Roots Take “Point” on Road
The Roots have lined up a forty-five-date tour to launch tomorrow night at Tufts University in Boston. The first eighteen dates will be a headlining stint on the Okayplayer tour scheduled to run through the end of May. On June 20th, the hip-hop troupe will head out for a string of summer dates with 311.
The Roots will be showcasing their new record, The Tipping Point, set for a July 13th release. The follow-up to 2002’s Grammy-nominated opus Phrenology takes its title from Malcolm Gladwell’s best-selling book about how trends become movements through the actions of a small group of people.
“We’ve gone in a slightly different direction on this record,” the group’s Black Thought says. “We’re going backwards. We’re trying to plug a void and bring what’s been missing back to hip-hop. It’s less about layers and layers of samples and more about the beats and the rhymes. This album to me is like EPMD’s Business as Usual. I want it to be that meaningful to hip-hop.”
Tracks on The Tipping Point include “Stay Cool,” which Thought calls “an out of control joint we’ve been playing live for a while. It’s recorded over a bit of the ‘Vegas Nights’ sample which De La Soul used back in the day.” Also on tap is the Roots’ homage to Sly and the Family Stone with a “virtual” duet on “Everybody is a Star.”
The Tipping Point track list:
Star/Pointro
I Don’t Care (featuring Dom)
Don’t Say Nuthin’
Guns Are Drawn (featuring Aaron)
Stay Cool
Web
Boom!
Somebody’s Gotta Do It (featuring Gene Gray and Mac Dub)
Duck Down
Why?
The Mic (featuring Skillz and Trunk North)
The Roots tour dates:
5/1: Boston, Tufts University
5/2: New Haven, CT, Toad’s Place
5/3: Providence, RI, Lupos at The Strand
5/4: Worcester, MA, College of Holy Cross
5/7: Richmond, VA, Kanawha Plaza
5/8: Charlotte, NC, City Fest Live
5/9: Myrtle Beach, SC, House Of Blues
5/13: Toronto, Kool Haus
5/14: Seaside Heights, NJ, Green Room
5/15: Philadelphia, Drexel
5/18: New Orleans, House of Blues
5/19: Houston, Numbers
5/20: Austin, Stubbs
5/21: Dallas, Granda Theater
5/23-24: Boulder, CO, Fox Theater
5/26: Spokane, WA, Speak Easy
5/27: Portland, OR, Roseland
5/28: Vancouver, Commodore
With 311:
6/20: Berkeley, CA, Greek Theater
6/22: Long Beach, CA, Long Beach Arena
6/23: Las Vegas, Orleans Casino
6/25: West Valley City, UT, USANA Amphitheater
6/26: Morrison, CO, Red Rocks Amphitheater
6/28: Sioux City, IA, Tyson Events Center
6/30: Maryland Heights, MO, UMB Band Pavilion
7/1: Tinley Park, IL, Tweeter Center
7/3: Milwaukee, Summerfest
7/6: Cincinnati, Riverbend Music Center
7/7: Clarkston, MI, DTE Energy Music Theater
7/9: Philadelphia, Penn’s Landing
7/12: Pittsburgh, Chevrolet Amphitheater
7/13: Columbus, OH, Germain Amphitheater
7/15: Bonner Springs, KS, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7/17: Indianapolis, White River Park
7/19: Cleveland, Tower City Amphitheater
7/20: Wallingford, CT, Oakdale Theater
7/21: Gilford, NH, Meadowbrook Farm Musical Arts Center
7/23: Mansfield, MA, Tweeter Center
7/24: Holmdel, NJ, P.N.C. Bank Arts Center
7/25: Wantagh, NY, Jones Beach Theater
7/27: Charlotte, NC, Paladium at Carowinds
7/29: Virginia Beach, VA, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7/30: Bristow, VA, Nissan Pavilion
7/31: Atlanta, HiFi Buys Amphitheater
8/1: Tampa, Tampa Bay Amphitheater