The Roots: Game Theory (2LP) [DEF JAM]

Why you'll love it

This 2LP set gives the band's darkest, most focused record four sides. It debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album.

This edition

• 2LP set

About the album

Questlove called 2006 a year that demanded a serious record, and on their first album for Def Jam, The Roots made one. Recorded largely in Apple's GarageBand, of all places, Game Theory is stripped back and gritty, closer in spirit to Public Enemy than to the lush jazz-rap that made their name.

Black Thought is razor sharp throughout, and the band keep the arrangements lean so every line hits hard. Questlove's drums sound huge and dry. "False Media" and the title track set a tense mood, "Don't Feel Right" and "Here I Come" hit with real urgency, and "Atonement" builds around a Radiohead sample. The opening "Dilltastic Vol Won(derful)" was overseen by J Dilla, and the closing "Can't Stop This" turns into a moving tribute to the late producer and friend, a farewell that gives the album its emotional centre.

It has sold over 200,000 copies in the US and sits among the band's most respected albums. A world-class band making a masterpiece on software that came free with a laptop is either a triumph of talent or a strong argument for reading the manual.

Also at Kops: more The Roots on vinyl · browse Hip Hop / R&B

Tracklist

Listen

On Def Jam (cat# B0007222-01), the 2006 album.