Edd: “Double Trouble”

Easy. Mos Def and Black Thought were the combo we never knew we needed, like peanut butter and honey sandwiches (don’t hate until you try it!). Their chemistry is insane and instantly made “Double Trouble” one of my most played songs on this record. Still holds up magnificently today.

Which song should have been a single?

Ron: “Adrenaline!”

Not only is the breakneck lyricism the perfect opposite of “You Got Me’s” smooth melancholy, but it could’ve been a great way to link The Roots with The Roc via the guest verse from Beanie Sigel. Even though that was a missed opportunity, it’s still an amazing track with Thought, Beanie and Dice Raw each giving it their all and trying to lyrically one-up each other.

Edd: “Adrenaline!”

I planned to say “Double Trouble” here, but Ron, you won me over, playa. I think “Adrenaline” would make a great high-octane single after the more mellow singles that preceded it. This also was right around the time Beanie Sigel hit big with Roc-A-Fella so it would have been a great paring of those two worlds.

This album was filled with great features. Who shined brightest?

Ron: Mos Def

For me, it’s easily Mos Def (now Yasiin Bey) on “Double Trouble.” The way Thought and Mos trade bars and energy on this track is beyond effortless, to the point where you could argue that there could be an alternate version of Black Star with Thought in Kweli’s place. It’s not just the best feature on the album, it’s in the running for one of TFA’s best moments period because it sounds so organic, but you can also tell that The Roots were very intentional in where they placed this song on the album. They definitely wanted to grab the Lyricists’ Lounge crowd with this one.

Edd: Mos Def

I’m really coming off like a “Double Trouble” stan on this post, but Ron summed it up best. This was everything I loved about the Black Star project in an entirely new environment. Wish we got more of it.

“You Got Me” – Jill Scott or Erkyah Badu? Which version do you prefer?

Ron: Jill Scott

Let me preface this by saying that I ADORE both versions. But I gotta go with my heart and my gut and roll with Jilly. While Ms. Badu brings an earthy flow and her signature drawl to the official single, the fact that Jill wrote it and performed it so brilliantly on “The Roots Come Alive” album will always have my heart. The simultaneous yearning and confidence in Jill’s voice has me in a chokehold to this day. And, of course, I can’t leave out that historic moment when they performed it together in “Dave Chappelle’s Block Party”. But it’s Jills’ version for me, hands down. I love me some Erykah and her hook helped to shape The Roots’ biggest single, but you only get such an amazing artist intro like that of Ms. J-I-L-L-S-C-O-T-TEEEEeeeEEEEeeeeEEEEEE a few times in your life!

Edd: Jill Scott

I’m, really, really torn on this one. Badu’s unforgettable hook (“ibeena hoop of sorrows”) is the stuff of neo-soul legend. I’m assuming most of you know the story of the then-unknown Jill Scott being removed from the original recording of this song for the more recognizable Badu, only for Jill to resurface on The Roots Come Alive album. That comeback story is so heartwarming, as are the melodic vocals Jill lays down on the hook. My nostalgia says Badu but my heart says Jill.

Black Thought was on absolute fire on this album. What was the standout performance?

Ron: “100% Dundee”

It’s unequivocally the first verse on “100% Dundee!” He sounds both effortless and visceral, almost as if he knows his most basic throw-away verses are 10 times better than most emcees. Thought has more than a few brain-melting verses throughout TFA, but this one shines brightly because he’s giving a lesson in lyricism while having fun. Honestly, with Thought, it’s always hard to choose, but “100% Dundee” is my pick for standout Black Thought verse.

Edd: “Step Into the Realm”

This is another impossible question – when you perform at a level of excellence as consistently as Thought, it’s hard to pick the best. Everything is the best! But there’s something about these bars from “Step Into the Realm:”

Building this Fifth foundation in the wilderness
Thoughtless, trespass and enter Thought’s fortress
Limitless interest, paid to the order of the
A cypher slaughterer, my mic slapping you senseless
Defenseless, n****s never moving me inches

FIRE.

Shout out to the Soulquarians. This album was recorded around the time of D’Angelo’s Voodoo, Erykah Badu’s Mama’s Gun, and Common’s Like Water for Chocolate. How does it measure in quality to those others?

Ron: Knowing that these four albums were recorded around the same time period is mind-boggling. To me, TFA is one of the four pillar album in the Soulquarians legacy, along with Mama’s Gun, Voodoo and LWFC. But with TFA, it’s a little more curious and ironic because it seems that The Roots were still trying to rail against the record industry in their own way, and ended up becoming alternative hip hop darlings. They wanted to make a statement by using elements that they thought only a few of us would understand (i.e., the ‘Mo Better Blues’ snippet in the intro, Ursula Rucker’s soul-crushing poetry on deck for another outro, etc.) and in the process, got a Grammy for it.

Edd: To echo Ron’s statement, it’s amazing that these albums were all birthed around the same time – Common’s best album (yes, better than Be in my eyes) and Badu and D’Angelo’s second best projects (although I’m sure MANY of you would have both at the top of your lists) and then we have Things Fall Apart, another incredible work in its own right. Objectively, I’d probably rank this at No. 4 of the quartet but that’s not a criticism of its quality, it’s a testament to how great all four albums truly are. If there’s any wonder why old heads like me still mourn the loss of this era is because of the quality of music we were getting weekly. It was an amazing time to be a fan.

Is Things Fall Apart The Roots’ best album?

Ron: It’s a tough call because The Roots discography is so expansive and conceptual. But I say no. Most popular and most well-known doesn’t necessarily equate to “best.” Personally, I revisit Phrenology and The Tipping Point more often. Plus, Undun, though it was a little hard to digest at first, is one of the most underrated concept albums ever. What I do think is that TFA was the perfect album at the perfect time for The Roots. It put them on a trajectory to get more experimental and challenge listeners and themselves more. Without it, we don’t get albums like The College Dropout, Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor or To Pimp A Butterfly.

Edd: I still haven’t done an official dissection and ranking of The Roots’ entire catalog, so it’s tough for me to definitively crown any Roots album as the best. I can confidently claim that it’s The Roots’ breakout record, but I think both Undun and even Game Theory could be in the convo. My instincts say yes, this is the best, but stay tuned – I’ll break down an official ranking soon enough. In the meantime, we can just marvel in how truly great and groundbreaking Things Fall Apart was for your favorite hip-hop band.

Who made the most sense, Ron or Edd? Let us know below and tell us what you thought of Things Fall Apart.