Organix

• Artist: The Roots
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1993
• Total Time: 54:08
• Genre: Rap

Review

The Roots' low-profile debut set out many of the themes they would employ over the course of their successful career. An intro, "The Roots Is Comin'," is barely over a minute long, yet long enough to exemplify the band's funky bassline (here played by Leonard Hubbard), their dreamy and emotional organ chords (thanks to Scott Storch), and their ferociously swift yet clear rhymes from the group's focal MC Black Thought. The song that follows, "Pass the Popcorn" would have been called a "posse cut" in 1993. Everyone could've used a little more practice before stepping up to the mic on this song, but the spirit of the song are not lost in the amateurishness. The creative venture "Writers Block" is an example of just the opposite, as Black Thought flows with spoken word, comically and creatively expressing the experience of a day in the life of a Philadelphian using mass transit. The instrumentation is appropriately frantic and punctuated by [cymbal] crashes (like any mass transit system). Fans of Do You Want More, the Roots album released immediately following Organix, will recognize the music of "I'm Out Deah," "Leonard I-V," and "Essawhamah?" Another track to note is "The Session (Longest Posse Cut in History)," -- no false claim at 12 minutes and 43 seconds. This album should be a part of any Roots fan's collection -- not so much because it is an example of their artistry at its best, but because it allows you to see where they came from and how fruitful of a journey it's been. ~ Qa'id Jacobs, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
The Roots Is Comin'	Black Thought, Ahmir Khalib Thompson, Tariq Trotter	The Roots	(1:15)
Pass the Popcorn	Black Thought, Ahmir Khalib Thompson, Tariq Trotter	The Roots	(5:31)
The Anti-Circle	Ahmir Khalib Thompson, Black Thought, Tariq Trotter	The Roots	(3:46)
Writers Block	Leonard Hubbard, Ahmir Khalib Thompson, Black Thought, Tariq Trotter	The Roots	(1:42)
Good Music (Reprise) [Preclude]	?uestlove, Tariq Trotter, Ahmir Khalib Thompson, Black Thought	The Roots	(1:01)
Good Music	Tariq Trotter, Black Thought, ?uestlove, Ahmir Khalib Thompson	The Roots	(4:33)
Grits	Tariq Trotter, Tony Greene, ?uestlove, Scott Storch, Ahmir Khalib Thompson, Black Thought	The Roots	(6:34)
Leonard I-V	Ahmir Khalib Thompson, Tariq Trotter, Leonard Hubbard, Black Thought, Scott Storch	The Roots	(4:05)
I'm out Deah	Scott Storch, Ahmir Khalib Thompson, Black Thought, Tariq Trotter	The Roots	(4:08)
Essawhamah? [Live]	Ahmir Khalib Thompson, Tariq Trotter, Scott Storch, Leonard Hubbard	The Roots	(4:20)
There's a Riot Goin' On, Pt. 2 [Extended House, Acid Jazz, Hip Hop, Ra]	Ahmir Khalib Thompson, ?uestlove, Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart	The Roots	(:11)
Popcorn Revisited	?uestlove, Black Thought, Tariq Trotter, Ahmir Khalib Thompson	The Roots	(4:03)
Peace	Tariq Trotter, Black Thought	The Roots	(1:14)
Common Dust	?uestlove, Ahmir Khalib Thompson, Black Thought, Tariq Trotter	The Roots	(5:02)
The Session [Longest Posse Cut in History]	Joseph Simmons, Joe "Run" Simmons, ?uestlove, Black Thought, Ahmir Khalib Thompson, Tony Greene	The Roots	(12:44)
Syreeta's Having My Baby	?uestlove, Ahmir Khalib Thompson, Tariq Trotter, Black Thought	The Roots	(:43)
Carryin' On	Tariq Trotter, Scott Storch, Ahmir Khalib Thompson, Black Thought, Leonard Hubbard, ?uestlove	The Roots	(1:28)

Credits

Scott Storch (Keyboards), Dave Ivory (Mixing), Josh Abrams (Bass), A.P. Thompson (Producer), A.P. Thompson (Drums), Dave Ivory (Engineer), A.P. Thompson (Mixing), Richard Nichols (Executive Producer), A.P. Thompson (Engineer), A.P. Thompson (Keyboards), Ahmir Khalib Thompson (Audio Production), Leonard Hubbard (Bass), The Roots (Performer), The Crumbs (?), Foreign Objects (?), Chuck Treece (Guitar), Joe Young (Executive Producer), Tariq Trotter (Audio Production)

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