By Odeisel

The Roots have been so many places musically over the last 15 years. From their quirky initial incarnation, The Square Roots, to the organic Do You Want More? and the sublime Illadelph Halflife, they were constantly evolving, alternating from acoustic to electric, learning to incorporate the sampling and beatboxing inherent to Hip-Hop with their instrumentality. Somewhere along the line, their albums became dope but aimless jam sessions. Their latest work, undun is their first concept album and their most cohesive project yet.

The album begins with a flatline, symbolizing when we are all done( “dun”) with life. Undun chronicles a life in reverse and segues from the death to the ephemeral “Sleep,” which captures those fleeting moments between fighting for your life and giving up your ghost. There is contemplation of a life set to end and whether it was worth it to exist in the first place.With his last gasp, Redford wonders whether he’ll even be remembered when he is gone.

Big K.R.I.T. stars on the sublime “Make My” as Redford’s life flashes before his eyes and he decides to make his departure from the world. The production is so rich, particularly the instrumental break that closes out the song.  The lush, expansive and serene music that sounds like the soundtrack to release is absolutely appropriate for a song that hurtles from life to death. Continuing the reverse narrative is the Phonte and Dice Raw-guested “One Time,” a tale of a drug deal gone bad. Redford is fresh off a big night of fun and readies to hit the streets. He thinks his only worries are the police. That ice cold arrogance and miscalculation ultimately leads to his dunning.

“Kool On” features a crisp performance from P.O.R.N. who toasts to the good life, matching wits with the game; supreme in confidence, on the unforgiving streets. A husky Truck North speaks of dues paid and the moves made to survive and advance in the streets. Bilal delivers a rousing hook on the P.O.R.N.-assisted “Otherside” where Redford decides to go all in on the street life. Is the risk worth the reward? Redford sees his cards and decides to go all in. ?uestlove drums his ass off on some Barry White shit, providing all the muscle the track needs but then slick keys perfectly drizzle over the beat like lemon icing on a pound cake. The organ on the break? Pristine.

Sean C & LV provide the relentless thump on “Stomp” with an electric guitar and a plunking piano hyping up the track. P.O.R.N. again shows big skill as we go further back in Redford’s history as hard times force him to ponder his time on this earth and he wonders whether he should have ended up swallowed or discarded rather than born. “Lighthouse” is decidedly more uptempo. Dice lays down the story of a semi-suicidal young man looking for an answer to a broken life. Black Thought ponders whether forgetting the love put you in a better place or simply prepare you for the cold world ahead? Thought notes:

After the love is lost, friendship dissolves and even blood is lost where did it begin the way we did each other wrong, troubled water neither one of us can swim across. I stopped holding my breath, now am I better off there without a trace of you in my head at all?

The turning point of Redford’s life is dealt with on “I Remember,” where he struggles with the memory of a friend he murdered on his way up. “Homicide or suicide, heads or tailes, some think life is a living hell, some live life just living well, I live life trying to tip the scales my way,” is the first thing we hear on the final conventional song, “Tip the Scales.” Black Thought weaves an intricate tale of a man who has made the decision to survive the cold world by any means necessary.

Undun ends with four instrumentals “Redford,” (originally appearing on Sufjan Stevens’ Michigan album) the soft, string-driven moodiness of “Possibility,” the key-based whirling dervish of “Will to Power” and the whiny soft strings of the aptly-titled “Finality.”  Black Thought delivers his most profound lyricism ever on a Roots album and no guest spot is wasted. Undun is a model of execution and efficiency. Well dun.

Out of 5

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