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![The Roots Essentials](/assets/artwork/1x1.gif)
With a live-band lineup that opens up hip-hop's bohemian possibilities, The Roots have been injecting the genre with their signature Philly cool since the late ‘80s. "Silent Treatment" has Sade-like grace: Soft-focus Rhodes piano chords, a smooth-jazz sax line, and Questlove's delicate backbeat lay down a sensuous canvas for Black Thought's tale of romantic anxiety. The band show their chops on funky Cody Chesnutt collab "The Seed", a rough pop release that's almost punk rock. The galloping "Boom!", meanwhile, pours an intoxicating mix of nimble rhymes funky samples and live drums.