Going through some past entries I realized that this blog has sort of morphed into a featurette for singer/songwriters. And that's cool. Really. It's what I love. But I also love hip-hop. A lot. What I don't usually love though, is live hip hop. It just doesn't translate well to the stage; it ends up being a bunch of guys yelling the verses instead of rhyming them. Now don't get me wrong. I've been to plenty of shows where this is the opposite. A Tribe Called Quest. De La Soul. Jurassic 5. Dilated Peoples. Souls Of Mischief. The Roots. Positively one of the tightest bands around period, The Roots transform their recorded songs into something quite extrordinary when they hit the stage. They improvise. They tweak. They take the audience on an aural journey through their back catalouge; leaving you scratching your head in awe. For your listening (dis)pleasure, three tracks that I love live from their excellent album Phrenology:

The Roots: Sacrifice

The Roots: Break You Off (feat. Musiq)

The Roots: The Seed 2.0 (feat. Cody Chestnut)


Much love and respect to Blog Vita.

For more hip hop love, visit my man Chris for a new solo joint from Jurassic 5's Chali 2na.