Phrenology

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Work

Phrenology is the fifth studio album by The Roots and was released on 26 November 2002. Recording ran from June 2000 to September 2002 at Electric Lady Studios in New York. It was the follow-up to Things Fall Apart, the 1999 breakthrough record, which had been eagerly awaited. The band largely produced the album themselves, with guests such as Cody ChesnuTT, Musiq Soulchild, Talib Kweli and Jill Scott. The title refers to the discredited pseudoscience that used skull shapes to interpret character, and which in the nineteenth century justified racism.

It is above all a hip hop album, with influences from rock, jazz, techno, hardcore punk and soul. The lyrics deal, among other things, with hip hop culture and its commercialisation. On Something in the Way of Things (In Town), the poet Amiri Baraka recites a poem. Water begins with the age-old Bo Diddley beat and ends as a long instrumental fantasy. The critical response was very positive, and the album featured in many year-end lists for 2002.

Listening

Track list

1. 1Phrentrow (feat. Ursula Rucker)0:21Apple Music ↗
2. 2Rock You3:13Apple Music ↗
3. 3!!!!!!!0:25Apple Music ↗
4. 4Sacrifice (feat. Nelly Furtado)4:45Apple Music ↗
5. 5Rolling With Heat3:42Apple Music ↗
6. 6Thought @ Work1:00Apple Music ↗
7. 7Thought @ Work4:44Apple Music ↗
8. 8The Seed (2.0) [feat. Cody Chestnutt]4:28Apple Music ↗
9. 9Break You Off (feat. Musiq Soulchild)7:27Apple Music ↗
10. 10Water10:24Apple Music ↗
11. 11Quills3:46Apple Music ↗
12. 12P***y Galore4:29Apple Music ↗
13. 13Complexity (feat. Jill Scott)4:48Apple Music ↗
14. 14Something In The Way Of Things (In Town)6:46Apple Music ↗
15. 15Rhymes And Ammo4:31Apple Music ↗
16. 16Thirsty!2:48Apple Music ↗

30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗