Undun | ||||
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Studio album by The Roots | ||||
Released | December 2, 2011 | |||
Studio | A House Called Quest, daCrib, and The Boom Room in Philadelphia; Downtown Music Studios and MSR Studios in New York | |||
Genre | Alternative hip hop | |||
Length | 38:08 | |||
Label | Def Jam | |||
Producer | Ray Angry, Rick Friedrich, D.D. Jackson, Khari Mateen, Richard Nichols (exec.), James Poyser, Brent "Ritz" Reynolds, Sean C & LV, Sufjan Stevens, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson | |||
The Roots chronology | ||||
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Singles from Undun | ||||
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Undun is the tenth studio album by American hip hop band The Roots, released on December 2, 2011, by Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions for the album took place at several recording locations in Philadelphia and New York City. Production was handled primarily by Questlove, record producer and drummer for the band.
Undun incorporates neo soul and indie music elements. It is an existential concept album about the short, tragic life of fictional character Redford Stevens, set in urban poverty, and is told through a reverse-chronological narrative.
The album performed modestly on music charts and sold 112,000 copies in the United States. Undun received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised its existential subject matter, production quality, and the band's musicianship. It was included on several critics' year-end lists of best albums.
At the time of recording, The Roots comprised lead rapper Black Thought, drummer and producer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, keyboardists Kamal Gray and James Poyser, percussionist F. Knuckles, guitarist Captain Kirk Douglas, sousaphonist Damon Bryson, and bassist Mark Kelley. The band also worked with other rappers for the album, including Big K.R.I.T., Dice Raw, Phonte, and Truck North, as well as vocalists such as Aaron Livingston and Bilal.
Questlove said that the band benefited from the security and practice time provided by their job as the house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Working for NBC, the band is expected to write "short, concise songs, even if they don't get used on air. We have to create three to seven songs every day." Many of these short pieces were used for Undun. Questlove said the new practice space refocused the band's songwriting style, which was previously dependent on jamming during soundchecks on tour. Questlove said the financial stability of the new job also allowed The Roots to be more musically adventurous: "we could finally follow all those crazy ideas that we've had without fear of being dropped by our label... Now we have a safety net. Our Def Jam life is now an evening job. We now have the comfort and confidence to start making the albums we want to make. That's why undun feels like our second album. There's no pressure."