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100Following 2002's experimental Phrenology, which featured all manner of drum 'n' bass and techno influences, the real-instrument-playing Philadelphia hip-hop collective ditches the frills on Tipping Point.
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Foolhardy though it was to saddle such an uncrucial record with a title that dares the young and the restless to bitch about how it doesn't change the world, the rest of us are free to enjoy how confidently it develops a groove.
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An eclectic and often breezy reimagining of hip-hop's energetic essence. [16 Jul 2004, p.76]
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The Tipping Point has more soul, vision and musicianship than most bands muster in a lifetime. [31 Jul 2004, p.41]
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80It's a smart, self-aware and consciously direct album.
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80Opting for politically charged rhymes and melodic, accessible beats, [The Roots] overflow with potential singles. [Aug 2004, p.141]
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80Returns to hip-hop basics.
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The Tipping Point may not boost The Roots' Soundscan numbers to a point commensurate with the acclaim and respect it commands, but the set marks another triumph from a group that seems incapable of producing anything less.
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Already heralded as Black Thought's coming out, TP finds the always-dependable MC stepping up his game with the hunger of a neglected thoroughbred.
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75With Black Thought carrying the weight, the record buckles. [Aug 2004, p.101]
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Ultimately, The Tipping Point is an ironic title, given the fact that the Roots sound like a group recharging its batteries rather than triggering a momentous shift in how it approaches its music and the world at large.
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What the album lacks in ambition and social commentary it makes up for with deep soul.
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70In terms of their own oeuvre, it's certainly a solid addition, even if it suffers from the molting pain that comes from incorporating music that's so stylistically against their own grain.
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64Avant-garde impenetrability has been passed over for hallmark accessibility. [#11, p.92]
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As a listening experience, The Tipping Point is a decent album, a rough transition at best and a stumble at worst.
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60Despite their reputation for distinctiveness parts of 'The Tipping Point' feel distinctly under par by the Roots own high standards suggesting that the departures of MC Malik B (Slacks) and human beatboxers Scratch and Rahzel have, in some ways, led to a successive narrowing down of the range of the Roots' previously loose and eclectic sound.
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60This time, the division between uninspired, joyless Gang Starr pastiches like Don't Say Nuthin and the polymorphous likes of Stay Cool or Outro has never sounded so glaringly obvious. [Aug 2004, p.92]
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60It's hard to shake the feeling that this is a collection of dope beats in search of some rhymes. [Aug 2004, p.134]
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60Hardcore fans will probably be disappointed with the amount of rhythmic experimentation which, the messy breaks of Boom aside, is pretty much lacking. [Aug 2004, p.113]
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The downside to The Tipping Point's chameleonic variety is that the Roots too rarely sound like themselves, or even like a collective. [5 Aug 2004, p.108]
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54Its majority carelessly regurgitates the painful cliches of "enlightened" hip-hop's critical and commercial darlings, while the band falls back on their organic hip-hop sound as a gimmick and piles on guest appearances to disguise their lack of creativity.
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The Roots have always been more about the music than the lyrics, but "Tipping Point" excels at neither. [11 Jul 2004]
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For a group who can be so compelling when they aim high and fall short, an effort so squarely average is all the more disappointing.
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The vast majority of the new Roots album lacks what has made their earlier albums so exciting: spontaneity, originality, musical chops, and a sense of purpose.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 21 out of 24
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Mixed: 3 out of 24
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Negative: 0 out of 24
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PabloG.5
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5