Genius: Cousin Review
Nina Simone's creepy-while-somehow-soothing voice is a perfect paint for the canvas that the string-heavy beat provides.
Spectrum Culture: Cousin Review
The angular melody, dissonant background strings and Simone’s nervous, vibrato-laden voice establishes a menacing presence.
Pop Matters: Cousin Review
It manages to balance its weird orchestra breakdown with a rather contemporary beginning and ending.
Pitchfork: "And Then You Shoot Your Cousin" Review
“Roots albums, no matter the landscape around them, always feel sturdy, firm—responsible, in the classic Gangstarr way.”
Paste: "And Then You Shoot Your Cousin" Review
In “…And Then You Shoot Your Cousin,” The Roots prove their mastery of mixing high and low culture for diverse audiences. It’s a headier album, but one rife with significance.
HipHopDX: "Cousin" Review
“It’s a curious turn, but one that finds them as oddly whimsical and satisfying as ever.”
New York Times: A Haunting History Lesson With Your Hip-Hop
The musicians weren’t the same Roots band seen regularly on NBC’s “Tonight” show with Jimmy Fallon. They included the Metropolis Ensemble — the conductor Andrew Cyr, a string quartet and four singers — and the jazz pianist D. D. Jackson, who wrote dramatic, somberly dissonant arrangements for the ensemble.
The Musical Hype: Cousin Review
All preconceived notions of ‘hip-hop’ are tossed out the window, as the transcendence of the sometimes one-dimensional genre is epitomized here.
Subjective Sounds: Cousin Review
Putting the record on the turntable is an immersive experience that I consider to be synonymous with hip hop as the music will not only radiate through your body but will also touch your soul.
Rolling Stone: Cousin Review
In The Roots’ …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin, pianos and strings clash in explosions of third-stream jazz, French electro-acoustic pioneer Michel Chion brings noise, deep-blue tones vibrate like Miles Davis' Porgy and Bess.
Slant: Cousin Review
It’s hard to deny the overall effect of this strange, smartly conceived album.
The Guardian: Cousin Review
The Roots have total command of their combination of jazz-influenced hip-hop and social awareness.