The Roots: Last band standing

Angela Dewan , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sun, 03/23/2008 3:06 PM | Entertainment

In a time when music is downloaded for free, careers are launched on MySpace and record labels are on the demise, The Roots remains one of the few bands able to ride the wave of technological change.

Now in their 17th year, the band is set to release its tenth album, Rising Down. The Jakarta Post caught up with drummer and producer Ahmir Thompson, better know as Questlove, in Singapore, where the band performed for the Mosaic Festival.

"We're basically the last black band with a major record deal, and virtually the last rap group with a record deal. There's Outkast, Wu-Tang and N.E.R.D, if you count them as a group," said Questlove while moving a hair pick from one side of his afro to the other.

"I hate to use a morbid example but it's sort of like facing a firing squad, and we happen to be the one band out of 100 that's survived. The advantage is now we get to be on top, like A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and all the other groups that are no longer with us."

They proved their dominance in front of a full house at Singapore's Esplanade Theatre last week with a cover of A Tribe Called Quest's hit "Award Tour".

The accessibility of free downloads, and the ease at which musicians can distribute their work over the Internet has made the music business even more cutthroat and competitive. The Roots' rise to the top was not easy -- its members have had to work harder, releasing a new album every two years.

"The whole idea of you sitting on an album for five or 10 years is sort of a thing of the past. We have to be straight-A students and the second we misstep, that's a rap. We're seeing a change in the system now. The whole idea of a record label is about to die with what Madonna and Radiohead are doing, releasing their own music and being the captain of their own ships," he said.

Questlove said creating albums with a greater frequency has not compromised the quality of the Roots' music.

"There is always something to sacrifice. I think with all of us our personal lives come third. Our music comes first, our touring comes second and then our personal lives are third. Some areas of my life are absolutely in shambles," he said.

Record labels continue to fight downloaders and to compete with independent Internet releases. More savvy musicians, including Lily Allen and Radiohead, have used the medium to promote their music or launch a new career.

Questlove thinks the Roots could embrace the Internet more.

"A lot of us are afraid of the Internet. I know I had to get on my peers' backs to be more technology-minded. Erykah Badu hated the Internet. She used to say she was 'an analog girl in a digital world'. I bought her her first computer, now she can't stop using it. My whole band's afraid of the Internet. If you don't use it, you're going to get left behind. While the world is traveling from here to there on spaceships, some are still on their tricycle," he said.

U.S. rapper Nas once controversially said, "hip hop is dead", which was also the title of his last album. While hip hop has undoubtedly been pushed from the limelight, the Roots are still going strong.

"If you watch TV and listen to the radio, and 90 percent of the U.S. gets their information from those sources, I too would say hip hop is dead. But on the Internet, it's still alive and Nas doesn't know about Little Brother and Foreign Exchange," he said.

To further strengthen its position, the Roots has begun finding a new fan base in Asia. Before heading to Singapore, the Roots played at one of Jakarta's most frequented clubs, Embassy.

"The further we go out into the world, the more people are appreciative of hip hop. There's an energy that an audience in Jakarta has that an audience in somewhere like New York doesn't. New York is more like *impress me' because they're so exposed to rap music. I'm more stressed and more scared to play New York and Washington DC than I am over in Jakarta, where I know the people are excited and it's the first time they've seen us. There was no pressure and it was beautiful."

Of course, Questlove, like most visitors to Jakarta, couldn't help but be amazed by Jakarta's traffic.

"You guys have an amazing traffic system, like I've never seen in my life; motorbikes coming this way and cars going that way. It looked like a scene from Kill Bill. You've got all these vehicles coming toward you, you think you're going to crash every three seconds," he said with excitement in his eyes.

Outside of being a producer for the Roots and the likes of Common, D'Angelo and even Al Green, Questlove has been published as a journalist writing about music, politics and social issues. He is involved in a number of campaigns in his country and wants to see change.

"Most Americans have been in a very numb place lately, especially with the onslaught of George Bush's administration and its silencing of the American people. Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks, for example, spoke out against George Bush and their band doesn't seem as popular now."

This year, Questlove is focusing his attention on the U.S. election.

"Now that we have a new election on our hands, a lot of that will change. Personally I'm doing what I can for the Barack Obama campaign and I'm going to fight like hell to make him president come January."

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