Wednesday, June 10, 2009

The Roots Ready New Album

Just a little over a year since the release of "Rising Down," Philadelphia's the Roots are working on their eighth studio album, entitled "How I Got Over." The Def Jam release is slated for a summer street date, and while the first single, "I Walk Alone," has not been serviced yet, the legendary hip-hop band shot the accompanying video for it just yesterday (June 10) in New York.

The Roots is currently the house band for the "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" show, where they have performed with numerous musical guests like Paul Simon, Mos Def, Booker T. Jones and Amadou & Mariam.

The Roots will join opera singer Jessye Norman, jazz singer Nnenna Freelon and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra Aug. 30 in the West Coast premiere of author/poet Langston Hughes' "Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz." First presented in 1961, the revamped version of "Ask Mama" - a collaboration between Norman and Emmy Award-winning composer Laura Karpman - features a score encompassing orchestral music, hip-hop and jazz.

In related news, the second annual Roots Picnic at Philadelphia's Festival Pier took place this past Saturday and included performances by Asher Roth, Busdriver, Black Keys, TV On the Radio and Public Enemy.

"Rising Down" has sold 166,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

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