Game Theory (album)

Game Theory
Studio album by The Roots
Released	August 29, 2006
Recorded	March–May 2006; The Studio, The Boom Room, A House Called ?uest; (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); Encore Studios; (Burbank, California); Conway Studios, Glenwood Studios; (Los Angeles, California); Integrated Studios, Quad Studios, Platinum Studios, Electric Lady Studios; (New York, New York)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	46:58
Label	Def Jam
Producer	Owen Biddle, J Dilla, Richard Nichols, The Randy Watson Experience, The Roots,
Professional reviews
	About.com 2006; Allmusic 2006; Robert Christgau 2006; Entertainment Weekly (A-) 2006; Pitchfork Media (7.7/10) 2006; PopMatters (8/10) 2006; Rolling Stone 2006; Stylus (A) 2006; Vibe 2006; Village Voice (favorable) 2006;
The Roots chronology

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Game Theory is the seventh studio album by Philadelphia-based hip hop group The Roots, their first on Def Jam Records, which like the group's previous label, Geffen Records, is part of the Universal Music Group. It was released on August 29, 2006 to a great deal of critical acclaim.^[1] The first single, "Don't Feel Right," was released online in May 2006 and is available as a free download on the group's MySpace page. The album features guest appearances from Peedi Peedi and returning Roots MCs Malik B. and Dice Raw. The album closes with a song titled "Can't Stop This", an eight minute tribute to the late J Dilla. Game Theory was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2007 Grammy Awards, but lost to Release Therapy by Ludacris.

[edit] Music

In an interview for Rolling Stone magazine, Questlove expressed his view on contemporary black music and described Game Theory, comparing it to previous works:

“ In this day and age, I'm kind of noticing that nobody in urban music really has the balls to just stop partying for one second... I mean, partying is good and whatnot, and it's cool to get down, but I really think that 2006 called for a very serious record. This ain't the Debbie Downer record, or the political, save-the-world record, but this is definitely not the MC-based, battle-themed album that the Roots have been known for. This is our most serious record to date.^[2] ”

Described by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson as "very mature, serious, and very dark."^[3] the album, unlike their two previous efforts, Phrenology and The Tipping Point, combines The Roots's progressive tendencies and lush, jazz influenced hip-hop into a more homogenous and cohesive recording than past efforts had shown. In what could be a salute to a fellow progressive band, The Roots sample Radiohead's "You and Whose Army?" for the track "Atonement".

The subject material for Game Theory follows the more serious tone of the album, with topics ranging from the war in Iraq to violence in music. Questlove was quoted as saying "There was too much going on that we couldn’t just sit back and not speak on it."^[3] In accordance with its more-serious tone, the album heavily references Public Enemy's highly-political It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back on its lead track "False Media".

[edit] Track listing

#	Title	Producer(s)	Performer (s)
1	"Dilltastic Vol Won(derful)"	J Dilla	J Dilla Instrumental
2	"False Media"	Kamal Gray, The Randy Watson Experience	Black Thought, Wadud Ahmad
3	"Game Theory"	The Roots, Khari Mateen	Black Thought, Malik B
4	"Don't Feel Right"	The Roots, Tahir Jamal	Black Thought, Maimouna Youssef
5	"In the Music"	The Roots, Richard Nichols, Pedro Martinez, Owen Biddle, Kevin Hansen	Black Thought, Malik B
6	"Take It There"	The Roots, Questlove, Richard Nichols, Pedro Martinez, Adam Blackstone, Kevin Hansen	Black Thought, Wadud Ahmad
7	"Baby"	The Roots, John McGlinchey	Black Thought, John-John
8	"Here I Come"	The Roots, Richard Nichols, Owen Biddle, Pedro Martinez, Brook D'Leau	Black Thought, Dice Raw, Malik B
9	"Long Time"	The Roots, Kevin Hansen, Owen Biddle, Darryl Robinson, Richard Nichols, Omar Edwards	Black Thought, Peedi Peedi, Bunny Sigler
10	"Livin' in a New World"	The Roots, Khari Mateen	Black Thought, John-John
11	"Clock with No Hands"	The Roots, Khari Mateen, Brook D'Leau	Black Thought, Mercedes Martinez
12	"Atonement"	The Roots, The Randy Watson Experience	Black Thought, Jack Davey
13	"Can't Stop This"	J Dilla, The Roots, The Randy Watson Experience	Black Thought
14	"Bread & Butter" (UK, Japan, iTunes bonus track)		Black Thought, Truck North

[edit] Samples

The intro track "Dillatastic Vol Won(derful)" used a sample of Slum Village's first album, Fantastic Vol.1's intro track, "Fantastic", which J Dilla produced. ("Fantastic" incorporates elements of a Herbie Hancock composition "You'll Know When You Get There," from VSOP (album).)
The track "Game Theory" contains a sample of Sly and the Family Stone's "Life of Fortune and Fame".
The track "False Media" contains interpolations of Public Enemy's "Don't Believe The Hype".
The track "Don't Feel Right" samples Kool & The Gang's "Jungle Boogie" & The Ohio Players's "Ecstasy".
The track "Atonement" samples Radiohead's "You and Whose Army?"
The track "Cant Stop This" contains a sample of The Jackson 5's "All I Do Is Think Of You". It should be noted that this song's backing track is an extended version of J Dilla's "Time: The Donut of the Heart" from his third solo album Donuts.

[edit] Song Appearances In Popular Culture

The track "Here I Come" is used for the theme song for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
The track "Here I Come" is featured in the 2007 comedy Superbad and the Xbox 360 title Project Gotham Racing 4.
The track "Here I Come" was featured in the end credits for the Will Smith movie, "Hancock"
The track "In The Music" is featured in a scene from "Stomp The Yard"
The track "In The Music" is featured in a scene of an episode of the show, "CSI"

[edit] Singles

Single information
"Don't Feel Right" Released: June 20, 2006 B-side:
"In The Music" Released: 2006 B-side: "Here I Come"

[edit] Album chart positions

Year	Album	Chart positions
Year	Album	Billboard 200	Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums	Top Internet Albums
2006	Game Theory	#9	#5	#9

[edit] Notes

^ "Game Theory at MetaCritic". MetaCritic. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/roots/gametheory?q=the%20roots%20game%20theory. Retrieved on 2007-08-25.
^ "The Roots' New Album: Heavy But No Debbie Downer". http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10617577/the_roots_new_album_heavy_but_no_debbie_downer. Retrieved on September 22 2006.
^ ^a ^b "The Roots Get Serious About Their "GAME THEORY"". http://www6.defjam.com/site/news.php?news_id=102077. Retrieved on September 22 2006.

[edit] External links

[meta-0] "Game Theory at MetaCritic". MetaCritic. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/roots/gametheory?q=the%20roots%20game%20theory. Retrieved on 2007-08-25.

[Rolling_Stone-1] "The Roots' New Album: Heavy But No Debbie Downer". http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10617577/the_roots_new_album_heavy_but_no_debbie_downer. Retrieved on September 22 2006.

[Ref-2] "The Roots Get Serious About Their "GAME THEORY"". http://www6.defjam.com/site/news.php?news_id=102077. Retrieved on September 22 2006.

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Game Theory (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents

[edit] Music

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Samples

[edit] Song Appearances In Popular Culture

[edit] Singles

[edit] Album chart positions

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

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