One Track Mind

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As anyone who has had to endure one of Jimmy Fallon’s insufferable, giggle-riddled monologues can attest, The Roots are Late Night‘s saving grace. Since serving as the talk show’s official house band since the premiere episode on March 2, 2009, Philly’s most famous hip-hop outfit have proven that their finesse as a unit is not bound by genre conventions. Their talent as a musical outfit is undebatable; they tear through tunes from all across the musical spectrum on a nightly basis with little (or sometimes even no) practice time, defying expectations while emanating a sense of effortless cool.

Despite their demanding new day job, The Roots have found the time to put together their ninth studio full length. How I Got Over (whose name is a reference to the gospel tune popularized by Mahalia Jackson), will be released by Def Jam Recordings on June 22nd and features cameos by artists ranging from indie nymph Joanna Newsom to Little Brother’s Phonte Coleman. For what it’s worth, the band says their latest effort depicts “the everyman’s search for hope in this dispiriting, post-hope zeitgeist,” which is surprisingly on point as far as lyrical assessments go. If there is a central question on How I Got Over, it concerns keeping the faith in what can feel like increasingly catastrophic times.

This theme makes their reworking of Monsters of Folk‘s “Dear God” an appropriate source material selection, given its Judy Blume-ish narrative conceit. The Roots’ version, “2.0,” is sandwiched between tender renditions of Jim James’ original vocal track, revised to isolate the patter of a brushed snare drum and the somber tones of an electric piano. It provides Black Thought, the group’s lead vocalist and co-founder, with a gorgeous prologue that he follows with lines which–while prone to occasional rhyme-driven tangents–are agile and clever. “Why is the world ugly when you made it in your image? / And why is living life such a fight to the finish?” he wonders to the titular subject, his words set off against a backdrop of vocal harmonies, contrapuntal bass, and harp string loops.

“Dear God 2.0″ may be a surprising choice for a lead single, but it’s also an intelligent one. The song speaks to the ceaseless desire for growth and experimentation which has served The Roots so well over their two decades together, as well as their desire to stay true to the things they do best.